About the shop
brief history
Beginning with the original Sublogic Flight Simulator II on the Commodore 64 through Janes' Combat Simulation and beyond to Digital Combat Simulator and MSFS 2020, my passion for over 40 years of "simming" has been getting the most realism out of each title.
When I purchased a used Thrustmast Warthog, connected it to my PC and fired up DCS, the immersion factor went way up. However, I soon realized that flying any aircraft other than the A-10 meant memorizing complex control mappings. I tried printing charts, but it broke the immersion.
I found a store on eBay that sold custom faceplates. I thought they were a bit pricey, but went ahead and took the plunge and bought one. The plate wasn't bad, but it was not as good as I would have expected for $50. The paint was thin allowing the backlighting to bleed through, it was brittle and difficult to install (as was the factory plate) - it actually broke when I needed to remove it. Needless to say, I was underwhelmed.
One day I stumbled upon the Home Cockpit forum on the DCS Forums page and my eyes were opened to the various "simpits" other DCS players had created using various tools, from CNC machines, 3D printers, and "cheap" Chinese CO2 K40 lasers. I watched some YouTube videos on creating panels with the CO2 lasers and from that point forward, I was hooked.
After quite a bit of research I zeroed in on a K40 laser that met my requirements and my budget. However, once I got it, I knew that it would need some major upgrades to make it usable.
Frickin' "LaserS"
Investing in a Chinese K40 Laser for panel cutting and engraving, is like buying a chainsaw to carve chess pieces. No matter what, you're going to have to make some modifications. They were originally intended to make rubber stamps, but given some tweaking, the K40 can do a lot more.
I could write a novel on the various upgrades I made, but a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll leave you with that and a few highlights:
-Cohesion3D controller board (makes many upgrades possible)
-Replaced the control panel (added air assist, laser dot, LED lighting, digital water temp guage, digital voltage dispaly, voltage potentiometer, extra 12v power supply
-Added a water pump and wheel
-Camera
-Motorized Z Bed (built from plans on Thingiverse)
I use Lightburn for my design software which converts it into gcode, then sends it to the laser via a USB connection from my laptop.
I have a few more upgrades planned so I can expand into rotary engraving and possibly enlarging the x and y axis to the fullest extent of the bed.
It really is an amazing piece of hardware, if you are willing to invest a lot of time, energy and patience.
Giving Back
After I dialed in the dimensions of the Warthog throttle plate, I made my first plate. I shared it within the DCS forums which immediately attracted the attention of others. I soon had a request to make a plate for another person.
Remembering the disappointment from my faceplate purchase, I was determined that I would cut the cost, but design and build to a level of quality indistringuisable from the factory. Flight Simmers have to pay dearly for immersion as it is, so I don't want to charge more than I have to in order to help them get the experience they want at a price they can afford.