I went through similar experiments when I was designing my ROV - needed plenty of printed parts that wouldn't leak, such as electronics tube endcaps, which should be removable. After much experimenting with 10+ materials I stayed with FDM and PLA, covered with 3 thin coats of epoxy. They key is sanding the part and getting at least 3 coats, because by then epoxy self-levels enough to provide smooth enough surface for interfacing with O-rings without leaking. Parts must be printed at 100% infill and be rigid enough to prevent bending due to pressure, otherwise that will crack epoxy and cause leaks. With sufficient testing, I was able to achieve removable parts (with O-rings) that could stay at 10 bar (100m depth) pressure for 24 hours without any leakage whatsoever. While SLA removes the need for using epoxy, it is far more brittle than PLA and I found parts need to be much thicker to prevent implosion. True, epoxy is a bit of a mess to work with, but so is SLA. So in the end I used PLA + epoxy + O-rings, with great success. As for electrical connections, passing bare copper wires through holes in the printed part and filled with epoxy is a must. I actually found that thin copper rods work even better than wires, since they are easier to soak without accidentally leaving pathways between strands for water to ingress, and you can also solder wires to them later. Let me know if you have questions, I would be happy to provide more details.
Best Prusa video ever. real world failures are such an education!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice work and your tenacity is what will make the company better and prosper.
In fact, you can even print useable parts for ‘full ocean depth’ (FOD) We print parts for our FOD science landers and Submersible all the time. And actually, they sometimes even can be hollow, when you deliberately want the infill to be saturated with water. However we only use it for structural brackets and pads. @Prusa 3D, try compensating your housing with an electricly insulating oil. Also helps with your heat transfer. #InkFish… Deeply Curious
I've been working on making my own 3D printed underwater ROV based on the CPSdrone design. All the parts are printed, I just need to finish assembling. Hopefully it will be in the water this spring ^_^
"hey, josef, unfortunately we cannot test our stuff in czechia but HAVE to visit the red sea instead. we will send you the receipts per email later, thanks, cya"
Yeah, it doesn't work like that. I took the model for testing when I went on my personal vacation. It didn't take much of my time and made the video significantly better. But thank you for noticing, I'll make a better video script next time. Jakub
You cant print parts for diving hollow. Meaning, they have to be solid, no infill. Water will creep inside, and stay there. No good. I design and produce lots of diving products, using down to 100m.
Hi. Our printers can be found here. www.prusa3d.com/category/3d-printers/ Some of the 3D printing models we show in our articles here. www.printables.com/
I've done a tray and trigger system that worked pretty well and lens caps for scuba photography, but arms have always been too brittle for me and I am not a good enough designer for anything to be water tight lol. I think 3d printing is also great for travel battery organizers.
i wish there was a way to achieve underwater water tight with FDM prints without post processing. you can achieve water tight prints for normal use with TPU filaments. such as vases.. but not for underwater usage
I designed a rain-style water fountain on my Prusa mini and I have had decent success getting water-tight prints but when I chemically treat the fountain with a mild bleach solution, it usually develops a leak in the PETG. I guess bleach rots most plastics. Did you guys have any tips on how to make a more water-tight FDM print? I usually just do lots of walls and top/bottom layers. I wish I had a Prusa Resin printer but it's just not an option for me right now.
Hele vakuovou nádobu si v pohodě vyrobíš na koleně z nerezovýho hrnce, kusu tlustýho plexiskla a tesnící gumy. Dělá to nějakej youtuber a funguje mu to. 😉🤓