How we made our F16 ICP-LT: video

In this video Andrea Cerrone (CEO) shows you the various components of the ICP and explains the production processes used. Enjoy watching!

TRANSCRIPTION

Good morning, guys!
My name is Andrea Cerrone, I’m the owner at Plexismart and we started the project of Simgears less than 1 year ago.
Our first device is a simple USB device that works on any platform that uses Windows.
It’s mostly used on BMS and DCS F16 simulator.

We made the ICP trying to go very close to the real size of it and another thing for us was to try to keep a little bit lower the price trying to do a very close to real replica of the ICP.

So, the ICP is made of a backplate and a frontplate.
The backplate is made with some parts of 3D printing and other things from the thumbwheel that come from a CNC routing machine.
Inside the thumbwheel we have a very small potentiometer and we have also a very easy system to put all together.
The bearing ball helps everything to move correctly and the spin of the system is of 305 degrees: very close to the real one.
Then, on it, we have also the switches and it’s all then fixed on a stand that you can easily remove, with 4 screws, and you can add on you simulator.

The frontplate is made always in plexiglass, made always with the same process.
We have a first step where we have the 10 millimeters thickness material, that is composed by a transparent and white surface where we’re gonna glue, later on, the top part.
We have some brass inserts that will keep sturdy the screws and then we have another step that is done by sanding, glueing and painting.
After that we’ll have a laser etching part to let the numbers and the letters come out, and it will help when you’re gonna light-up the system.

The backplate is always a 3D printing.
We have a silicone part inside that will help to have a very good feeling for the keys, and the keys made with the same process. This is the final result.

So, we have a stand, we have the ICP: the frontplate that is tied-up with the backplate.
We’ve got all the thumbwheels that work correctly, we have the switches that will be on stable or momentary position, we’ve got the 4 ways switch and all you need to have a good simulation.
All the cables in the back are tied together.
You can always change one piece when it breaks or when it looses the good feeling, but all the things used are of a very good quality, so they will last for a long time.

On the next video we are going to show you how to plug-in the system and how to program with DCS or BMS flight simulators.
Thank you for now, ciao ciao!