3-D Printed Metal and Plastic Propeller Design and Manufacturing for Small-scale Underwater Thrusters

摘要

Abstract The use of additive manufacturing technology in a senior Capstone project setting is increasing. In this paper, effective examples of additive manufacturing are presented, which was used in a Capstone project. Moreover, the design challenges for prototyping by metal 3D printing are discussed. Examples of plastic or metal thruster propellers are presented. These propellers are designed for an underwater thruster, which is one of the key elements in underwater robots. A thruster consists of a propeller, brushless motor, ducted enclosure, and electronic speed control (ESC) unit. This paper includes a design and manufacturing case of the small-scale thrusters. Moreover, the assembly of the thruster is presented, which meets 2019 Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) competition safety requirements. Furthermore, the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) robot example is presented.