Introduction: DIY PC Steering Wheel and Pedals From Paper-thin! (Feedback, Paddle Shifters, Display) for Racing Simulators and Games

Hey all! During these ho-hum times, we're all lolling around looking for something to practise. Real life racing events have been cancelled and have been replaced with simulators. I've decided to build an inexpensive simulator that works flawlessly, provides feedback, and looks rad. This design is wildly customizable. You could very easily add a knob shifter and handbrake, a different kind of bicycle, a clutch pedal, anything you can recall of, if yous use your creativity y'all can utilise this design to do it. I've Had the idea for a while. There is manifestly some compromises that come up with this as opposed to buying a 200$+ sim rig, but hey- this works very well for a cardboard cosmos.

IF YOU LIKE THIS, Please VOTE! I'VE PUT DAYS INTO THIS PROJECT!!

Pros

Cheap bicycle. I mean information technology price me 20$ to make, can be lower.

works extraordinarily well for what it is.

Has fully functional vibration!

If following this instructable, should but take a few hours

PADDLE SHIFTERS!

Bang-up, clean design

Display that shows Telemetry data from game

Cons

I mean, it's cardboard- you tin can't wait premium quality or perfectly polished looks.

The fact that it uses an old PS4 controller to function (however, these can be constitute used on Offerup for ~15$.)

Pedals could use some work- I'll post a listing of some things that could be done with more fourth dimension and money.

Paddle shifters aren't premium quality.

Cardboard will never look as good as herder to work with materials, but I remember it looks pretty fine for the limitations.

Supplies

Yous will need:

Paper-thin (Duh!) For this, I used a very dense cardboard that tin be found usually in inexpensive Ikea boxes, etc. It'southward stronger and easily sand-able. Normal cardboard will piece of work fine, in fact I'll mail service the cycle I did with normal cardboard at the end.

A cheap controller (constitute mine on amazon for 10$- https://world wide web.amazon.com/SQDeal-Joystick-Controller...

An old PS4 Controller (If you don't take one, they can be picked up cheap used on Offerup for nearly 15$.)

Hot gum gun

Extra wire

Soldering Iron

Solder

Hobby pocketknife (careful with these!)

Extra blades

Sharpie

Masking Record (optional)

4x stiff almost 3/4" earth magne

A software called DS4 Windows - https://ryochan7.github.io/ds4windows-site/

Dashpanel on steam and an android/ios device (Optional if you desire the display on the wheel)

Some thick paper

A sturdy straw/dowel/pvc tube

Some Popsicle sticks for extra durability if needed

Patience and a few hours!

Step ane: Creating Your Wheel.

This is a step where y'all tin have all the creativity yous want. The process I more often than not follow is to:

Notice a reference image online

Print out that image at a proper calibration (F1 wheels are 11")

Brand some templates

Trace those templates out on paper-thin+cut

Details

Make different layers, and wrap each one with a fabric called carbon cobweb wrap separately

I wrapped my handles in Duck Tapes' friction tape. Meliorate materials could be used such equally suede or, maybe stick tape for drumsticks. I've seen people 3d print handles aswell, just that'due south not even close to this project hehe.

For carbon fiber, I simply bought some Vinyl wrap and used a hair dryer to grade the wrap to the bicycle. I highly recommend this, information technology looks amazing.

Make sure you build your bicycle strong no matter what shape you choose.

For my display in the middle, all I did was I cut a hole in the center of the bike appropriately scaled to how large the display would exist on a real F1 wheel. I then put a telephone case behind this with the top of the case cut off and then my phone could be slid in and out of the system. The rev counter lights are just another hole in the wheel lined up with where the lights are on my phone (I have a Galaxy S7, this ended up being the perfect size.)

Build a box on the rear of your wheel. This box volition business firm our PS4 controller and paddle shifters. You tin can see how I congenital mine in the image. DO NOT Gum THE Chapeau OF YOUR BOX ON UNTIL THE VERY END. Place your beam in the center of your hat and add supports. For simplicity, if you've used a hollow axle brand certain you have the axle going through your lid and so that later nosotros can thread wires through it.

Step 2: Paddle Shifters for the Wheel

This footstep is optional, if you want to accept functional paddle shifters on your bicycle. ALWAYS CHECK MY PICTURES FOR REFERENCE TO WHAT I'1000 SAYING. THIS IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN. ALL IMAGES HERE ARE TAKEN OF THE BACK OF THE WHEEL. If you want, ask me well-nigh a simple way to brand paddle shifters- I know i but I won't postal service information technology here. Utilise your creativity!

Step one:

create some paddle shifters. Mine are just a apartment sheet of PVC in the shape seen in the pictures. Basic, simply make sure the arm sticking out of it is long (mine'southward about an inch and a half each.) Create ii of these.

Step 2:

Take the lid for the box nosotros made on the back of our wheel off. Then, follow the steps shown in the pictures above. What nosotros're doing here is making a manner for the paddle shifters to jump back to position using magnets. These are very bones but are very satisfying to utilise. If you lot want your paddle shifters to be easier to press, place a sheet of cardboard or popsicle stick on i of the magnets. Your magnets should however be able to connect to each other, but just more weakly.

Step three:

Now, we identify the push button on pinnacle of our shifter arm. This arm so hits the acme of the small-scale box over the hole we created in our lid (follow the pictures.)

Step 4:

Attach 2 wires (make these wires long, i'd say 1.v'+ each) to the leads on the button.

Step 5:

Repeat on the other side.

Footstep 3: The PS4 Controller

This is the step in which we accept apart our PS4 controller completely and attach to the inside of our bike box. Tutorials to take autonomously controllers can exist institute online, youtube etc. I accept previous feel with this so it'due south simple, but take your time. Strip the controller downward to only the main board and the charging board with the LED on information technology, continued to the board with a (usually) blueish ribbon cable (check images). You will not need the bombardment, button connections, etc. (Save the motor with the big counter weights if yous want vibration!) I then mounted this board ONTO the dorsum of my bike in my box. The pictures will explain this amend than I tin. It is extremely important to not pause the frail ribbon cablevision. Hot glue the micro usb lath onto the lath itself, that's just convenient for me. So, attach a micro usb cable into the female port. Hot mucilage this cable to the bike somewhere for back up. Finally, cut a pocket-sized hole in your wheel hat and beneath your axle pigsty on your base of operations. Thread your micro USB cable through both of these and plug in.

You can get rid of EVERYTHING except:

Charging associates

Main Board (Only what's shown in pictures)
1 of the motors with the larger counter weights (If calculation vibration)

Step 4: Our Feedback Vibration

For this step, we add our vibration motors.

As our PS4 controller will only be running off USB ability, this makes but 1 of our motor outputs function. You demand to wire 2 of our vibration motors with the large counterweights on them (I from the PS4 controller and one from our cheap controller, so take our cheap controller apart for this step) to the place shown in the prototype. Then, attach the wires where shown in the images to a higher place. I've fount that this is the all-time location for them to be without getting in the fashion and providing the well-nigh feedback. Don't mucilage the lid of the box on the back of our bike yet.

Footstep 5: The Base

Here's where the wheel'southward going to be anchored in and our inexpensive controller will exist housed in a future step.

Build a construction (this tin can exist every bit unproblematic equally a box) and drill/cut out a hole in the center the size of your axle. (meet pics)

So, VERY Important Footstep. Take your thick paper and fit it around your axle and glue. You lot're making a tube for your beam to become through and so it'south stable and stays in 1 place. Add plenty of supports effectually this tube (again, run across pictures to encounter what I mean.) Brand certain your axle rotates freely with only a small amount of friction when in the base. I made mine fairly tight every bit I wanted some friction in my wheel.

Make your base every bit sturdy as possible, and add something heavy (I used ii spare 550 motors) for weights on the back. You can utilize anything here, exist creative :)

Besides make sure you have enough room where about the board for your cheap controller tin can fit somewhere in your base. I also added friction tape to the lesser of mine.

Step 6: Our Basic, Simply Functional, Pedals

These are very basic pedals, just role fine. All you lot need to do is place 2 buttons on a sheet of cardboard and attach two wires to each button. These wires volition afterwards get to the cheap controller. You then demand to discover a way to push these pedals- this is a very unproblematic way in which I merely folded a sheet of paper-thin and used it to push button downwardly on the pedals. (see pictures.)

Step 7: Our Cheap Controller

Now we get to our cheap controller. Our beginning step is to accept autonomously our cheap controller we found on amazon. (If you added vibration to your cycle, your controller is already autonomously.) Your controller is held together with 4 screws on the back. This should come apart without whatsoever issue. You demand to brand sure to not impairment the ribbon cable connecting the joysticks to the primary board like I did. I had to solder the whole part dorsum on. This controller volition be where your PEDALS and PADDLE SHIFTERS are wired to.

put your wheel in your base.

I volition get through the soldering steps pic by picture. Film ane: This is showing where all of your negative wires should go. Your buttons don't have a distinguished positive or negative wire then, to put it simply, you demand to have one wire from each push button soldered to this signal. Movie 2: This is showing the positive wires. Simply, you demand one wire for each button to go to one of these points. This is where your one,ii,iii,and four buttons are connected.The lodge in which you connect any of these does not matter. Y'all demand to claw up 1 wire from every button- thats 1 from each pedal and one from each paddle.

Put our controller guts onto our base.

We tin can then seal off our base.

Step viii: Finally, the Software!

The software, DS4 windows can be used to harness the built in 6 centrality gyro on the ps4 controller to give controller movements. I'll walk you through the process. After installing the awarding off github,

Launch DS4 windows

Connect the cable that's threaded through the base of operations connecting to the PS4 controller lath to your computer

This should prove up as a ps4 controller and the calorie-free on the Micro USB board should turn Blue, this means your controller is working

Get to Edit

In the Controls tab on the left side, disable the following:

L1

R1

L2
R2

L3

R3

LS up/down/left/right

RS up/down/left/right
In the Lightbar tab on the right, yous can alter the color your LED shows

Go to the Gyro tab on the correct

Set output fashion to CONTROLS

set TILT Correct to LEFT X-AXIS -

Set TILT LEFT to LEFT 10-Axis +

Steering wheel centrality NONE

Steering wheel range ninety

CHECK THE VIBRATION ON YOUR CONTROLLER (IN OTHER -> RUMBLE -> Exam HEAVY) AND MAKE SURE YOUR MOTORS WORK. Plough YOUR VIBRATION UP TO 200% FOR Best RESULTS.

Change the name of the contour to Bicycle in the top left and save!

Adjacent is to test our cheap gamepad. Go to this site - https://html5gamepad.com/ and plug in your inexpensive controller. When pressing your paddle shifters and pedals certain buttons should alter on the screen besides, showing value i.

Next, plug in your PS4 controller and open up DS4 windows and ready our controller to our bike preset we made. Go back to our HTML5 gamepad tester and cheque to brand sure that when you lot plough your cycle, the value of Centrality 0 changes.

Footstep ix: You Should Be Up and Running!!

Plug in both controllers to your PC and launch DS4 windows making certain you're on your wheel profile. (later on adding some final touches :))

(If you lot fabricated the display, launch Dashpanel. You can apply tutorials online to figure that out, I'll upload a custom profile I made for F1 2014 on the community.)

Launch your game of choice (I play F1 2014 and Clay 3)

Change your settings to match your cycle, and play!! (If y'all have vibration motors, make sure you lot turn on your vibration setting in game and plough it to 100%)

Thank you all so much for taking your fourth dimension to read through my instructable. If you lot really enjoyed, delight vote for me in the cardboard competition- I'm saving to purchase a 3d printer and then I can aggrandize my making ability. I've been saving for a while and this would assist me a lot. If you lot made this project, show me! Any questions I will answer, I know this may be a bit disruptive. Whatever vote is very appreciated. Give thanks you all!!


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