March 12, 2012

Uploaded a few documents from the weekend onto the blog for peers to visit upon their own time. Also took note of how we're going to mount weight onto the ROV to compensate for too much buoyancy. We're planning on using 1 inch steel pipe mounted perpendicular to the bottom to obtain neutral buoyancy.

March 9, 2012

Major blog updates were conducted and all logs were imported for evaluation and grading. The other subdivisions of the blog will be updated in this upcoming weekend hopefully .

March 8, 2012

Self-Design and Evaluation report was worked on in class and all equipment was unloaded from my car back into the Systems Engineering shop. The report is an analysis at construction throughout the marking period and reflection (with opinion) that is submitted concerning personal grade that is submitted to the instructors for evaluation.

March 7, 2012

Today we left the academy early to depart to the Neptune Aquatic Center to conduct some more testing. After approximately 12 Pounds of BB's (Deadweight) we determined that we need a lot more weight and that some external weight should be mounted on the project enclosure in addition to the ROV. We're very close to neutral buoyancy and we'll be able to fine tune that this weekend possibly at the NYSC or the YMCA locally.

March 6, 2012

Everything was mounted onto the ROV with less problems this time, and there were enough BBs in the assembly to allow the unit to sink. After consulting with my team, we came to the conclusion we may be able to use the unit to see how much

March 5, 2012

Wires on the side of the ROV Unit were cleaned up. The leads were added with flux, tinned, and then soldered together. Then heatshrink tubing was used to insulate the wires to ensure there were no shorts conducted underwater. These wires were then zip-tied down to the assembly and mounted toward the back for when we reinstall the underwater electronics unit. Everybody is preparing for the test coming up quickly on March 7, 2012.

March 2, 2012

There seems to be a defection on my board that I had from Colorado. Their items are on backorder, so I spoke to a company in Vermont and they should be able to conduct a swap of products for me. Both companies were very reliable. I had to call them and place the orders throughout the class period.

March 1, 2012

I got some Copperhead brand BBs, which are used in airsoft guns. They are packaged in 6 pound bottles and there are 6,000 of them which allows for a lot of fine tuning to be conducted. We found the approximate weight that we need to hold down the unit underwater (Neutrally buoyant)

February 29, 2012

The Underwater unit provides a lot of buoyancy. In the test in the small scale pool, the unit had to be held down by 1 and a half United States Standard Bricks. It seems to provide a buoyancy of approximately 6 Pounds. There will have to be a lot of deadweight installed onto the unit to make sure we can neutralize it for the least amount of  impact on the vehicle during time of testing.

February 28, 2012

The JB Weld was reapplied in the correct mention and was left to dry until the next class to test it in the water and make sure everything is waterproof and there are still no internal flaws or errors.

February 27, 2012

The team met up again today in class and attempted to mount the assembly on the ROV and we encountered a problem. The JB Weld seal broke, so we consulted our shop technician and he told us that the surface was too smooth to create a good-enough grip. To fix it, we should sand the surface down, to create a more tactile connection between the two pieces. The logic makes sense, but we need another day to prepare, conduct, and have the unit dry. Sadly we are testing today, and it is inconvenient that the unit cannot be installed on the ROV for the time of testing; it would have been nice to see it’s affects on the ROV. We’ll have to have it all prepared and working in another test before the next one is conducted in front of the professors on March 7^th.

February 24, 2012

We used a T-Joint and JB Welded it to the bottom of the Underwater unit assembly to ensure it stays. We did a bead of weld on the rim, on the outside, and when that dries, hopefully on the 24 -> 27 Weekend, I will add another bead on the inside to ensure it stays well. The assembly was installed in clamps to dry with a good seal.

February 23, 2012

The Aquarium sealant was placed on the underwater enclosure and the two wires (Tether and Camera) were mounted and secured for drying. A second coating will be placed on the unit to ensure the seal is workable and that there are no holes on the construction.

February 22, 2012

The Underwater Enclosure which is the box in which the electronics will be mounted on the underwater unit was purchased and holes were drilled in the side of the unit and measure with the caliper against the wires for professional fittings. After the wires fit, we sanded down the edges, and stripped the wires and calculated the amount of slack we should leave to work with in the project at a later date.

February 21 2012

Long (4-Day weekend) was very busy, but I picked up some materials at the hardware store to determine which would best fit our use with the project and which would perform the best in the situations and conditions that we have available to us during the testing phase. A few quick samples were made on a block of wood and tested and we determined the silicone aquarium sealant appears to be the best when tested in the shop.

February 16, 2012

We used a 3/8" Threaded rod that we cut new holes in the vertical cross beam to mount in. We used lock washers and threaded rod nuts to mount the assembly firmly to the housing. This provides a cantilevered edge for the camera to be mounted on slightly off center which isn't very noticeable and gives the team the ability to adjust the angle if need be which is a major asset to the groups construction and versatility. 

February 15, 2012

Assembly is complete and the unit is tested and a waterproof seal is there. The hardware was assembled overnight and testing was conducted in class. Results were documented for upload to the blog at a later date. Mounting equipment was also brought up in a group discussion and a potential solution was found we may put into action tomorrow, the 16th.

February 14, 2012

Another piece of PVC was installed around the PVC, and new gaskets were made so that the original PVC piece is more centered around the bolts. This should more evenly distribute the torque around the assembly and make a better seal and end with cleaner construction. The gaskets also have 2 seals on the inside and on the outside edge of the PVC which ensures a waterproof seal more than a single seal around an edge. The construction of the camera is nearing the end.

February 13, 2012

Camera unit needs more stability because the acrylic is warping and the assembly is torquing biting into the acrylic and is putting the waterproof seal at risk. The assembly is taken apart, and I consulted my team members and other class units for potential fixes to this problem.

February 10, 2012

Another acrylic disc was made, sanded down, design laid out across it, and the holes were drilled out, sanded, touched up, and cleaned up for installation on the unit this weekend. We also came to the consensus that stainless steel clean bolts were better than galvanized coated bolts. It seemed that the galvanized bolts were meant for outdoor construction assembly and had the coating dipped in so it ran to a single end and was slightly warped which may have caused the initial cracking in the enclosure.

February 9, 2012

The assembly cracked (the Acrylic) on one side when tightening down the bolts and a replacement has to be made, but until the unit cracked, it does look like the unit maintained it's waterproof-ability. Parts were planned out to be corrected hopefully tomorrow to be worked on over the weekend.

February 8, 2012

I was recommended gasket material at Home Depot and I cut out the pieces to fit the PVC Assembly, and it seems to create a waterproof seal. The assembly is questionable, so I will conduct testing without the camera in place. This also takes out the possibility for leakage with the holes drilled out for the camera wires.

February 7, 2012

Had difficulties trying to instal the 1" O-Rings available at Home depot onto the installation and tightening down the bolts. The assembly keeps shifting the O-Ring, and I consulted a few classmates for a possible revision or suggestions towards a better design.

February 6, 2012

Created 8 quarter inch circles arrayed around a single focal point to create central points for drilling. I drilled out the sixteen holes on each side of the project enclosure of the camera and cleaned up the insulation with a dremel and cleaned up the holes slightly wider than each of the bolts so they don't torque when being tightened.

February 3, 2012

Cut out some segments of PVC Pipe at 1.25" And sanded down the edges in order to instal between the PVC Pipe. Measured everything up and created a way to mount the camera in the enclosure without sliding or rotating within the tube.

February 2, 2012

Using the Drill press and using a 3" Hole Saw without the mandrel on the inside of the bit, we cut out the hole for the front and back lens of the camera enclosure. I sanded down the edges and cleaned up the design a bit.

February 1, 2012

Brought in the materials (acrylic) and created templates on AutoCAD for the diskettes to be cut out tomorrow in class.

January 24 - 27, 2012

Midterm Examinations are being conducted throughout this academic school week (Tuesday through Friday.) All construction and work has been temporarily halted until their completion. STEMM Report (which will be graded as our Midterm Examination has been uploaded to the blog in correspondence with the rubric requirements.)

January 23, 2012

Due to the availability of parts, a crucial change had to be made to the USB port on the Left Face of the controller box because the right angle substitute would not be in stock, despite Amazon's claims. Instead, the Arduino Microcontroller will be oriented closer to the left wall and utilizing the existing ports on the board, as opposed to creating new ones as originally planned.

January 17 - 20, 2012

Formal Progress Update Presentations are being conducted in the Tech Studio for instructor and peer evaluation.

January 13, 2012

Submitted Formal Progress Update Presentation Outline for grading and started laying out the orientation for the hinges to be installed on the top face and the back plate for future construction work.

January 12, 2012

Pictures of the current construction were taken and uploaded to the blog in preparation for the Formal Progress Updates being conducted on January 17 - 20, 2012

January 11, 2012

Tests all leads with the volt meter for continuity. Tested the equipment in the lab for live video feedback and to test the circuit connection. Untangled the wires and reworked some of the wire configuration to be more compact and efficient as far as space is concerned.

January 10, 2012

Soldered Leads onto the Back Panel pieces including: Yellow and White Composite connectors as well as the "Type J" Power connector for the on board power. Lastly, these connections were placed in a wood clamp and epoxied for a professional connection to be worked with in the lab tomorrow, January 11, 2012.

January 9, 2012

The group looked over the new challenge issued by Marine Advanced Technology Education committee and considered its adaptability to our current structure and configuration. After much discussion, we were enlightened that it was possible, but due to it's change, it would take a long amount of time and lots of additional paper work to ensure the same cohesiveness between the two different projects.

January 6, 2012

Used dremel to sand out some tight points on the acrylic. The Drill  bits used during the construction phase were rounded down from the caliper size so they wouldn't be too big. Professionally, the holes on the side of the unit were sanded down using a dremel bit to more accurately fit the areas with components being inserted into them.

January 5, 2012

I cut down some of the hardware in order to fit better in the project enclosure with a dremel. This included delicate cuts around the 12V to USB Socket and the  tightening ring for the rocker switch. This was conducted successfully. The circuit still works without any flaw and is more compressed to a necessary state.

January 4, 2012

The circuit was rebuilt on the acrylic sheet and tested. The circuit works in its entirety without any flaws. The intermediate stages were conducted successfully. All wires and connections were tested with an ammeter and volt meter to ensure there was no unnecessary drop or loss due to poor connections. Everything is coming alone very smoothly and continuing as according to plan.

January 3, 2012

I conducted some soldering work and attached wires to my rocker switch and my fuse. In addition, I placed heat shrink tubing on all the connections to ensure professionalism was maintained throughout the project and that all connections were isolated.

January 2, 2012

Checked the joints on the existing hardware I already placed together. Made conclusions as to the adhesive I was using and for it's continuation throughout the project.

Uploaded Mentor Contact #1 for Marking Period #2 for Mentor, Peer evaluation before the due date by the end of the month.

December 23, 2011 - January 1, 2012

Winter Recess, Systems Engineering Labs Closed. Work will be continued on Sunday, January 2, 2012 with continuation of classes.

December 22, 2011

Tinned all soldering joints on the top plate of the controller box including the Fuse, USB Indicator Light, switches, and buttons.

December 21, 2011

Refreshed Soldering Skills on a few practice connections that will not be included in my overall circuit box to ensure cohesive and clean connections (in attempt to not have cold solder joints which are brittle.) These connections turned out alright and I tinned all of my components on the top layer in preparation for wires in the future.

December 20, 2011

Used Epoxy to mount the hardware into the acrylic pieces and allowed them to sit in a wood-block vice to ensure drying was done correctly and in the desired orientation.

In addition, the Front face and Right Face (containing no holes) were epoxied together at right angles using a Pony (Trademark) Right Angle Clamp. I also used Adhesive to ensure the connection was solid and mounded perpendicular to the work surface to take the benefit of gravity in the situation. Pictures were taken of each of these phases.

December 19, 2011

Drilled out holes using a dremel to ensure secure snug fit on the back plate, side plate, and top surface. Tested out the positioning of the pieces inside of the drilled out areas and took pictures for documentation.

December 15, 2011

Updated the plan of procedure, which is located on a Page in the top dock, to come in accurately on all devices and ensure cohesiveness between computers and networks.

Uploaded Press Release, which is available for immediate release, has been added to a New Page on the top dock of the website available for members to see.

December 14, 2011

Contacted my mentor Wynston Chew via Skype Call.

     - We discussed construction methods and tips as far as craftsmanship. I also updated him as far as to any updates in the plan of procedure, and sent him the templates to ensure accuracy.
     - In addition, due to where he lives, He got the opportunity to view the facilities offered here through video chat and it was a very convenient feature made easier through technological advances.

December 13, 2011

Created a USB Male Type B to USB Female Type A Wire for the Arduino. The reason for the break in the original wire is so that it can be professionally disconnected and connected to the Controller box in the future without needing to open the box.

December 12, 2011

The last 2 pieces of the acrylic was prepared, cut out, sanded down, and all edges were checked to ensure straight edge accuracy

December 9, 2011

The blog was updated in order to ensure the members are up to date as far as the construction and process of the project. There were many logs revised and to meet standards provided by the rubrics my Marking Period 2 as set by the instructors. Monday's plan for construction is to cut and sand the last 1/3 of the acrylic controller box and ensure the parts will go together cohesively for possible drilling on Tuesday.