Introduction
We will introduce the usage of acrylic cement in this guide. This is a little tricky at first, but you will get a feel for it. Take your time to get good at this, as it will be more important in the future.
All of the acrylic pieces we use for OpenROV's structure and some of the other parts are clear. This is very hard to see in photographs so we've used a smoke-gray acrylic for the instructional.
Tools
Parts
No parts required.
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You will find the acrylic pieces you need in both the 6mm and 3mm bags of acrylic.
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You may have some acrylic pieces that have some debris from the laser cutting process in the holes. They should come out easily pushing them through.
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Before starting each section make sure to remove the paper backing from the pieces used only in that section.
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A knife or your fingernails can be used to start removing the paper from a corner.
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The cement is solvent based, meaning it is not sticky but as it cures it bonds like materials.
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Before you start, watch this great video on how to use acrylic cement from TAP Plastics.
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The best way to apply cement is to hold the syringe bottle upright (tip at the top) and squeeze out a bunch of air, so when you turn the syringe bottle upside-down (and don't squeeze the bottle), air will burble inward and not allow cement to flow out. When you're ready to apply cement, lightly squeeze the bottle to overcome the vacuum pressure.
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Only a little cement is required to make a good bond. Use the capillary effect to apply cement to a joint and have the cement work its own way into the space.
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The acrylic cement does drip and should be done over a surface that can get dirty. Paper towels work well for this.
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As this was my first use of acrylic cement, I was a bit puzzled by the "Cut This Out" direction on the unopened can of acrylic. Rather than attempt to cut the opening, I opted to puncture the lid with a philips screwdriver and then used the screwdriver to pry up the inner lid. I would then replace the inner lid and then the screw top to seal the can containing the unused cement.
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Remove these pieces from the bags.
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Don't apply acrylic cement yet.
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Make sure it is flush in both directions.
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Make sure it is flush in both directions and at a right angle.
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The edge piece is pointing up.
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The large opening is to the left.
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This piece is on the same side as the semi-circle opening.
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We are going to use the motor as a centering pin for the endcap.
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Save these. You will need them later.
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We were using our OpenROV 2.8 for 2 months and we already broke 2 of the Front Battery Endcaps locks. How could we order new locks? We also have a 3D printer, could you send us a drawing of this element if possible as .stl file? Thanks
Please email our support team at support@openrov.com and we can arrange for replacements. All of the CAD files can be found online. If you go to openrov.com and then click the "open source" tab it will bring you to the files. -Brian G.
OpenROV -
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Do NOT glue these pieces together.
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Continue your build by progressing to Guide 2.
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Team
5 Comments
How much acrylic cement is required for this entire project? 5oz? 10oz? 125ml? 250ml?
I don't have an exact number at this time but an offhand best guess is about 1-2oz (30-60ml) -Brian G.
OpenROV -
Just started making the ROV. Bought it over a month ago and have been busy.complete with part one. The acrylic can spilled when I popped the lid. Don't do this near your parts. So far....so good.
Very nice guide, so easy to follow. Pictures are very good quality.
I did all 46 steps in two afternoons. I am so happy to be building my ROV 2.8
Congratulations to all the people that participated in this guide, and thank you all very much!
Let's see how I do on part 2... Piagui5
:) -Brian G.
OpenROV -
