ROV parts for NSCC

[Creepy]

Made some parts for the NSCC Design and Innovation Center.

Its a ring to hold a glass dome on an ROV (remote operated vehicle) so it can 'see'. All the cameras would be under the dome. One will weld on, one holds down the dome.

The ROV is to be entered in a NASA design contest in the States. Tasks will be focused on developing technology for capping blown out oil wells.



Neat-o. Much more impressive talk than seeing the part, it was easy.

[Creepy]

Here are some thruster guard mounting brackets for the ROV.

1/8" aluminum, first cuts straight from Hypertherm recommended settings. The plasma table is working really good now, i can just plug in the #'s for new materials without a bunch of toolproving.







Those are .150" holes in 1/8" aluminum. They do need to be chased with a drill to round the bottoms. Tops are excellent.
The flash just comes off with your fingernail.

I got to looking at the drawing a little better, the students didn't smooth out their arcs or something, there are too many points in the drawing on the curves, thats why the edge of the parts isn't smooth rads, you can see a bunch of slow and fast spots instead of a smooth cut. Edge quality could be better by fixing the drawing.

I guess they got the camera dome mounted with the first set of brackets, i wanna see this thing, asked for a pic.

[yotaman]

Hey how are you getting the work from them? Are they comming to you?

[Creepy]

Yeah, my good buddy is an instructor in the NSCC Design and Innovation Center. He runs the CAD/CAM Center. This is a senior class project. (first graduating class in the new building I think)

When they come across stuff that is applicable to the table, he brings me over a coffee and some material and we whip off the parts. I'm doing the work basically for free in hopes of seeing a Creepy sticker on the ROV under a NASA sign in their Neutral Bouyancy Labs. Plus I enjoy the challenge.

And to support the students as well. Its a quite similar course to what I took in university.

Hey..just checked my email...here are some pics of the ROV. Its not finsihed yet, and the thrust guards aren't installed yet.







Needs more zipties! lol

[MudMagnet]

cool, nice to see the first pieces you cut in use now...

[yotaman]

Thats pretty badass man!!

Would be f'in priceless to see a Creepy sticker on it..

[Creepy]

Here is a related article from today's CH........sounds like they are going to the same place. That's not the one I made parts for.


School robotics champs make next stop NASA
Auburn Drive cleans up at regionals with team’s remote operated vehicle
By BILL SPURR Staff Reporter
Sun, May 15 - 4:54 AM

From left, Dimitry Vinogradov, 16, Andrew MacMaster, 16, and Greg Horne, 17, of Auburn Drive High School prepare their remote operated vehicle during the regional ROV Competition at Centennial Pool in Halifax on Saturday. (Ingrid Bulmer / Staff)

Auburn Drive High School students get ready to demonstrate their ROV.(Ingrid Bulmer / Staff)







The members of the Auburn Drive High School robotics team already sound like engineers.

As they briefed the judges on what to expect from them at the annual ROV (remote operated vehicle) competition Saturday, they casually threw around terms like slightly positive buoyancy, wellhead cap release device, central pneumatic piston and linear actuator.

"We’ve learned a staggering amount and created an amazing device," one of them said in a presentation, slightly delayed while one of the team members figured out how to fit the cast on his arm into a suit jacket.

Event organizer Peter Pearl said the Nova Scotia regional ROV competition gives students, especially those that will someday work in "the hard sciences," an opportunity to see real applications for physics and other courses.

As winners of the regional competition, the 10-member Auburn Drive team qualified to compete at an international contest next month at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Houston.

The local ROV competition has been going on for five years.

"It tends to switch back and forth between an industrial theme and a research theme," Pearl, a design engineer, said. "Last year, it was exploration of undersea hydrothermal vents, which we did in Hawaii. The year before that was rescuing a downed submarine on the bottom of the ocean. The whole mission this year is based around the BP oil disaster."

After submerging their robots in the deep end at Centennial Pool, teams had to steer their vehicles through a series of intricate manoeuvres that simulated capping an out-of-control underwater oil well. It’s a bit like the carnival game where you spin two wheels to control the claw that grabs a prize.

Except the students have to perform their task without looking in the water.

"It’s to simulate what an actual ROV pilot would have for information," Pearl said. "If you’re at the end of a one-kilometre tether at the bottom of the ocean, you are not going to be able to see what you’re doing by looking over the side."

Instead, cameras mounted on the robot fed images to monitors on the pool deck.

Joe Ellsmere and Jacob Starratt were the Auburn Drive ROV pilots.

"It’s the hardest video game ever made," Joe said afterward. "At the beginning, it’s very tense because going down all you can do is sit and watch as it goes deeper and deeper. We’ve been working all year on this robot, so it’s great to see it finally in the water and working."

Each member of the team has put in at least 300 hours on the project since October, including 6 a.m. practices at Cole Harbour Place or in the frigid water of an outdoor pool. All that preparation stood them in good stead when their digital electrical system and onboard computer shorted out shortly before the competition.

"We actually had a very advanced control system that failed on us three days ago, so this is our backup plan," said Jacob. "We designed and created an entire new system the past couple of days."

What was that like?

"Tense. Stressful. Tiring."

Jacob and Joe are the only members of the Auburn Drive team in Grade 12, and, obviously, "remote operated vehicle pilot" looks good on a university application. Both will study engineering at Dalhousie next year.

"We actually plan to come back and be mentors for our school’s team next year and hope to be on Dal’s team," said Joe.

[coolwind1]

I do alot of work at the nscc, what would your buddies name be?

[Heavy D]

I was NSCC this week on a tour. I was in the lab where they had the 3D Colour Plotter. They used the ROV propeller issue to explain how the equipment was used to prototype different props to enhance efficiency. Real cool. I wish I had that access to the equipment to build stuff.

Nice ROV. Good luck

[Creepy]

May 15, 2011 20:19:27 GMT -4 coolwind1 said:

I do alot of work at the nscc, what would your buddies name be?

Darrell Leudey.