Simon Fell > Its just code > SFX100 Build Log: Step 0, Ordering

Thursday, October 1, 2020

The SFX-100 is an open source/DIY motion actuator for use with racing or flight simulators. I've been enjoying iRacing this year, and thought this would a fun project to work on.

Step 0 is to order everything, there's parts needed from a number of different suppliers, and some of these take weeks or even a month or two to be delivered. The original project parts list is heavy on european suppliers, reflecting where all the development was done. This post on Race Department details better options for US based folks.

I had no issues ordering from ntl bearing or Master Jiangs store on aliexpress, those parts turned up in a couple of weeks. ntl-bearings also now can supply the servo & drives, if you want to cut down the number of different places to order from.

The big lead time is the aluminum profiles from Kinetic, they're a B2B supplier and not set up for lots of little consumer orders. Reports are that it can take 1-2 months for those orders to turn up in the US. I lucked out, someone on the iRacing forums was selling a set of the profiles after decided not to do the build. I purchased those and had them in a week.

These are the main parts, the rest is a laundry list of bits and pieces, all easily available.

While waiting for everything to turn up, its a good time to get started on the 3D printing, there's a lot of it needed.