Engineered for the Track: High-Fidelity Motion Control in Racing Simulators

Replicating the intense physical forces of a race track demands actuators capable of violently pitching, heaving, and yawing heavy payloads without hesitation. Sigma Integrale engineers premium motion systems for professional and enthusiast vehicle simulators. To deliver an immersive driving experience, their machines must very quickly translate digital race scenes and car input into a physical response. Achieving this requires motion control components that offer high torque and deterministic positional control within a highly constrained physical footprint.

Traditional setups often require large external control cabinets to manage the power and logic needed for multi-axis motion. Peter Sosinski, CEO of Sigma Integrale, sought a different approach to keep their consumer and commercial rig offerings sleek. To achieve this, the company utilizes Teknic’s ClearPath-SD servo motors.

"I always tell people there really isn't anything like Teknic out there," Peter notes. "Physically, in the package that it is, with its size, which allows our system to be pretty compact and very small."

The ClearPath-SD line replaces traditional stepper and servo components by integrating a high-performance brushless servo motor, high-resolution encoder, and drive electronics into a single unit. This consolidation allows Sigma Integrale to fit their entire controller, including the power supply, into a localized 8.5 by 11 by 3.5-inch enclosure, bypassing the need for bulky master and slave cabinets.

Managing the kinetic energy of these rigs presents a significant electrical challenge. The actuators move substantial mass, often maintaining a linear speed of over 8 inches per second. Aggressively decelerating these large inertial loads causes the spinning motors to act like generators, sending current back into the power source.

While standard switching power supplies often shut down or operate erratically under these conditions, Sigma Integrale manages the energy effectively across two different machine classes. For their standard DK models operating on a 75 VDC architecture, the simulators use Teknic's IPC-5 power supply. The IPC-5 losslessly stores regenerated energy for the next acceleration phase or safely dissipates the excess, eliminating over-voltage shutdowns and the need for external regeneration controls.

For their high-payload commercial DK-X rigs—which handle upwards of 1,200 pounds—the company scales up to Teknic’s D100-frame size ClearPath motors running on 240 VAC. Because decelerating these large payloads generates significant reverse current, the AC motors rely on ClearPath's patented Vector Regen Shunt (VRS) feature alongside an external RES-225. The RES-225 (Regenerated Energy Shunt) detects and channels excess energy beyond what the internal VRS can handle into a large power resistor, where it is safely dissipated to protect the drive.

Reflecting on this scalable capability, Peter says, "We definitely have a mechanical advantage and an electrical advantage, thanks to Teknic."

To ensure this sophisticated simulation hardware operates flawlessly in the field, the development process relies on rigorous bench testing of every unit before deployment. Engineers connect directly to the ClearPath motors via a standard USB cable to access real-time oscilloscope data.

ClearPath’s MSP (Motor Setup Program) provides visual diagnostic tools that let the team monitor torque, velocity, and positional error without complex programming. This streamlines production and field troubleshooting.

"That vertical integration you guys have with software, hardware, and electrical really helps us out," Peter explains.

Sigma Integrale favors a vendor relationship that mirrors their own engineering principles, prioritizing transparent specifications and reliable execution over inflated claims. In an industry where competitors often exaggerate performance metrics, finding a partner that consistently delivers on its technical promises is highly valued by the design team.

"We speak about Teknic products with great pride," Peter notes, reflecting on the advantages of utilizing a highly competitive, US-manufactured component. "We love the fact that Teknic is engineering-focused and doesn’t make up stats or marketing half-truths. If you just focus on the product, I think you're focusing on the customer."