Thursday, April 21, 2005
5 J's plus T+R
Today was the trip to Lompoc for the ROV lab. I stayed at the MDT and worked on a lens setup for the nose of our ROV. I sandwiched a plexiglass port between two sheet metal rings and bolted them together with a heavy layer of marine goop. The end result will work but looks hideous.
I consulted with Jason Patterson and he found a source for clear PVC. I never heard of that before and it sounds like a good option for the nose as an endcap that is clear for the 4inch PVC tube would be more sufficient, cleaner looking, and have a zero chance of leaking. The end cap costs about $30.00. I do not know if we have any money left. I think we are maxed.
The frame has taken a slightly different shape as the construction takes place.
The team still seems set on fiberglassing the unit together with sintactic foam in the center. ( Jakai was able to secure a donation from dive con.) I personally think that foam would be far to bouyant for a lcrov, and that fiberglass would be counter productive to changing the use of the ROV later or fixing any parts immersed in solid fiberglass. The design we have now has a large amount of positive displacement. The foam added will mean we will have to add a solid lead keel on the bottom to keep things balanced. Jon thinks we can add lead to the inside of the pvc tube under the wiring. I think the addition of lead to close to the center will tend to make the lcrov spin under thrust and be unstable.
We will see how the project changes next! How's the blog looking Don?
I consulted with Jason Patterson and he found a source for clear PVC. I never heard of that before and it sounds like a good option for the nose as an endcap that is clear for the 4inch PVC tube would be more sufficient, cleaner looking, and have a zero chance of leaking. The end cap costs about $30.00. I do not know if we have any money left. I think we are maxed.
The frame has taken a slightly different shape as the construction takes place.
The team still seems set on fiberglassing the unit together with sintactic foam in the center. ( Jakai was able to secure a donation from dive con.) I personally think that foam would be far to bouyant for a lcrov, and that fiberglass would be counter productive to changing the use of the ROV later or fixing any parts immersed in solid fiberglass. The design we have now has a large amount of positive displacement. The foam added will mean we will have to add a solid lead keel on the bottom to keep things balanced. Jon thinks we can add lead to the inside of the pvc tube under the wiring. I think the addition of lead to close to the center will tend to make the lcrov spin under thrust and be unstable.
We will see how the project changes next! How's the blog looking Don?
// posted by Jason Smith @ 8:48 PM 
