Week 30

This week was actually two weeks, as we also spent april vacation in the shop. During this time we got the float to finally reliably profile (ish). It is not entirely air tight causing the top to pop of after sitting for awhile at vaccum and then profiling. This is because the vaccum is lost, which then when profiled induces positive preasure, which the float is not designed to handle. For the time being we fixed this issue by being more mindful of this, and removing the stopper when it sits for long periods of time forcing us to redo the vaccum, and also by wrapping the intersection of the top cap and tube in electrical tape. This is purely to hold it on, not as a airproofing measure. As for the leak itself, I blame the antenna as it is an interesting mounting method to say the least. To fix this in the long term, I will probably end up just potting it with epoxy.

Having the float be reliable, has allowed me to take on more general tasks, like creating new manipulators. The main one for this week was the pooper scooper. Essentially a dust pan, it allows us to pick up rocks from the pool floor. With this I took my first crack at sheet metal contruction. This is basically cutting out a 2D shape, and then bending it, to make a 3D part. I have been meaning to take a shot at this for a while now, so it was nice to finally try it out. It went surprisingly well, and all of the bolt holes lined up. I will sand blast and paint it once the air compressor is up and running again.

After I finished that, I started to work on a system that allows us to interface with the existing manipulator hardware, but also allows for increased pulling force. I want to do this by introducing a pin into the mechanism, that will work with the magnet to keep everything on the ROV. This will exclusively work with the broom holder manipulator for now, but also allow us increased options in the future. Sticking a metal pin through it would be easy enough on its own but making sure it doesn’t fall out in the water is also crucial to its ability to function correctly. Therefore I’m making a custom pin, that utilizes a compliant design on the end, which will ensure that it doesn’t fall out accidentally, but also facilitates easy installation and removal for opperations during the competition.