Summer 2022: Mechanical

Mechanical focused on the physical build of the project. As well as improving on old design iterations, we came up with the designs for a buoyancy control system, battery tube racks, end cap retainers, a braking system, and a frame.

This summer, we started off with a rough, not-yet-functioning prototype. The robot was unable to sink, sat horizontally on the water, and could not be communicated with once submerged.

Because we had decided against ordering all the batteries planned to be included in the design, we bought placeholder weights and constructed racks to hold them. These were placed inside of the battery tubes. Once this was done, the robot was able to sink. We then added a buoyancy control system, constructed of a combination of fixed buoyancy foam and adjustable weights. Weights can be attached and removed to calibrate overall buoyancy.

We had issues with the contents of the battery tubes pushing the end caps off and falling out of the tubes. To counter this, we threaded rods into the battery racks and attached them to the upper end cap, then put tube retainers on the bottom end caps. In order to save energy, we wanted a way to have the robot grip onto the rope and “brake”, thereby conserving energy that would otherwise be used for hovering in place. A hydraulic brake was designed for this purpose.

Holding all of this together is a frame constructed from 80/20 aluminum stock. The first iteration of the robot had no solid frame. Adding this greatly increased the structural integrity of the profiler.