After about my 3rd test dive in very shallow water (not much deeper than 4 meters) I was tidying up some wiring inside the vehicle and putting a vac test on the main electronics pod, only to find it wasn’t holding a vacuum. It seems like the domed front has developed a small crack near the bolt holes. Is the test vacuum to high?
I use the ROV in colder water (north sea) so not sure if temperature makes the dome more brittle? Is it possible to get a replacement dome in case this one was defective? I’ve really not pushed the vehicle depth wise or really done any exploratory dives just showed it off in a harbour while configuring it.
Sorry about your dome! We will ship out a replacement today.
Based on your description, it is probably a manufacturing error on the dome. The depths you are going to and your vacuum test should not have damaged the dome. We have had several of these domes down to ~100 meters with no issue.
Same issue with a dome shipped to me to replace the original which leaked…
Unfortunately, I didn’t inspect the dome closely before installing it, so can’t tell the condition it arrived in. I assume it arrived with no cracks.
However, after installing and attempting to pull a vacuum and failing, I looked at the dome port closely and discovered it is cracked around the bolt holes. When I attached the dome port to the bayonet face, I alternated slowly tightening opposite bolts until the flange of the port was fully seated on the bayonet but tried not to apply too much torque. I used what I felt was an appropriately light amount of torque given that we’re working with plastic.
I wonder if a flat metal ring placed on top of the dome flange and drilled with identical holes to hold the dome in place would ease the concentration of stress around the bolt holes.
