Homemade Pc Steering Wheel

You will need some basic electronics skills to make a homemade pc steering wheel.

The wheel is easy to build to your own specs for example the ratio at witch you physical steering wheel turns and the wheel on the game turns can be changed and the amount of buttons on you dash and what they do can also be changed.

Included in the instructions is how to make a set of pedals for throttle and brake to.

link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyGkFWZ-xuI

Step 1: Materiel's and Tools

You will need basic tools listed below 
Soldering iron 
solder 
hand drill 
drill press (if available)
paddle drills
drill wood drill bits 
steel rule
tape measure
wood saw 
screw drivers 
scribe 
sandpaper 
side cutters 
wire strippers 
hacksaw or grinder 
spanners 
socket set and ratchet 
pencil 
square 

The materiel's you will need are listed below 
M6 threaded bar 300mm
M6 locknuts 
2x bearings with M6 id
1x wii steering wheel 
1x 10mm miniature pully ( for 3mm round belt )
1x 30mm miniature pully ( for 3mm round belt ) - this pully can be changed up or down in size depending on the steering ratio you want
1x 75mm round 3mm belt 
6mm plywood 2 foot by 4 foot
20mm x 20mm batton 300mm
15mm pine plank 350mm
20mm x 40mm batton 400mm
self tapping wood screws 
10-15 meters of cable or thin wire 
heat shrink 
usb pc games controller with joysticks ( must be or have analog mode )
1x 10k linear Potentiometers
1x 10k linear sliding Potentiometer
1x large red ptm button 
2x small ptm buttons ( add as many as you like as long as your usb controller has enough functions )
1x dpdt toggle switch 
8x red crimp connectors 
1x NO micro switch 
2x small hinges 
1x small 90 degree bracket 
200mm of metal strapping band 
1x sliding pot nob 

Step 2: Making the Bearing Blocks

To hold the bearing that the threaded rod will go through you will need to use the 20 x 40mm baton.

Start by cutting 2 peaces of baton 50mm long or longer if you want a larger angle on your wheel 

Step 3: Making the Bearing Blocks

Drill 19mm holes at the top of the block as deep as your bearing is 

Step 4: Making Bearing Blocks

Then drill through the center of you flat holes with a 6mm drill bit and insert bearing 

Step 5: Making Bearing Blocks

now cut a 10 degree angle ( or more depends on what angle you want you steering wheel to be at ) in the wooden blocks 

Step 6: Cutting Base

now cut a piece 20mm pine plank to approx 300mm long to use as the base of your steering wheel 

Step 7: Cutting the Threaded Bar

cut the threaded bar to length 

remember to leave a nut on the bar so when are finished cutting the bar it rethreads it 

Step 8: Mounting Bearing Blocks to Base

drill pilot holes in bearing blocks and screw them to the base board 

Step 9: Mark Out and Drill Center of Wheel

use a steel rule and scribe to mark the center of your wheel and drill it 

Step 10: Mount Wheel to Threaded Rod

thread a nut on to stop the bar slipping through the bearing any more then thread another one on backwards to support the wheel 

a ratcheting spanner can be a life save at this point  

Step 11: Drill Out the 10mm Pully

drill out the 10mm pully to 6mm and thread onto the bar then secure with lock nuts

Step 12: Mount the Pot

drill out the small bracket and mount the pot in it 

Step 13: Mount the Pot

cut a piece of 20 x 20mm batton 150mm long and screw the bracket with pot mounted into the end push the 40mm pully onto the pot shaft then place the 75mm round belt over both pullys and screw batton into base board when belt is tight 

If you want a different steering ratio then you will need to swap the 40mm pully for either a larger or smaller one 

Step 14: Making the Dash

cut 2 pieces of 20mm x 40mm baton with a 10 degree angle on one side around 6 inches tall 

Step 15: Making the Dash

now screw the 2 pieces of baton flush with the front of the base board 

Step 16: Making the Dash

Now cut a piece of 6mm ply approx 12 inches long and 6 inches tall drill a 8mm hole in the center and screw to the baton that has been fixed to the base of your steering wheel 

Step 17: Mount Your Switches

drill the correct size holes in your dash for your switches and insert them 

Step 18: Cutting Base for Pedals

start out by cutting a piece of 6mm ply wood to your desired size 

Step 19: Cutting Pedals and Mounting Hinges

now cut 2 pieces of 6mm ply the size of foot pedal you want and screw hinges onto the bottom of them 

Step 20: Mounting Pedals to Base Board

screw the pedals to your base sheet of ply leaving approx 2 inches space from the back of the pedals to the back of the base board 

Step 21: Mounting Micro Switch Below Pedal

screw your micro switch to small block of baton and screw the baton under your brake pedal so when the pedal is pressed the micro switch is pushed 

Step 22: Mounting the Sliding Pot

cut a peice of 20mm x 40mm baton and use some strapping band to mount the pot along side it 
you will also need to screw a piece of band at the halfway point of your pot to stop it sliding all the way up 

Step 23: Mounting the Sliding Pot

now screw the baton with the pot mounted to it so that the knob sits under the pedal use an elastic band going round the pot knob and round a screw at the top of your baton to spring the throttle 

Step 24: Just the Electronics to Go Now

once you have completed all the steps before this one your wheel and pedlas should function well your wheel should rotate smoothly and freely and turn the pot easily 

your pedals should feel smooth and return back to there original positions after they have been pressed 

Step 25: Wiring

take apart your controller and cut off the vibrating motors with weights on them then remove all pcbs from he controller casing  

each joystick will consist of 2 pots to control the left and right forwards and backwards these will be soldered to your pcb 

first find out witch pots control the forwards and backwards left and right movement in your game by plugging the controller into your pc moving each joystick during the game mark up these 2 pots and remove your controller from your pc 

Step 26: Wiring the Wheel 1

solder 3 wires from the pot on your steering wheel marking the center pin with a black wire and the other two with red wires bring these pack to your pcb where you should solder the black wire to the center pin of your steering pot legs going through the pcb and the other 2 wires on any of the other 2 pins ( if you find your steering is not in the correct direction then simply swap the red wires )

Step 27: Wiring the Wheel Part 2

find the rear buttons of your controller ( R1 R2 L1 L2 ) and locate the solder joints on the pcb you will then need to solder two wires from each ptm switch onto the common solder join ( normally the center one ) of your pcb and then solder each other wire to the other 2 contacts on the pcb ( only 2 ptm switches can be soldered per set or rear buttons ) you may use the other contacts on the pcb to add as many aux buttons as you wish just remember to leave one out for your brake 

you should now check that there are no short circuits in your wiring and plug the controller into you pc go into the game controllers settings and check that when you turn the wheel the x moves and when you press your connected dash buttons the appropriate indicator lights up if all is well then disconnect for the pc and move on next step 

Step 28: Wiring the Pedals 1

you will need to start off by taking two wires straight from the brake pedal and soldering it to a spare contact on the pcb ( shown in last step ) once you are in your game you should be able to map this button as brake 

you may wont to put crimp connectors on your wires going from your pedals to your wheel alloting you to pass the wires through a hole or behind your desk 

Step 29: Wiring the Pedals 2

now find the common on your sliding pot i found mine to be labeled 2 and solder one wire to that pin then solder another 2 wires to the other contacts you will then need to bring the two wires witch are not connected to the common back up to the dpdt switch and solder them according to the diagram below the common wire should be taken straight back to the pcb and soldered to the center leg of your pcb mounted pot 

once you have soldered your dpdt switch you should take the 2 new wires and solder them to the 2 spare terminals of your pcb mounted pot the toggle switch will then act as your forwards or reverse selector switch 

Step 30: Finished

you have completed all the steps you should check for shorts in your work and plug it into you pc and once again bring up the game controller check that when you push the pedal the x moves the x should also move in the other direction when the dpth switch is thrown check all your aux buttons are working 

go into your game and map all the keys and axis correctly and enjoy 

Link to you tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyGkFWZ-xuI

Step 31: Notes

I designed this wheel for farming simulator 2013 so this design will not be suitable for every game however you can change it to your specs 

The controller you buy MUST be analogue or have an analogue function if it does not then your wheel and throttle will be just like playing on a keyboard you will get full throttle or no throttle and the same with steering 

The better quality pots you use the better result you will get i used fairly cheap commercial grade pots however there is a dead zone in them from around 0 degrees to 3 degrees making it hard yo make small adjustments a more expensive pot may not have this problem 

the brake does not work in farming simulator however i have not found that i dont need it