Watertight Enclosure (WTE) Locking Series Assembly

By Kevin

Introduction

Blue Robotics offers a series of watertight enclosures for use on ROVs, AUVs, and other marine vehicles. A modular design consisting of a tube, sealing flanges, and various end caps allows lots of flexibility and modification. The enclosures are made of high-quality, precision machined parts and are simple to assemble.

Important Notes

Parts and Tools

You Will Need

You will also need:

• 1 x Bottle of Threadlocker (optional, not included)

Assembly

1. Inspect and, if necessary, clean the O-rings, O-ring grooves and machined inner ends of the tube with a cloth. 2. Lubricate the three O-rings and machined inner ends of the tube with a thin layer of silicone grease. 3. Install the two thick O-rings into the grooves on the flange or flange caps.

Endcaps

1. If using an end cap, the thinner O-ring is placed in the groove in the face of the flange. 2. Attach the end caps to the flanges with 6 socket cap screws. Gently tighten the screws in an alternating cross pattern so that the O-ring is compressed but not so tight as to damage the plastic. Do not overtighten the screws!

Penetrators

1. Install the vent and any necessary cable penetrators into the end-cap.

Final Assembly

1. Install the flanges onto the tube. 2. Install the round aluminum handles onto the plastic locking cord and tighten the set screw. 3. Insert the locking cord into one side of the gap in the tube so it begins to feed through. Push in all the way. If there is excess cord, trim it, and then reinstall. 4. Replace the vent cap to seal.

Opening Enclosure

1. Remove the vent plug. 2. Remove the locking cord. 3. Remove the flange using the tabs on the sides of the flange.

Making Custom End Caps

One of the cool things about the watertight enclosure design is that it’s compatible with all sort of end cap sizes and shapes. We’ve got a few different ones available but we encourage you to design your own to perfectly suit your application. The CAD files above as well as the DXF drawing file attached below will give you a good starting point for your design. You’ll need access to either 3D modeling software like SolidWorks or AutoCAD or 2D drawing software like Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape, and others. WTE2-P-END-CAP-R1.DXF WTE3-P-END-CAP-R1.DXF WTE4-P-END-CAP-R1.DXF Here are a few things to remember:

• We recommend the following thicknesses of cast acrylic to handle the pressure:

• • 2″ Series: 6mm / 0.25″
  • 3″ Series: 9mm / 0.375″
  • 4″ Series: 12mm / 0.50″

• Note the inner diameter of the aluminum sealing flange and ensure that any holes are within that diameter.
• Feel free to extend beyond the original shape to add mounting holes, etc.

Once you have a design, you can cut the parts yourself if you have a laser cutter or use an online service. We have frequently used Pololu Laser Cutting with great results!

---