Propulsion/Motor Building Directions

Safety Warnings (You can be quizzed on these at any time. Make sure you are familiar with them!)

• Soldering should be performed in a well ventilated area. All soldering stations should be set up on the lab bench closest to the front door and the front door should remain OPEN to ensure good ventilation
• Safety goggles and close-toed shoes are REQUIRED while soldering
• Soldering irons should be kept in their holder at all times when not in use (also, sponge must bet wetted with tap water before being used to clean the iron tip)
• Never hand another person the iron directly. Return in to the holder and let another person get it from there
• The soldering iron should be turned off AND unplugged when not in use.
• Before using a heat gun, get personal training from Mrs. S!

Training Videos

YOU MUST WATCH ALL TRAINING VIDEOS BEFORE BEGINNING THIS TASK.

How to use automatic wire strippers
How to solder 2 wires together
How to waterproof a connection (note: instead of silicon, we will use hot glue under our shrink wrap)

Practice Activities

1. Use the spare wire and practice stripping them! Try different sizes and try stripping different lengths of insulation off. Make sure to throw away any scraps of insulation into the landfill bin and metal wire into the recycling bin.
2. Use practice supplies to learn how to solder 2 wires together and watch the video on how to waterproof them. Directions on how this is done can be found here and work well with the "How to waterproof a connection " training video you watched earlier.
3. That's it! You are ready to work on your actual ROV parts!

Building the Propulsion System

Note: These directions are provided courtesy of MATE. Full pufferfish directions and details can be found here

Time required:	1 hour
Tools needed:	Loctite thread lock, small hex wrench (included in kit), and Phillips screwdriver
Parts required:	PufferFish Motor and Propeller Kit

The propulsion system consists of the motors, propellers, motor couplings and the tether management cross.  The wires from the three motors connect to the bottom end of the tether.  There are three sections to creating the propulsion system, each with its own instructions.  Creating the tether management cross MUST be completed before connecting the motor wires to the tether.  

Attaching Propellers to the Motors

Your PufferFish Motor and Propeller Kit comes with three bilge pump motors, three PVC motor mounts and three propellers with attachments for each.  The propellers need to be secured to the motors at the end of the motor mount.  Loctite (metal glue) will help to secure the propellers onto the motor and keep them from falling off when moving through the water.  To attach your propellers to your motors, follow the instructions found here:

PRESENTATION LINK: PROPULSION SYSTEM:  MOTORS AND PROPELLERS

Note: Here is a video showing it as well

Creating the Tether Management Cross

Not having any strain relief on the bottom side tether can cause problems.  Any tug on the tether will pull directly on solder joints and could cause issues.  Having loose wires on the vehicle side near the might cause issues too.  Loose wires can get pulled into propellers and be damaged, or damage the propellers.   The MATE PVC strain relief allows the wires to be tightened and secured against strain damage.  Using ½-inch PVC allows the strain relief to be incorporated into an ROV frame made from ½-inch PVC pipe.  

Note:  If you are using ½-inch PVC pipe for your frame, take into account the cross in the tether management system.  If you are not using ½-inch PVC pipe, you will still need to take strain relief into account when building your ROV.  To build your strain relief, follow the instructions found here:

PRESENTATION LINK: PROPULSION SYSTEM:  CREATING THE TETHER MANAGEMENT CROSS

Connecting the Tether to the Motors (DO THIS LAST)

The final step in adding your propulsion system to the ROV is to attach your motors to the bottom end of the tether.  Make sure the color combinations you used on the topside of the tether (tether wires going into the control box) match up with your bottom side tether (which color wires go to which motor).  If you use the MATE color scheme (recommended), the red and green wires should go to MTR 1 in the control box and the left horizontal motor on the ROV.  The black and white wires should go to MTR 2 in the control box and the right horizontal motor on the ROV.  The blue and brown wires should go to MTR 3 in the control box and the vertical motor on the ROV.  

Since these wire connections are going underwater, make sure to use hot glue and shrink wrap on every joint to ensure a waterproof seal.  To connect your motors to your tether, follow the instructions found here:

PRESENTATION LINK: PROPULSION SYSTEM:  CONNECTING THE TETHER TO THE MOTORS