Complete A-10C Cockpit Interest?

pm me your Skype address and lets talk

How are you doing the buttons if I may ask?

Also from Acrylic, painted and engraved.

If everything goes as planned, i have Pictures of these very soon.

Panel looks very good!

Also very good that you not going to 3d print the buttons. The result wouldn't compliment the panel at all.

No that would be too ugly.

Only thing there will be printed is the light dimmer Rotary knob on the side... im printing the Prototype right now.

was thinking about Maybe make a 3d printed casing, as an alternative to the Aluminum box. the arduino wouldnt fit into tho, so the wiring needs to go to another box, housing the arduino.

But the 3d printed case will not be as Deep, and the UFC can therefore be mounted right in front of a monitor, for those who want that setup.

The first set of prototype buttons is done.

I will let you know that we had a small accident on the number 4 button.

Also the selector buttons are not sloped, why? we havent made it like that yet, but we plan on later on, so if anyone purchase a UFC before that happens, they will get them sended when we start making them.

Again one of the selector buttons are not engraved, and our Master caution is not yet painted and finished, in the finished botton you wont be able to see the text that clear.

But now your getting it, so please look through the small deviations, as this is a prototype. But we are very close.

just... wow!! awesome, I will definitely look into this

Looking great Lynx.

Im glad you like it.

Obviously there is some Things that needs to be changed, such as the Width of the selector buttons. And maybe there is a Little too much spacing between the buttons and the holes... and also the engravings as mentioned earlyer, but as its a prototype, there is room for improvements.

So we will start working on a new prototype now.

And a big thanks to Deadman, who helped me with alot of details, his knowledge goes beyond awesome, i really appreciate your help. Thanks :)

As for those who are interested in purchasing this, the first package you can purchase, when we have it ready for sale, will be the front and the buttons. and you can PM me if you are interested, and i will put you on a list, and you will be able to buy it when its done. Nothing binding, as the finished product hasnt been shown yet. And neither the Price. But we are trying to keep cost as low as possible.

This is also to give me an idea of how much material we need and how many we should cut out when we start them.

And if you have questions. dont hesitate to write.

Can you show a pick of how you do the buttons? Do you paint white acrylic, engrave then cut and then paint the rest of the now cut acrylic masking off the face?

Or do you cut them leaving small amounts of acrylic holding the buttons in place, sprat them then engrave them?

I struggled with mine because when I cut the button the jumped up out of the acrylic and jammed the engraver, I had to stand there holding each button in place until the engraver mov d off and then take the button away?

Mr Burns, Your last method is good but put double sided tape under all the buttons, that way they wont jump off when cut free :)

I got some requests for a complete Plug and Play UFC. And yes, in time we will make a P&P UFC, but it takes time to perfect.

So the first thing we will concentrate on, is the front and buttons as a pack.

This is for those who dont mind making their own PCB with Switches and LED's. This will be the cheapest way to go.

The Next thing we will make is the PCB, with tactile switches and LED's.

That one will be available as a DIY set where you get all the parts, and you have to solder them yourself.

Then we are aiming for the complete DIY set. it will include UFC front, buttons, PCB, Switches & LED's and the arduino to connect it. And then you can download the code for the Arduino from our Website.

The last option will be the Plug And Play Version. That one is all done and ready to hook up to your computer. and this one will ofcourse be the most expensive, because we have to put it all together, and load up the arduino ect.

The Aluminum casing will be a extra buy for each set, and that is simply because its handmade from aluminum sheets, and the Price will be higher that a plastic box.

As an alternative to this, we will also make 3D printed casings, with or without table stands, to fit the individual needs.

Right now we are working on getting the final UFC front done, so its ready for sale... and the Aluminum casing will be ready shortly after or maybe at the same time. and first when we have this done, will we look at the PCB.

I hope that cleared Things up abit, but dont stop to ask if you have questions.

With all the stages of release it sounds like you have a solid business plan lynx.

Bent alum sheet is the way to go for high end enclosure. But for lower end why 3d print if you can work with sheet plastic/acrylic? Easy to cut, easy to drill, easy to bend. will make a much better end product, with much better aesthetic and mechanical properties. I also wonder why do you feel the need to 3d print a brightness knob, is the original that expensive? (is there original?) To your earlier comment about positivity of separate enclosure to house Arduino, look at the nano sized boards if you didn't already., you will sure find room for that tiny thing, I don't see why you have to have full size uno in there.

Since at the moment I'm too working on a device with lots of buttons I'm very curious how you plan to provide backlight , attach and hold to the actual switches etc. Basically see the backside. I do understand if you prefer not to share th is detail for now.

With that could you share the size of your buttons? Reason I'm asking is that at the moment I'm working on casting my own and curious as fast as compatibility.

The one thing that always bugged me is the flat paddle button caps. I understand firsthand the challenge of making it non flat , but I did manage to accomplish making one . Even though the slope is not as agressive as real one (for ease of engraving) the line in middle makes it much more alive IMHO. Unless you already working on slopped paddles my solution can be available to you.

ADD :

so the ms33558 font is not used for the big symbols on the buttons ? Which one is it then? The engraving on the panel itself looks the usual font to me.

Looking good Lynx :thumbup:

Cheers

Hans

Bent acrylic sheets as casing will still take time for me to do, assemble / glue and so on.... 3d printed stuff dosnt.

So the answer to this is the same as to the Light knob, im 3d printing it to keep the Price low, because no, that single part isnt expensive, but for those who want it, they can easily switch it out with an original.

Im constantly thinking in prices, to keep it low for you Guys. :)

As for the font. You are correct that the numbers isnt ms33558, and i can also tell you, that the final product will have original UFC fonts.

Im happy to help with details on most Things, but as for the fonts go... i will keep this to myself. Not because i dont wanna share... but because the info on which fonts are used cant be found anywhere, and the solution is many years of research and tons of hours looking through stuff, until you suddenly come across the real font.

I can not take credit for all this research, because im new in this business, and therefore its not my info to give away. And i promissed not to. I hope you understand.

And to answer your arduino question, we dont want to make the UFC with a Key matrix. We will make it so that multiple keys can be pressed at once, why, simply because it can Work with other games, or applications if people would need that. :)

But you will soon see more... :)

LynxDK your welcome it was a nice conversation and I am glad you found some of my thoughts useful good luck on the UFC it is looking very good.

Here is some quick shots of the UFC screwed in the Aluminum Casing before painting. sry for the dark Pictures.

Be advised that its also a Prototype, therefore its not totally fitted in size, and is kinda raw with no finish.

I hope you like it :) i will paint it soon, so more Pictures will arive.

That looks sweeeeeet!!

Definitely looks good. I haven't put my name down for the panels as I'm really waiting for the kit with at least the PCB, which I can't easily make myself. I'll probably wait to see the pricing for all the options, right up to plug and play aluminium enclosure before I decide what to go for, so the sooner you're able to give rough pricing estimates the better, as then I can decide which cost vs work option is most suitable for me :)

Utterly Fantastic. Please put me on the purchase list for your final UFC Plug & Play model and give me a shout out to arrange payment when its ready for sale. Great work. I'm looking forward to adding it to my spartan A-10 build.

Mike

Utterly Fantastic. Please put me on the purchase list for your final UFC Plug & Play model and give me a shout out to arrange payment when its ready for sale. Great work. I'm looking forward to adding it to my spartan A-10 build.

 

Mike

+1

Thank you Guys.

We will Work as fast as we can, and release Pictures and info as we go :)

And just to be clear, so there wont be any misunderstandings.

When we say Plug And Play, it Means a UFC, with a USB stick, ready to hook up to a computer. BUT, Its running on Arduino,u Coded to use with DCS BIOS, so you still have to install and run DCS BIOS for it to Work in game.

We will however not be offering any support on DCS BIOS, Its freeware, and people should be able to get plenty of help from the forum.

If it goes as planned, we also intend to release arduino code, so the unit can be programmed to Work like a joystick with software like V-Joy, so it can be used in other games too.

And yes, if we get that to Work, the code to reprogram the arduino will be free.

Best Regards.

Bloody nice Lynx. I may have to get me one of your to get rid of my own mockup :thumbup:

Cheers

Hans

Thank you :)

If you allready have a working UFC, you can choose to buy the front, bottons and maybe the PCB, unless you wanna make one yourself... which is fairly easy, as a prototype PCB can be used with ease.

But then you can just transfer it all over, that way you can get it real cheap... Compared to a "P&P" verison.

You can of course also buy the Alu Casing to get the right final look :)

I'm definitively interested in your UFC and Engine panel. Just waiting for a release date and a pricing

I'm definitively interested in your UFC and Engine panel. Just waiting for a release date and a pricing

Im Happy to hear that, That Means that im not the only one who wanted something like this :)

But the Price is allways the tricky part, and i hope i wont Loose you Guys when you hear it :)

I have really tryed to keep the prices Down as much as i can, but heres the prices for the Engine Gauge Panel.

The Price for a complete Panel, with 3D Printed Gauge Rings and Lights is 765DKK.

This is without Paypal Fees and Shipping, which is about 169DKK.

But when you order you tell me the distance from the surface (The surface the panel is mounted on) to your Screen, and i will Print the rings in that depth, so you dont have to drill circular holes for each gauge. I intend to do this with all Overlay Panels i make.

The panel comes unassembled, but you only have to Mount the screws, and screw in the base of the lights, then the Light head clicks right onto it, and the Rings fits nice and tight in the holes, so no need for glue... unless you wanna paint them as i did in one of my Pictures.

Of course you can choose not to order the panel with the 3D Printed parts, but only the Black panel with engravings. Then it will be much cheaper.

This is one of the more expensive panel of this type, because there is so many parts on it, the simpler Overlay Panels like HSI will be cheap, as its only milled out and painted, without any engravings.