Welcome to Mariana Trench or Bust, the project to create an affordable solution to filming the deepest parts of our oceans. On this homepage, you’ll find all the information you may need, whether you are trying to build a dropcam yourself, looking to sponsor us or are just curious to learn more!
Apart from providing (hopefully) entertaining content, we expect this project will go much further and actually help make deep sea research more accessible to smaller organizations. To facilitate this, we’ll be releasing all of the designs (circuit, code and 3D models) as open source materials for you to use as you please. You’ll be able to download these files, as well as learn more technical details, in the sections below which are broken down by the episode in which they were created. If you end up using them, we ask that you kindly credit us afterwards!
In episode 1, we designed the top part of the dropcam which consists of the 4-way housing, and the dome end caps. Please see additional info about each of these items below:
Dome end caps – This item is due to be manufactured out of colorless polycarbonate, and later polished to provide a suitably clear finish to use as a camera dome. We haven’t tested it yet however based on our FEA predictions, it should survive down to 11,000m
4-Way housing – This part is due to be manufactured out of 316 stainless steel. If you plan on manufacturing such a part yourself, we would advise that you take extra care to ensure that tolerances are respected when milling the O-ring grooves as correct depth and a sufficiently flat surface is critical to achieving a high pressure seal. We haven’t tested it yet however based on our FEA predictions, it should survive down to 11,000m with minimal deformation.
Working drawings and STEP 3D model files coming soon!
In episode 2, we finished up the housing design, ordered the main body tube, and started work on the electronics. After validating that the GPS was working the way we expected, we made a mount for both it and the camera systems.
Main body tube – Just like the 4-way housing from the last episode, this part is made from 316 stainless steel and has the same manufacturing consideration (making sure that the sealing faces are precisely machined)
GPS transmitter – We used an off-the-shelf Garmin InReach satellite connected GPS beacon, that was disassembled and mounted in a 3D printed holder.
Cameras – These are standard Gear360 (2016 version) cameras, that are then disassembled and a custom PCB is installed on the back to interface with the connections
Working drawings and STEP 3D model files coming soon!
Coming soon
Mentioned in
