Possible stupid question(About servos)

DiablodeMorte

Ok, here's the problem, I want to know if servo's are waterproof. Ie, Arethey completly waterproof(turn underwater) or only partially waterproof(turning mechanism isn't but case is. What I'm trying to find out is that if i make a water proof inclousure for my stamp can i inbed the servo into it and stll have it run or will it just not work, and if the servo is underwater will the case leak around the wires?

Regards,
DiablodeMorte

Beau Schwabe

I would be hesitant to rely on them as even being "water resistant"....

A quick Google search for "waterproof servo" indicated that other people have use ballooning and grease techniques to "water proof" their servo.
I could be wrong, but it appears that there are no off-of-the-shelf water proof servos available without spending many $$$.

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Beau Schwabe

IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.

allanlane5

Most servo's are designed for use in model airplanes, model cars, or model ships. They aren't really designed to get wet -- you'd engineer a water-proof enclosure for them if used in a ship. The insides of a servo consist of a few gears, a variable resistor, an electric motor, and a small circuit board -- none of which have been water-proofed in any way.

Jonathan

It also really depends on your intended application. If you mean really underwater, how deep? Max depth is crucial to how "good" the waterproofing needs to be.

I used to make remote control model ships. They were armed with co2 powered BB guns and would occasionally get sunk. We were using them in a small pond with a max depth of about 6 feet, and had a small skiff ready for recovery. The ships would rarely if ever be submerged for more than three minutes, usually less. However, they would often steam around with a lot of water in the hold, so the motors and receivers and servos had to be *reasonably* water tight.

Anyway, we used to build what in boat terms is a "packing gland". It's kinda hard to describe, but here goes: You get really small brass double female flare fittings, like 1/8" or less. Then find a shaft that fits through the flare fittings with some room to spare. Then find some nylon string, not monofiliment. Pack it full of vasaline or similar. Cut short little lengths of it that exactly match the circumfrence of the shaft. Make at least 3 for each side of the double female fitting. Stick the shaft through, and wrap the pices of packing (the bits of string) around the shaft and poke them into the fitting, alternating the break point of the string. Get at least 3 piecers in per side, then tighten the nuts down on the fitting. Tighten until the shaft has just a moderate amount of friction on it. Once it works a while, you will need to tighten it.

I do beleive you can buy mini packing glands from model shops. We always made 'em as above. Perfect no, but cheap. I can't say we never soaked any electronics, but we kept it to a reasonable level.

Jonathan

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