DIY ffb steering wheel, stepper motor driver?

Tanya42

Hi,

I am thinking of building a direct drive FFB steering wheel like the OSW one, but I have a limited budget. The OSW uses servo motors and the total manufacturing cost is about 1,000 euros. So to keep the price down, I am looking into steppers, which are also used in the AccuForce direct drive steering wheel, so in theory it should be possible.

I found a controller that converts the game's ffb output over USB into a PWM signal (in German though): https://www.forum.virtualracing.org/showthread.php/92420-DIY-USB-Force-Feedback-Controller

I'd like to use this controller to power a stepper motor like this: https://www.oyostepper.com/goods-104-Nema-34-CNC-High-Torque-Stepper-Motor-13Nm-1841ozin-5A-86x86x150mm.html

The missing link here (besides the encoders that send the wheel position to the PC) is the stepper driver, which I know nothing about. I'd like to know what to look out for in a stepper driver besides the correct amp/voltage rating for the motor used. For example, the creator of the FFB controller told me that the stepper driver might need a "torque mode" to work (though I couldn't find much about that either).

If you're not familiar with FFB steering; the game determines the torque output based on what's happening in the game and the position of the steering wheel, basically simulating what you'd feel through the steering wheel in a real car.

I hope this is the correct forum category to post this in and that the link is correct.