Components to use for gauges

[madladuk]

Hi all.

I am using a screen for my pa28 cockpit however I have just purchased the oc USB servo card and would like to build my own gauges. What components do most people use to replicate the gauge, the front glass and covering mount. I want to make it as realistic as possible. So if anyone could point out what components they use ( uk suppliers would be best) that would be a great help. Thanks paul

[No Longer Active]

Hi,

Impossible to answer fully because not every gauge uses the same principle. Most single pointer / dual pointer gauges use servos or stepper motors. Servos commonly used are HS55 RC Servos. However you will need to use gearing to provide the correct rotation. You may also need an optical interupter when using modified servos such as servos used for continuous rotation, the interupter will tell the servo when it needs to stop and to advise of its position. This is crucial for heading gyros and altimeters.

For the ASI you will need a servo with gears.
For the Attitude indicator you will need 2 servos.
For the Altimeter you will need a 2 modified servo, plus gears, plus interuptor and circuit.
For the Slip gauge you will need a servo, possibly two servos one for the turn and bank, one for the slip.
For the Gyro you will need a modified servo, plus interuptor and circuit.
For the VSI you will need just a servo and gears.
For the VOR 1 you will need 2 servos, plus gears, plus interuptor and circuit.
For the VOR 2 you will need 1 servo, plus gears, plus interuptor and circuit.
For the ADF you will need 1 servo, plus gears, plus interuptor and circuit.
For fuel, egt and oil gauges etc you will need a servo per pointer.

You will need lots of faceplates, acrylic, pointers, vero board, solder, electronic components, patience, knowledge, luck and money (and a copy of Mikes Flight Deck book) to be able to be able to make your own gauges.

I think you really have opened up a can of worms here, but, start 1 gauge and a time, and learn from the last one and you will get there i'm sure ;)......

Good luck pal.

Alex

[AK Mongo]

You summed it up nicely Alex.
This gauge building is no trivial thing, although not impossible.

Reid

[madladuk]

Thanks all yes I believe it's going to be a journey but some good and bad times ahead i wanted to find out the basic components first to do the first gauge. What is usually used for the face plate? Is the gauge dial a label stuck on a plate?

P

[madladuk]

As I'm 2/3 through my ppl I wanted to be able to train from home with some realism :-)

[madladuk]

I found mikes website is his book available for download?

[madladuk]

Just one other thing, currently I have and mdf cutout with a screen behind for basic gauges haste ever I want to put a cover over the front of the gauge a circular plastic with the round seal, any ideas of components I could use?

[No Longer Active]

Using a screen is easier for gauges. I just drew my MIP on CAD and got a cnc miller to cut the panel. I then sanded the cutouts smooth. I got some clear acrylic gauge lenses cnc'ed by laser and inserted the lenses into the cutouts. I then used my vinyl cnc cutter to cut out some bezel decals and stuck them to the cutouts, however with my new design the gauge bezels were not neccessary.

Have a good search over the forums, all the information is here already!.....

[madladuk]

Many thanks, do you have any images you can share? How much did it cost to get acrylic gauges cnc'd? Thanks p

[No Longer Active]

How much did it cost to get acrylic gauges cnc'd?

A friend done them for free!

Regards, Alex

[Marsh]

62046205I designed out all my gauge graphics in Photoshop. I'm building most my gauges at 3.25x3.25" which fits on a standard 4x6 photo. I get them printed out at a photo place...like snapfish or shutterfly. High quality, inexpensive and saves my black ink cartridge. I sandwich a piece of aluminum (could use acrylic/polycarb) and 2 pieces of clear polycarb. The three layers get cut to size and drilled on my mill-drill-lathe. I glue the photo graphic on the aluminum with spray adhesive. The middle polycarb layer gets a large hole cut in the center with a circle cutter and notches for backlighting LED's. The top piece of polycarb is the cover. I use a nail for the axle...the nail head makes a nice surface to epoxy a needle to. I make some aluminum pulleys for my servo or stepper motor and axle and couple them together with a small oring as a drive belt. This way I can make any ratio I want. Does the job, only draw back is the precision lost by gearing the servo up, but it's tolerable for the most part.

This how I'm doing it for the most part because the design is within my skills and equipment capabilities. I also have access to cheap scrap aluminum and polycarbonate, so that's a big bonus.

[fsaviator]

Very nice!

Warren