VKB Gladiator Complete Omnithrottle (with twist axis)

This is an omnithrottle that includes the twist axis, avoiding the extra footprint of the oem straight shaft. It uses two spring arms and one of the extra centering springs to center the twist axis.

You will need... An 8x1mm magnet. (Axial, not diametrical, so don't take the one from the straight shaft) An extended cable

You will print: 1 Omnithrottle, Left or Right -- mirroring won't work 1 Housing or +10° housing, which will rotate the stick forward 10 degrees. Mirror for Right. 1 each: Tongue, Nut, Magnet Holder 2 spring arms, with support -- do not mirror them, you'll flip one over to put on the other. 1 spring cover, with support 3 washers 1 wrench (if desired)

Print Settings

Printer:

Anycubic i3 Mega S and Bambu Labs P1S

Rafts:

No

Supports:

Yes

Filament: VARIOUS PLA

Notes:

Use supports on the spring arms and spring cover only. The other parts have built in supports to avoid difficult-to-remove generated supports, but versions without supports are available.

Post-Printing

Remove included supports. Additional trimming may be required during assembly.

Insert tongue into housing and magnet into magnet holder

Assemble the twist axis

Stack a washer (round side up) a spring arm, a flipped spring arm, and a washer (round side down).
Then slide on the housing, lining up the cable opening to the one on the shaft. The tongue should fit between the lobes on the back of the spring arms.
Place another washer (round side up) and thread on the nut. Insert the magnet holder with the hex on top.
Install the spring on the two exposed arms and snap the spring cover on.

Thread your cable up through from the bottom. There are two holes to insert a piece of filament to encourage the cable along until it is visible through the hole in the shaft.

The housing should fit into the joystick without forcing it. More trimming may be needed. Use the oem screws to secure it. Attach the cable.

Connect the joystick to the computer. To avoid having to recalibrate the joystick when switching back to the straight stick, use the included wrench to adjust the magnet angle until it centers at zero.

How I Designed This

Snatching success from the jaws of failure

I found when I printed the other omnithrottle adapter (also posted at thingiverse) I still wanted a straight stick for combat. So I had this idea for an omnithrottle/straight stick that could be switched on the fly by pulling a spring pin and pressing a button to change modes in Joystick Gremlin. To make that work (and not have the stick be 10 ft tall) I had to design a twist axis to include in the design. You can see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KVSEda6KRo

That hot-switchable design is wobbly and prone to breakage, but I was able to use the twist axis in this design, so it wasn't a complete loss!

Category: Video Games