Nintendo Steering Wheel D4E1

This project involves designing a specialized Nintendo steering wheel that is accessible for individuals with disabilities, ensuring inclusivity and ease of use. While the primary goal is to meet the needs of people with disabilities, the steering wheel is also designed to be fun and engaging for everyone, making it a versatile gaming accessory.

This project was developed as part of a college assignment in collaboration with the Dominiek Savio School, an institution dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities (https://www.dominieksavio.be/).

The People involved in this project were:

Bjork Popelier (popelier.bjork@gmail.com) - Product Designer

Aurian Mathurin (Mathurin.aurian@gmail.com) - Product Designer

Gaurav Saha (sahagaurav18@gmail.com) - Product Designer

Vanessa Baert (baert898@gmail.com) - Occupational Therapists

Sajjal Ishtiaq (Sajjalishtiaq@gmail.com) - Occupational Therapists

Through this project, we aim to combine functionality with universal enjoyment, fostering inclusivity in gaming experiences.

This project has been divided into two parts, first part determines the sizes required for the user and the second part is building the steering wheel using the input form the first part.

Tools Needed:

1. 3D Printer
2. Laser cutter
3. Soldering Iron
4. Drill
5. Screwdriver

Materials Required:

1. Electronics
2. Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) -1
3. Breakout board (optional) -1
4. Arcade Buttons (30mm diameter) - 3
5. Joystick module - 1
6. potentiometer (10K) - 1
7. Others
8. 5mm threaded shaft -1
9. 5mm Lock nuts - 6
10. Plywood - 8mm thickness
11. Wooden Shaft (24mm diameter) (broomstick handle)
12. Base plate (any material) - 18mm thickness
13. 3mm nuts and bolts (16mm) - 9
14. 3mm nuts and bolts (6mm) - 5
15. wood Screws (Short) - 20
16. wood Screws (Long) - 20
17. Double sided tape or hot glue.

For the first part of the project, you can use the files from below to laser cut cardboard in the different sizes of the steering wheel. There are two different steering wheel design options, option 1 is a steering wheel with a holes cutout near the grip for the fingers to pass through and option 2 is the one with no holes near the grips. There are three different options available, small, medium and large. The user can test which size they want by holding the cardboard cutouts. (Tip - you can cutout two or three of the same design and stack them together for added thickness).

After the right size has been determined from the cardboard cutout, you can proceed and laser cut a 8 mm plywood sheet using the same file.

You can now go ahead and print all the parts required. Just like the three size options for the wheel, there's three size options for the grips, small, medium, and Large. Choose the one you want. Attention!!!! The large grips fits only on the steering wheel with the holes cutout for the fingers to pass through. Also some parts need to be printed multiple numbers, such as Grips - 3, Button mount - 3.

You can start by adding the grips. Align the holes and use the M3 16mm nuts and bolts to secure it.

You can now place the printed Button mounts over the holes for the button and mark the place you need to drill. it's not necessary to predrill but if you want you can, just make sure you don't go completely through the plywood. Then you can secure it by using small wood screws.

Now we assemble the joystick module. Place the joystick module in the joystick and secure it with two M3 5mm nuts and bolts. (Tip: you can already solder some wire to the joystick)

You can now place the Joystick assembly over the cross cutout, make sure that the joystick is in the middle of the cross by flipping the wheel. Once certain that the joystick is in the middle, mark the place you need to drill. Make sure you don't go completely through the plywood. Then you can secure it by using small wood screws.

Place the Baseplate shaft connector and align the holes with the holes in the baseplate. Attention !!! : make sure the hole in the Baseplate shaft connector to lock it to the shaft is pointing upwards for easy access.

Now just slide the buttons in from the front and pop them in place.

You can start by cutting a base plate in the size of 20 Cm * 25 Cm. Make sure you use a thick material so that the bigger screws can be screwed into. You can shape the base plate into the shape you want.

You can now drill Holes 13 Cm apart and from the center on one side.

Place the Baseplate Shaft connector over the holes on both sides and screw them in the baseplate.

Add the Tilt Plate in between and put a 5mm threaded shaft through the holes. Mark the length required and cut the threaded shaft (make sure to leave space on both sides for the lock nuts). Place the cut threaded shaft back into the holes and secure it by putting 5mm lock nuts on both sides.

Now take a wooden shaft of 24mm diameter (commonly found in broom sticks) and cut them to a length of 90 mm. Then place the Shaft Rotation Limiter on one end. Drill a hole on the wooden shaft through the existing hole on the Shaft rotation Limiter and secure it by putting a screw through it.

Now put the shaft through the hole in the Tilt Plate. Attention!!! : Make sure the shaft is pointing away from the baseplate and the Notch pointing out in the Tilt plate is the canter of the Shaft Rotation Limiter cutout.

Now Put the Steering Shaft Gear from the front of the shaft and press it down until it touches the Tilt Plate. Attention!!! : Make sure the hole for the screw is pointing down towards the Tilt Plate. Make sure it's tightly pressed down. Drill a hole on the wooden shaft through the existing hole on the Steering Shaft Gear and secure it by putting a screw through it.

Take the 10K potentiometer and solder some wire to it. Then place the potentiometer in the Electronic Housing Base in the place you can see in the image above. Attention!!! : Find the center of the range of motion of the potentiometer and make sure it is pointing straight upwards, and the wires are coming out the left side.

Place the Potentiometer Gear over the shaft of the potentiometer. Attention!!! : Make sure the notch on the gear is in line with the center of the potentiometer and pointing upwards.

Place some double-sided tape on the back of the Electronic Housing Base. Place the Electronic Housing Base below the shaft at the center. Attention!!! : Make sure that the center line of the potentiometer is pointing directly upward. Also make sure the teeth of both the top and bottom gears mesh together.

Now take the Steering wheel assembly, place it over the shaft, and press it down firmly. Attention!!! : Make sure you align the steering wheel to the center line of the Potentiometer.

Drill a hole through the provided hole in the Baseplate shaft connector and secure it by putting a screw through it.

Add the Tilt Plate connector to the provided place at the back of the tilt plate and put a threaded shaft of the right length through the holes and secure it by placing two lock nuts at each end.

Place the Tilt plate adjusters on either side of the Tilt Plate connector and put a threaded shaft through holes somewhere in the center, just to hold it in place temporarily. Now lay them flat to the surface such that the angle of the steering wheel is in the middle position of the maximum and minimum angle the user requires.

Mark the place to drill holes and now you can remove the Tilt Plate connector, drill the holes, and secure them by putting a screw through.

Place the raspberry pi Pico in the Electronic Housing Base with the side for the data cable facing to the right.

Connect the wires from the buttons, joystick, and the potentiometer to the raspberry pi pico as mentioned below. you can wrap all the wires with tape or use a heat shrink if you wanna be fancy.

Button A

Wire 1 - GP6

Wire 2 - GND

Button B

Wire 1 - GP7

Wire 2 - GND

Button S (used to boot the Pico into configuration mode)

Wire 1 - GP17

Wire 2 - GND

Joystick:

Gnd - GND

+5V - 3V3

VRX - GP26

VRY - GP27

Potentiometer:

Gnd - GND

VCC - 3V3

Output - GP27

Put the cover for the electronic box on. Attention!!! : Make sure the shaft of the potentiometer is going through the hole on the top of the cover. Secure it by putting M3 5mm bolts through the holes.

For adding the GP2040-CE software to the Raspberry pi Pico please visit this GitHub page by Glenn De Backer:

https://github.com/glenn-de-backer/pico-switch-controller

It has detailed instructions for the software configuration.

To enter configuration mode, you have to hold down the Button S before plugging into a computer. Then Open your browser and navigate to http://192.168.7.1

In the attached document you can find much more detailed description about software configuration.

There is a possibility that after everything when you plug it into a Nintendo and start playing the car starts driving backwards without any inputs. To correct this, you must enable the Analog Stick 2 X Pin and Analog Stick 2 Y Pin and select them to pins that are not wired to anything. By Doing this the Nintendo will not register any false input.

Also, you might have to invert both the X and Y axis of Analog Stick 1.