I bought my first 3D printer about a year ago and have had a lot of fun learning how to print, design, and make useful tools. This is my latest project.
One of my common UW Camera configurations is to have a macro lens/port with two heavy diopters on a dual flip mount. This makes the rig front heavy and adds over a full pound (450g) of weight. This had me contemplating a functional custom built Port Float Collar. Most of the Nauticam Wet Optics have built in float collars, so that is one inspiration. Making a float collar that would fit over the port seems like a nice solution that does not add bulk to the setup. I've seen foam floats sold for this purpose, but that seems clunky and also, where is the fun in buying something?
Turn out that making a waterproof, pressure resistant object with 3D printed materials is not so easy. Even tight prints are full of microscopic holes. I made a number of block floats to experiment with, and they all leaked at depth under 2-3 atmospheres. After some trial and error and research I finally came up with an effective solution. Balancing weight of the object with desired buoyancy you can't use too much material, or the float won't add more buoyancy that it adds dry weight. I've got a solution now that provides about a 1.3 ratio of buoyancy/mass, but I expect I can improve this more over time.
Nauticam ports have a plastic foot installed with two M3 bolts. I removed the plastic foot (does anyone use that?) and used the bolt holes to fix the float to the port.
(Small).png.576d3b241167dfdb274fd477bd1caf81.png "Port 87 Float (CAD) (Small).png")
Yesterday I had the chance to test my first working solution and it worked great! No leaks or implosion and the balance of the camera rig seemed to be improved! I took it to about 90 feet and didn't see bubbles. I weighed the float before and after to be sure it did not take on any water.
I haven't shared a design at this point as I want to test and evaluate for a while to see if it holds up with use or needs improvements. I'll next make another sample for the Port 60 as I sometimes use that with a Kraken KRL-09s wet wide lens + diopter on the dual flip adapter.
Here are a few pictures of my first effort:
Port Collar Float for Nauticam Port 87 (105mm):
Dry Weight: 199g/7oz
Buoyancy: 355g/12.5oz
One of my common UW Camera configurations is to have a macro lens/port with two heavy diopters on a dual flip mount. This makes the rig front heavy and adds over a full pound (450g) of weight. This had me contemplating a functional custom built Port Float Collar. Most of the Nauticam Wet Optics have built in float collars, so that is one inspiration. Making a float collar that would fit over the port seems like a nice solution that does not add bulk to the setup. I've seen foam floats sold for this purpose, but that seems clunky and also, where is the fun in buying something?
Turn out that making a waterproof, pressure resistant object with 3D printed materials is not so easy. Even tight prints are full of microscopic holes. I made a number of block floats to experiment with, and they all leaked at depth under 2-3 atmospheres. After some trial and error and research I finally came up with an effective solution. Balancing weight of the object with desired buoyancy you can't use too much material, or the float won't add more buoyancy that it adds dry weight. I've got a solution now that provides about a 1.3 ratio of buoyancy/mass, but I expect I can improve this more over time.
Nauticam ports have a plastic foot installed with two M3 bolts. I removed the plastic foot (does anyone use that?) and used the bolt holes to fix the float to the port.
Yesterday I had the chance to test my first working solution and it worked great! No leaks or implosion and the balance of the camera rig seemed to be improved! I took it to about 90 feet and didn't see bubbles. I weighed the float before and after to be sure it did not take on any water.
I haven't shared a design at this point as I want to test and evaluate for a while to see if it holds up with use or needs improvements. I'll next make another sample for the Port 60 as I sometimes use that with a Kraken KRL-09s wet wide lens + diopter on the dual flip adapter.
Here are a few pictures of my first effort:
Port Collar Float for Nauticam Port 87 (105mm):
Dry Weight: 199g/7oz
Buoyancy: 355g/12.5oz
