Honeycomb Bravo Inspired Modular HES Throttle Quadrant for Flight Simulation

Introduction

I am new to the flight simulation hobby, 3D printing, and CAD design, so please be patient with me. I decided to create my own throttle quadrant to enhance my immersive experience. This is intended for flight simulation enthusiasts who might find this useful.

Features

• Simple design, no complicated gears with very few 3D printed parts.
• Friction is provided by a damping grease (Nyogel 767a or an alternative, such as the Chinese XY-2 damping grease), and the feel is almost hydraulic. Additional friction is provided by ball plungers that also act as detents.
• Modular, you can build one, or build six!
• Uses Hall effect sensors to determine the position of the throttle and toggle switches, so you can map the axes to throttle, prop, mixture, etc, and the buttons to enable reverse thrust, for example
• It will appear as a joystick with axes and button switches in Windows and can be used for flight simulators such as MSFS 2020/2024 and X Plane
• There is a detent near the bottom, and below this detent, the lever position is no longer detected, but if you pull it down to the end, it will toggle a Hall effect switch (every time you pull the lever down, the switch will trigger on and off). I think this is how the Saitek/Logitech throttle quadrant works.
• Uses Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) as the microcontroller unit (MCU). One MCU can support up to 4 quadrants. If you need to build more than 4 quadrants, additional MCUs are required.
• Optional: Up to an additional 16 buttons/switches can be connected to one MCU, which can be used for functions such as taxi lights, landing lights, gear up/down, etc.

Bill of Materials

Besides a 3D printer and filaments (I printed mine with PLA), you will need:

• TLV493D Hall effect sensors (1 per quadrant). You can purchase them from here, or I will provide a Gerber file later to order them from JLCPCB.
  https://electroniccats.com/store/tlv493d-croquette/
  Alternatively, you can use the Gerber file from the link below to order and assemble at JLCPCB. Recommendation: Do not place the R2 and R3 resistors and the J1 connector when ordering.
  https://github.com/savesabanal01/3S-Throttle-Quadrant/tree/main/Hardware
• A3144 Hall effect sensors (1 per quadrant)
  https://a.co/d/5zRXY3j
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808061811784.html
• 6802 ball bearings (2 per quadrant):
  https://a.co/d/fYThaC8
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805848724629.html
• M6 x 12mm Spring Ball Plungers (2 per quadrant)
  https://a.co/d/ewhuE3q
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803247984132.html
• Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040). One RP2040 can support 4 quadrants. If you need to build 6 quadrants, for example, you will need two RP2040s.
  https://a.co/d/7AnGSWk
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256810023960508.html
• Damping grease (Nyogel 767a or alternative)
  https://a.co/d/0ROj3E0
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2255800028623438.html (Note: I have not tried this one, but some reviewers say it is quite effective as well)
• Set of M3xD5xL4mm Heat Set Inserts
  https://a.co/d/bVl7WV7
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809091759411.html
• M3 Countersunk screws (different lengths)
  https://a.co/d/6a7sqof
  https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806835027966.html
• 6mmx3mm N52 Neodymium magnets (3 per quadrant, 5 per quadrant if you want to have magnets to hold the lever and the throttle/prop/mixture handle)
  https://ebay.us/m/fuZbeW
• 10k ohm resistors (2 per RP2040)

Firmware

The firmware for the Raspberry Pi Pico can be found in the link below, under the folder "Firmware"
https://github.com/savesabanal01/3S-Throttle-Quadrant

Credits

The throttle, prop and mixture handles were remixed from this 3D model:
https://grabcad.com/library/honeycomb-bravo-throttle-quadrant-2

Basic Assembly Instructions

• Please look at the Throttle_Handle_Assembly.step and the Throttle_Quadrant_Assembly.step files on how they are assembled.
• I have also included a base assembly for 6 quadrants, but feel free to create yours depending on the number of quadrants.
• The magnets have to be oriented in a certain way (please see the detailed build guide).
• Electronic wiring diagrams are in the detailed build guide.

Important Update

The detailed build guide has been uploaded. Please see the file “3S_Throttle_Quadrant_Build_Guide.pdf”