New project...

[ssrc30]

This is the start of the rov I'm working on. It's one of the 2 "landing" skids that will go on the bottom of the hull to keep my gear from being damaged. It will also allow me to land on the lake bed and remain stationary while using my manipulator for sampling water and soil. The entire rov will be made from 1/2" pvc with a pair of 2" air filled tunes for buoyancy. I haven't decided if I am going to put 2 more skids on the top of the rov and kind of make it a bit of a roll cage design. I likely wont.

Any advice on the best way to build a camera housing would be welcome. I was thinking a 4" test pipe with screw fitting on the top and a dome on front. Not sure how I'd seal that to reach my target depth though. The pvc hull is rated for 600 psi so I'm not worried about that as much.

Thanks




Steve

[KR2_Diving]

That's one small step for man...

Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of the direction you are heading! Here are a few hints / tips I have picked up from the forum on using PVC for the frame:
1.) If you plan on sealing it, be sure to account for the buoyancy.
2.) If sealing, and If ANY water works its way into your frame while on the dive, you may find suddenly that you have a motorized boat anchor! A flooded frame will add quite a bit of weight!
3.) If you do not plan on keeping the frame sealed, be sure you drill plenty of holes for quick and adequate drainage.

Looks good! Keep us posted!

Ryan
"KR2_Diving"

[ssrc30]

That's one thing I haven't come to a decision on yet. In my head I have this idea that I will do a flawless job of sealing it. Reality is often quite different lol... Should I decide to drill into the PVC, will the pipe be weakened to the point that it will need reinforcing in other areas? For now I am just dry fitting everything together to get the fit right. Once that is done, I will start cementing everything together. Tomorrow I will finish fitting the skids and the lower frame then possibly start the top section, if time allows and my plae cools off enough.

[ssrc30]

Got the basic outline of the lower hull done this morning. There are still some changes that need to be made to it (a few extra Tee's that have to be put in place) to reinforce the skids and sides of the frame. I will also trim the pipe ends to make them fit better as they are bowing in the middle. It is quite a bit larger than I thought it would be. May cut a couple inches off the ends to make it more compact. Pretty sure I can park my SUV on it at the moment.

[KR2_Diving]

Should I decide to drill into the PVC, will the pipe be weakened to the point that it will need reinforcing in other areas?

No. IN the experience I have had, drilling a bunch of small holes in line works pretty well. Obviously, you don't want to make Swiss cheese out of it... but enough holes for adequate drainage should be enough.

If you want to test your frame and sealing job first... take it to the pool, tie a few bricks to it... and throw it in. Let it soak for a as long as you think necessary, and pull it out. Give it a shake... any water inside?

Just my 2 cents on the topic!

P.S. Like the idea! The 45deg fittings, though subtle, ad a nice design quality to the frame!

[ssrc30]

Ok I will give that a shot then and see how things go. I added the 45 degree ends just so I wouldn't have a 90 degree edge there to catch on things. I think I will shorten the frame by an inch or 2. It just seems to be bigger than it needs to be for what I plan to do with it. Not sure the motor combination I have chosen would work very well with such a big frame either. It's going to run on 4 800kv outrunners. 2 forward/reverse, 1 vertical and one lateral thruster. Still not sure of the props I will get but I have been told the 50mm Robbe propellers work well. Either way, I will deal with that when the time comes.

[ssrc30]

Progress report...

Managed to narrow the frame by 3 inches on each end. As you can see, it is considerably smaller than it was before. I also made supports for the sides to reinforce the skids and main frame area. Was forced to make my own Tee clips as they aren't available in my city. Easy enough, just a few minutes with a rotary tool and some sand paper and they are done. Since I had the frame apart, I also took the time to adjust the fitting of some of the connections and make them fit a lot better than they did before.

ROV building has, so far, proven to be A LOT easier than I originally thought it was. At this point in time, I haven't even used a tape measure or ruler. Just a hacksaw and rotary tool and a little sand paper.

For anyone looking for a cheap, awesome, rotary tool...

If you have a Princess Auto, or another similar place, that sells Power Fist tools, pick up one of their rotary tools. This thing outperforms my Dremel by miles.

[ssrc30]

So, I have started looking at lighting for my ROV. I have yet to decide whether I will go with Halogen, or LED, lights. Likely I will end up with LED. Saw these 2 different halogen connectors today and I am just wondering if I could wire them the same way, or if they require a different method?

[fryslan76]

On the lamps there should be a code for the connection something like G10, try to find the specs of that on the internet. Most of them are 12V maybe just different amps.

[ssrc30]

I ended up going with the GU5.3 type Halogen bulbs. The photo is the setup I will use for potting the lights. Each mount will carry 2 halogens and there will be 4 lights for the time being. The test cap will allow easy access and also allow multiple mounting options, depending on what the mission demands. it's all trial and error so we will see how it works. I've since decided to keep my rov looking the way it is now. I will modify it, if I need to, later on.

Apparently I can't upload from this phone anymore so I will upload the photo when I get home.