Printable Water Tight End Caps

thingiverse

This is San Diego City Robotics watertight end cap for an autonomous underwater vehicle. Included is the .STL files as well as the SolidWorks files. These end caps fit inside a McMaster Carr acrylic 8 inch tube. The O-Ring is a 70 Buna Size 441, which can also be found at McMaster Carr. The epoxy used to fuse the two prints together is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004RCQ20E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 BE WARY, This epoxy has toluene in it which will turn ABS into water. Print out this part in PLA if you would like to make this part. This is an alternative to machining aluminum end caps for a pressurised tube. This solution minimizes the cost of manufacturing end caps for our submarine. SDCR needed a durable enclosure that would hold back water, machining proved to be too expensive so SDCR made these end caps. They take roughly a week to make, and only costs $100 to produce two end caps. To put this together first coat both parts with epoxy inside and out. Then place part A into part B's corresponding groove. Pour epoxy into part B, the epoxy should drain into part A. After filling both parts with epoxy, use a foam brush to even out the application of epoxy to the outside. Evening of epoxy should happen once every 20 minutes until epoxy holds it's shape. Place the entire setup in a safe place to cure, curing takes 24 hours. After curing is done grease O-Rings with silicon grease and place them in the corresponding grooves. Then coat the entire plug with silicone grease. Make sure to re-apply silicon grease often as it is the key to water tightness. Print Settings Printer Brand: Robo 3D Printer: R1 ABS + PLA Model Rafts: No Supports: Yes Infill: 100 Notes: This print will take 30+ hours