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How do I waterproof?

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zamboniman60:
I am making a submarine robot, but how do I stop water from coming in where the propeller joins with the motor (inside the hull)?

Admin:
Very good question. I am currently working on a robot fish so I have very similar problems.

First, go here
http://web.mit.edu/seagrant/edu/seaperch/AdvancedROV/AdvancedROV.html
My gf did this when she was a freshman at MIT, so she told me all about this thing. Click on the thrusters link, it tells you step by step how to do it. However just be aware that motors need cool air to cool down or they will overheat and burnout - sealing a motor in a container would stop this cooling down. So consider some type of heat sinking or just run your motors below the rated voltage.

You may also be interested in this:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Ocean-Engineering/13-49Fall-2004/LectureNotes/index.htm
Its basically theory of robot subs . . .

And lastly, consider buying a tube of PC11 Epoxy Paste - great for making waterproof seals . . .

zamboniman60:
2 more questions:

1. can I run water through tubes around my motor for cooling?

2. how can I modify sonar systems for above-ground use for use underwater?

Admin:
1. You dont need to. Just make heat sinks that wrap around your motor and have good surface area contact with the outercasing - the water your robot is in would cool the outer casing and hence cool your motor. You could also put thermal sensors on your motors and test how much you can run them before they start to overheat.


2.  ???  Hmmmm I am not quite sure how underwater sonar work. Well I understand theory thats simple, but I mean I dont know what the oscillating component is. The circuitry of a land sonar transducer I am sure you can modify for it, but the actual thin film that vibrates to detect and make the sounds I dont think is water proof. Let me know what you find, I am kind of interested too. Considering I make robots for the Navy, I should probably know this . . .  :-\

zamboniman60:
I'm thinking that I'll make a half-sphere out of resin and put the sonar in that, then modify the circuit a bit.

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