A note about the cheap actuator kits from AliExpress, Alibaba or Taobao. You should be aware of those kits that claim they offer a Thanos controller along with their kit, or sell it individually. We have no authorized resellers of Thanos controllers in China and know that these come with no support for firmware, hardware or warranty from Thanos Motion.
Links and Vendors for Actuators
or Platform Solutions
We develop, manufacture and offer our Motion Controllers to commercial vendors to offer along their actuators. Also, we offer the same solutions to home users to help speed up their DIY builds having one less thing to worry about. You don't have to worry about how to interface the mechanical part of the motion platform to the computer. No need for programming or need to solder or deal with custom wiring etc. The motion controllers we offer are 100% ready for use. Plug in the PC and on the Servo Drives via off the shelve DB25 cables, run the associated software (SimHub-Motion, SRS, Simtools, FlyPT etc) and quickly you are ready for racing laps.
Not everyone's budget is the same, and there are many compatible solutions to go about obtaining or constructing actuators. I'll share a list of these sources and vendors, which I'll maintain up to date periodically. If any link is broken please let me know via the contact form.
Be sure to watch our series building a racing rig in our workshop using eRacing Lab actuator kit:
eRacing-lab
A popular vendor with custom more compact linear actuators that require little assembly. They offer usually actuators with stroke of 150mm (160mm to be accurate) and all metal finish. Plus availability of surge and TL actuators, as well as metal part kits that make it easier to add motion to an existing rig. See more on the eRacing-lab RS-series page: https://eracing-lab.com/collections/rs-series
GEARHEAD RACETEC
Affordable and cutting-edge GRT Motion System as a flagship product, offering a travel of up to 110mm. Plug&play installation thanks to built-in Thanos 4U controller.
Check the website to fulfill your setup with professional simracing equipment.
MOOV
PROFESSIONAL GRADE RACE CAR SIMULATION.
THE CLOSEST YOU’LL GET TO A REAL RACE CAR.
(WHEN YOU’RE NOT IN YOUR REAL RACE CAR).
MOOV ENGINEERS HAVE ACCESS TO A WIDE VARIETY OF REAL-WORLD RACE CARS WHICH WE REFERENCE IN HIGH DETAIL, DIALING IN BOTH HARDWARE DESIGN AS WELL AS IN-DEPTH SOFTWARE SETUPS.
Race@Home
A notable vendor with custom designed Lowrider and Lowslider platforms is Race At Home. They have the lowest platforms to place your 4 actuator rig on top. https://www.raceathome.co.uk/
HN Motion
HN Motion is an Australia-based company specializing in affordable, high-quality motion simulator actuator kits for sim racing and flight simulation. We offer local sales and support, ensuring that our customers receive reliable service and assistance within Australia.
Visit HN Motion for more.
Departed Reality
Its worth mentioning this new venture into DIY Stewart 6DOF platforms, using easy to source material with no welding. They offer plenty of free plans and guides, among their unique products for easy build experience with the right parts. https://departedreality.com/
Simmetrik 6DOF
If you are looking for independent axis 6DOF platform based on SFX100 actuators, here is another no welding solution with detailed plans and parts list. http://www.simmetrik.com/6dof-motion-simulator-platform
Sourcing the Motion controller separately
Many of these actuator vendors are providing the AMC-AASD15A controller along with their kits or actuators, but if you choose you can order it directly from us: https://www.thanos-motion.com/products/thanos-amc-controller-rgb-v1-4/
Or if you want to use a more plug and play version that is easy and integrated with SimRacingStudio motion software, you can get two of the Thanos4U controllers for up to 8 Actuators support: https://www.thanos-motion.com/products/thanos-4-u/
Note: With Simhub motion software now, you can use any combination or multiples of the AMC or the Thanos4U controllers, to be able to add all the axis and even peripherals you need, like Belt tensioners from the Flagghost design or similar that use AASD servomotors.
Both AMC-AASD15A and Thanos4U controller are plug and play to all the actuators on the links above.
Useful links:
- Support files and manual for the AMC-AASD15A controller: https://github.com/tronicgr/AMC-AASD15A-Firmware
- Support files and manual for the Thanos4U controller: https://github.com/tronicgr/Thanos4U-firmware
- Thanos Thingiverse designs for enclosures or other items you could 3D print: https://www.thingiverse.com/tronicgr/designs
- Invitation to join the Thanos Discord server for questions and chat: https://discord.gg/bx4PxYR
- Official Vendor support forum on RaceDepartment with many useful pages of information to go through: https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/thanos-amc-aasd15a-6axis-servo-motion-controller.168360/
Big update regarding Simhub! The Thanos controllers are now supported for motion with Simhub, with reportedly unparallel motion quality. Notably easy to use and setup with lots of cool features, release straight from the early beta version like:
- Multiple controllers or any combination of controllers, like for example using an AMC controller along a Thanos4U controller for extra available actuators…
- Easy assignment of actuators to any desired function or rig type (only racing rigs for now, no Stewart platforms).
- Easy configuration of outputs axis isolating effects or outputs, and ability to control Single or Dual DIY servomotor Belt Tensioner system, along the basic 4 vertical + Surge + 2 TL axis.
More features and more tight integration with the Thanos controller firmware functionality are already available with firmware updates for both AMC and Thanos4U controllers.
You can read a bit more about Simhub motion here.