Laser cutting files for F16 SimPit, panels accurate as of 2.9 DCS release (late 2023), not all panels are available yet I am still working on the rest as I build my SimPit.
The reference images are owned and graciously allowed for use in these designs by xflight.de, the copyright of these images remain solely that of xflight.de and should not be used for any other purposes without their explicit permission.
Everything else excluded the xflight.de reference images is my own work, and is totally free for you to use.
# LtShifty_F16_SimPit
Here are my design files for my F16 SimPit. These are only for the electronics panels, the frame for the Pit was purchased from Tejay, please contact me and I will happily forward his details to you.
They are provided free of charge strictly for non-commercial use, if you would like to use these for a commercial venture please get in touch and we can discuss.
All reference images are kindly provided with permission by
https://xflight.de, all copright of these images remain solely that of xflight.de.
All designs are saved in SVG format, and I highly recommend using Inkscape to modify them. As of writing these are still work in progress, I will update and upload files as and when I progress on my personal SimPit.
Any questions please feel free to ask, you can contact me at
ltshifty@outlook.com or find me in the Facebook Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dcsworldsimpits/ as James Seddon.
(This readme will be expanded in the near future)
You will need to use Inkscape to open the files, it's totally free to use and can be downloaded here:
https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-1.3.1/
Some notes about my designs:
- Are they 100% accurate to the real panels?
- They absolutely look the part, however they are not exact dimensions. There is nothing to stop you modifying them to your suiting though.
- Are the bolt holes spaced to the milspec standard?
- No they are not, they are entirely Mk.1 Eyballed
- They are also for M4 bolts, not DeZues fastners although there is no reason you could not implement this yourself
- If you do that, and would like to contribute to this OpenSource project, please send over the files and I will add them to this repo :)
- Are they up to date with DCS?
- Yes, although I used reference images from xflight.de to get the general layout of the panels I heavily relied on screenshots from DCS to update the writing and switch placements as per the 2.9 release of DCS. Although much hasn't changed since Martin developed his panels on xflight.de, there are a few.
- How do I light these?
- I have placed LED holes on all of the panels, you can use 5mm LED's (flat top works best) or you can use LED Strips and just string 3 or 4 of them under the panels (a single 5m strip is enough to do an entire console, looping back and forth). If you use LED's then I suggest painting the back of the panels as well to cut down light bleed in to your pit, if you are using LED Strips then leave the back of the panels un-painted.
- What do I need to make these?
- A laser cutter (K40 are cheap and easy to use) or a CNC Router, these files were designed specifically for a K40 laser though using the K40 Whisperer software
- Acrylic: You will neeed (ideally) 3mm Clear, 3mm Opal (Aka Opaque), 3mm Pure White. If you can try get cast acrylic as it cuts slightly better in a laser, but it really isn't that important and won't make any real difference.
- Sand paper: Handy if your laser doesn't quite cut a perfect edge
- Paint: Matt Black Spray Paint, I used "Hycote" brand but you can pretty much use anything that is decent. Before you begin spraying real panels, I suggest doing a few test panels and try a few different paints and ensure your laser engraves it fine.
- Components: These are the bulk of components I am using, and what these files are designed around:
- Square/Round/Rectangle push button switches:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33063366557.html
- LEDs: 5mm flat top:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005372178034.html
- 6 Digit 7 Segment display:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001464056638.html
- 4 Digit 7 Segment display:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005763005932.html
- 5KOhm Potentiometer:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003390403815.html
- 8 Position switch:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004028368443.html
- On-Off/On-Off-On switches:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32993085885.html
- When will the rest of the files be ready?
- As and when I have time to work on my simpit, probably by the end of this year (2024)
