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AssemblyFrame Assembly

The frame is the structure of the ROV and includes several laser-cut plastic pieces as well asmetal hardware.

Tools Needed:

•2mm Hex Driver

•2.5mm Hex Driver

•Flathead Screwdriver

•Phillips screwdriver

•Knife or Scissors

•Syringe with Luer Tip

•Wire cutters

•Wire Strippers

1.Remove the Brown protective paper from all plastic parts.

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2.Next, we will loosely assemble the center structure before attaching it to the rest of theROV. Start with the Center Panel, two Aluminum T-Slot Bars, four T-Slot Nuts, and four

M5x12 Cross Head Plastic Screws as shown above. Note: old screw hardware in image above.

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3.Insert the four screws into the Center Panel and lightly attached the T-slot Nuts as

shown. Note thate the beveled edge of the T-slot nuts faces inward into the Aluminum T-Slot Bars.

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4.Slide the two Aluminum T-Slot Bars onto the T-Slot Nuts. Make sure the Center Panel is

centered on both bars and gently tighten the screws.

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5.Next we’ll add the two Watertight Enclosure Cradles using four more nuts and plastic

screws. Insert the nut into the screw a few turns and then slide into the T-Slot bar. Then insert the Plastic Cradle so that the screws fill the notches.

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6.Gently tighten the screws to secure the Cradle as shown above.

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7.Next, install the Rear Thruster Mount with the same method. The tab on the Mount fits

into the notch on the Center Panel to align the mount.

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8.Last, open and insert the straps that will hold the Watertight Enclosure and cut two

pieces of Rubber Edge Strip to fit on the curved surface of the cradle. You can secure the strips with hot glue if desired, but it is not necessary.

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9.Using six M4x10 Button-Head Hex Screws, attach the six Round Aluminum Standoffs along the outer rim of one of the Side Panels. The Blue Robotics logo should face

outward on each panel.

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10.Using two M5x12 Cross Head Plastic Screws, attach the center panel assembly to the

Side Panel assembly, with the Rear Thruster Mount facing the back (shorter) end of the Side Panel. Use a measuring device to ensure that the Center Panel is centered between

the two Side Panels. If not, you can loosen the screws and adjust it.

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11.Attach the remaining Side Panel using two M5x12 Cross Head Plastic Screws and six

M4x10 Button-Head Hex Screws.

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12.That’s it! The frame is complete.

Watertight Enclosure Assembly

Please see the Watertight Enclosure Assembly Tutorial for detailed instructions on how to assemble the Watertight Enclosure.

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The above shows the suggested penetrator configuration for the Blue ROV, with the vent plug placed in the upper right hole. This configuration will enable easy access to the vent plug, and clean cable routing for all six thrusters.

Thruster Preparation

1.First, we’ll change the propellers on two thrusters so that we have counter-rotating pairs.

Follow the instructions in thePropeller Changing Tutorial to do so. These two thrusters will be

the right horizontal and right vertical thrusters.

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2.Label the thrusters with the location of where they will be going on the ROV. The standard thruster label configuration for the Blue ROV is shown above. From left to

right, the vertical thrusters are 1 and 2, with the horizontal thrusters 3 and 4. Thus one ofthe thrusters with the counter-rotating blade should be labelled 2, and the other 4. The

rear vertical thruster is 5, and the strafing thruster 6.

3.Once the thrusters have been labelled and set aside for specific locations, cut the cables to

length. We suggest the following lengths, measured from where they exit the nose of the

thruster:

•Thrusters 1 and 2 (Front Vertical) to 84cm (33”)

•Thrusters 3 and 4 (Horizontal) to 68cm (27”)

•Thruster 5 (Rear Vertical) to 51cm (20”)

•Thruster 6 (Strafing) to 68cm (27”)

Cutting the cables to these lengths will eliminate unnecessary extra cable, but allow them to be potted a second time if a mistake is made and still reach the enclosure.

4.When the cables have been cut to length, follow the Cable Stripping Tutorial to remove 10-

12cm (4-5”)of cable jacket from each cable. Stip a small length of the wires at the end to allow

connectors to be soldered on.

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Electronics Tray Assembly

The BlueROV comes with an electronics tray designed to fit the ESCs, a Raspberry Pi 1/2 computer, and an 3DR APM 2.6 autopilot. It also has a power distribution terminal block and straps to hold a battery.

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1.First, install the Secondary Tray above the main tray using the four provided Aluminum

Hex Standoffs and eight M3x6 Button-Head Hex Screws.

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2.Next, attach the Terminal Block Jumpers to the Terminal Block, leaving out a jumper in the middle.

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3.Next, attach the terminal block in the center of the tray on top using the two provided holes. This can be done with M3 screws or zip ties. Put the screws through the holes in

the terminal block closest to the electronics shelf to allow clearance for the wires coming from the ESCs mounted to the underside of the board.

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4.Next, attach the ESCs using the provided zip ties. The ESC should be arranged with

the “BlueRobotics” logo facing toward the tray which will expose the warm parts of the ESC to air to enable cooling. Three ESCs are attached on top and three on bottom. Label

the ESCs 1-6 before mounting in order to keep track of which will be controlling which motor. We suggest the above configuration to allow for the most direct wire routing.

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5.First loosly attatch 2 ESCs to the top and bottom of the electronics tray, leaving

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enough slack in the zip tie to be able to adjust the positions of the ESCs.

6.Cut and strip the power input wires of the ESCs to an appropriate length to attatch

them to the terminal block, negative wires on the left side and positive on the right. We use crimped spade connectors at the ends of the wires, but just the bare wires will work

fine as well. If you need additional clearance to route or bend a wire, the clear heat shrink on the ESC can be cut back a bit to give a little extra room.

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7.Repeat for the 4 additional ESCs. Take your time in laying out the cables, and be sure that they will reach the terminal block before cutting. Attatch a battery lead with the

connector of your choice to the terminal block, and route the cable below to the battery area.

8.We recommend attaching the Raspberry Pi and camera now as well. Hardware is not

provided.

9.The round legs can be snapped on to each end of the tray. You can use glue to secure the legs if desired.

10.The provided double sided velcro strap is used to secure a battery (not included). We

recommend using a 4s (14.8v) lithium polymer battery, either from a local hobby shop or a retailer such as Hobby King. You can also use a 3s (11.1v) battery, and the T200 can be

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safely run with up to a 5s (18.5v) battery.

Cable Potting

Please see the Cable Penetrator Tutorial on wire potting instructions. To make the Blue ROV wire potting as easy as possible, follow these steps.

1.Take your completed endcap, and feed each thruster cable through its corresponding suggested penetrator, gluing the jacket with CA glue as in the cable penetrator tutorial.

Try to keep each cable as straight as possible where it enters the penetrator. If the cable is tilting slightly, direct it towards the rim of the endcap as seen above.

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2.Pot the cables with marine epoxy, being sure to slightly agitate the cable afterwards to

work out any air bubbles.

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3.Once the epoxy has cured (about 24 hours), flip the endcap over and pot the other side

where the wires exit to the inside. You may find it convenient to prop up the encap to make this process easier, we use the cardboard tubes that the thrusters are packaged in

to do the job.

4.Solder 3.5mm male bullet connectors to the motor wires, and cover the joints with heatshrink.

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5.Attach the bullet connectors of each motor to its corresponding ESC, and slide the electronics tray into the watertight enclosure. Put on the endcap, and secure the

enclosure to the ROV frame with the two provided velcro straps. The enclosure can be moved forward and backward to adjust center of gravity and center of buoyancy of the

vehicle. Now your frame, enclosure, and motors are ready to go!

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