Expectations vs. Reality – How To Build A Direct Drive Racing Wheel?

In this short summary Héctor Suárez (@isthernes) explains what it means to launch a product of this caliber in terms of resources (time, money, R&D, etc.) for any company.

Considerations for developing a Direct Drive Base

In my view there are three major challenges when developing a Direct Drive base:

• The motor
• The control electronics
• The quick release

Motor

The motor of a belt driven base is usually from a standard parts (big list of items). Either “as is” or with some minor change. There are motors like this in radio control cars or tools. In recent times, they are almost always brushless motors, but this has not always been the case.

For Direct Drive bases it is harder to find motors available to buy with (good) enough shaft power that are not “heavy duty” motors. Because of this DDs have (in the past) used Kollmorgen or MiGE motors, meant for manufacturing chains. Those motors are meant to be controlled from a central system, so a separate control unit outside the motor is necessary.

That, besides not being very user-friendly, leads to (more than two, but not a lot of) problems in getting certification for domestic use.

Therefore, designing a clearly stated/particular motor for simracing allows both improving (wasting very little while working or producing something) and (combining different things together so they work as one unit) the control electronics together with the motor. In addition to reducing the wiring mess, it is easier to get CE, EMI, ESD, etc. certifications.

And the motor works better for simracing that way. Designing a motor is a fairly complex subject, involving many hours of development, testing and validations. It also involves making tooling to make the engine. The price also depends on how many units can be manufactured per year and at what speed.

Control Electronics

The electronics to control that motor are much more complex than before, because although a belt system “dampens” the force (reactions or responses to something/helpful returned information), it also dampens the defects. In other words, EVERYTHING is more seen/obvious in a direct drive. The good and the bad. Therefore, it is important to both improve the speed and the (high) quality of the control electronics, while handling higher currents. It’s kind of like going from a car to a truck and the truck has to be faster and more stable than the car.

The Quick Release

The Quick Release has to handle the forces of the motor and, in certain cases, pass current and data to the steering wheel. The forces part depends mainly on the materials and design. This is a very important issue, as changing a Quick Release has the bad thing/disadvantage that old steering wheels are no longer compatible.

As for the electrical part, Direct Drives are capable of (without limits or an end) rotation, so you have to find a solution so that the cables do not wind up (or tear out). There are (more than two, but not a lot of) solutions with their pros and cons, but it can also be a backward (problem with two components not working well together), so again it may make the old wheels unusable.

The CSL base and other product are available:

• CSL DD Boost Kit 180 Bundle for 479,95 euros
• CSL Pedals for 79,95 euros
• CSL Pedal Clutch Kit for 39,95 euros
• Club Steering Wheel Formula v2.5 for 349,95 euros

See you on the track!