As stated earlier, the fabrication of the seaglider can be broken down into 4 major subsystems. A bill of materials with corresponding part numbers can be found in the appendix.
Creating the Buoyancy Engine
The buoyancy engine is fabricated using a lathe, mill, and Stratasys Mojo and Uprint 3D printers. The first step for fabricating the Buoyancy Engine is to 3D print all of the components that will not be machined or purchased. The internal parts were printed using Stratasy's Mojo and Uprint 3D printers, which utilizes ABS plastic.
The next step is to paint all of the 3D printed parts to their desired color. We decided to utlized red, blue, and yellow, because they represent the University of Kansas' colors.
After painting all of the 3D printed parts that were used for the Buoyancy Engine, an acetone solution was used to set in a threaded insert and bearings into the ABS plastic piston driver ( or part #12 from the bill of materials.). The acetone causes the surface of the ABS plastic to melt which acts as an adhesive.
The coupler to mount the threaded rod to the stepper motor is then machined using both the lathe and the mill and can be shown in the figure below.
After machining the coupler, the two sets of four, 1/4 inch diameter, aluminum rods where cut the their appropraite size using a hack saw. The front support rods where cut to a length of 3.5 inches while the middle support rods where cut to a length of 2.65 inches.
Creating Soft Component
The mold for the soft component was molded using Solidworks, and printed using the Uprint 3D printer. Several rigid joints were created using Vero Blue plastic. These joints are intended to strengthen the soft actuator, and these joints are place inside of the mold. A liquid silicon compound was poured into the mold and formed around the joints to attach them together. Another mold was created in the Uprint 3D printer with the purpose of creating a cover sleeve for the soft actuator. A liquid silicon compound was poured into the mold and allowed to dry. Once both parts were dry the sleeve was place over the soft actuator.
