Battery & Camera Mounts – Problems with the Old System

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Battery & Camera Mounts

The current battery and camera mounts frequently broke during competition, as the 3D printed mounts were put under a large weight continuously. The battery mounts in particular were prone to failure as they would be jostled around when we replaced the battery. In fact, during competition, we had to ask another team to print us …

Main Capsule – Problems with the Old System

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Main Capsule

Last year, we used a standard Polycase™ waterproof enclosure to house our electrical stack and keep water out. This capsule came with four brass inserts in the corners to press the capsule into the O-ring. Despite working initially, wear and tear from a year of use eventually degraded the plastic-brass bond, causing the brass inserts …

Reflections on Mechanical Leadership

As a freshman, I knew I wanted to join a project team where I could learn engineering skills, take on a complicated design challenge, and build something real. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing in the Duke Robotics Club (DRC). The club’s primary focus is designing, building, and programming an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for …

3/22/16 – Frame Assembly

The sub is coming together! We have mounted the horizontal thrusters and attached the pressure hulls to the frame. Mechanical is now working on attaching the hull connectors. We aim to do our first swim test next week and begin tuning our PID controllers.