Innovative ideas to control costs

Build
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Looks like you’re making some decent progress on this - thanks for sharing! :slight_smile:

I’m keen to see how this performs when you get to testing it.

The main areas for potential improvement I see at the moment are

  • the aluminium end cap is likely overkill
    • it may be replaceable with a plastic material that’s cheaper, and more strongly chemically bondable to the PVC (epoxy to aluminium bonds aren’t always great at pressure sealing), although that may increase the risk of the electronics overheating
  • the hold-down mechanism seems a bit complicated and fiddly
    • it may be possible to have a friction fit between the flange and the tube, although that requires tighter tolerances (which could maybe be handled by adding some tape inside the tube, although that would then be a consumable that requires regular checking and maintenance)
    • a pressure relief valve could be used with a backfill adapter to add a bit of vacuum pressure, which would be a simple and effective solution but slightly reduces the depth capacity, and may be a bit expensive for something with a low cost target
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Now that my new ROS project (BlueSub-1) is operational ( Low cost BlueSub1 project - Build / DIY ROVs - Blue Robotics Community Forums) I thought I would point out components that significantly reduced costs but maintained operational requirements and reasonable quality.

WTE: 4" PVC pipe, PVC inside connector, aluminum cap plate, 3/16" O-ring, simple strongback, and BR dome cap. About $70. I firmly believe this will go to 100 feet, or more.
Tether: 100 ft Cat5E stranded cable with 3/4" foam balls for flotation. $40.
Thrusters: SeaFlow 750GPH bilge pumps. $18 x 4.
Everything else is off-the-shelf from readily available sources. Total cost came to about$600.

By only using the ROS in fresh water and limiting depth to around 50 feet, I expect a summer of fun exploring Kansas and Missouri lakes. The biggest problem will be finding decent visibility. Summer algae is always a problem. Feel free to ask for other component details.

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