CubeCell Capsule Waterproofing

[Sivaelid]

CubeCell Capsule Waterproofing

The CubeCell Capsule comes in both “non porous” and” porous” transparent shell version dependant on the sensor ordered or what is purchased. The basic capsule would meet for the porous version IP32/IP42 based on the size of the vent hole. For the non-porous version, it should meet IP63 in the supplied state.

For some application having it water proofed is a requirement and while in the supplied form it is best “splash proof” it can be made to meet IP67 with the addition of 2 “O” rings.

The pictures below shows the “O” ring on one end fitted and not fitted on the other of the non-porous Capsule. The “O” ring size used was 24mm x 1.8mm placed over the capsule end seated against the ridge, this hold well and under tension. Theses “O” rings should be lightly covered in silicone grease to enable easier application and better long-term seal.

I have tested the capsule for the 30 minutes at 1M depth of water required and fully meet the spec.

Note. The Capsules can only be water-proofed if they have a sensor installed that does not require free air movement e.g. MPU9250, BH1750.

Simon

[BDM]

@Sivaelid Thanks for sharing.

[rsmedia]

shoouldnt the caps not be mounted on the other sides?
the transparent one on the sensor side?

[Sivaelid]

Yes it should, just the way I laid it up I will update.
Simon in

[Saber]

Thanks for testing, this looks really great!

[willhelmx]

Nice little project, have you done any test on 1m waterdepts effect on signal?

BR

/ A

[Sivaelid]

Well RF not good in water and I tested unit in a test tube. I would say not useful underwater .

SImon

[Aaron]

HI Simon

Thank you for your professional test. But I found two problems in your test:

1. You reversed the shell of the capsule sensor. The blue one is longer and should be installed on the antenna part. The short transparent one is for the sensor. If the shorter one assembled to the antenna side, it will press the pogo antenna together, it will change the antenna’s RF characteristics, result is bad signal.
2. I think the capsule sensor has been designed with waterproofing at the beginning, no need an additional seals. The top of the screw has bevels with opposite directions and different slopes, after the screws are tightened, they are squeezed against each other to produce a slight deformation to achieve the effect of sealing.

I will upload a picture when my working computers are available… This week we were busy to move our company to the new office. We completely underestimated the difficulty of moving😂, hope to resume normal work this weekend.

Aaron.

[Sivaelid]

Hi congratulations on the move I hope that it enables you to expand. I know the trauma of office moves especially if it has equipment involved.
On the Waterproofing of the CubeCell, yes, the shells were put on the wrong way in the photo. My mistake and yes It would affect the aerial.
On the testing that I did . While I can see the design element of compressible angled rim of the capsule body, I did find on mine that when pressure tested there was leak of air and this did not occur with rubber seal. I would also say that outdoor as the plastic is affected by heat/UV the plastic will harden and be less elastic over time. While I think the current design will be good for general use, the Nitrile “O ring seal” fit the design well and would give a long-term seal and would meet IP68. As so low cost I will add it to my use of the nodes.
Keep up the great designs, ASR6502 will be a great addition and Low power GPS.
I don’t know if you have been following the trends with the start to deploy Satellite based LoRaWAN but FOSSA SAT1,2,3 and Lacuna will be active from end Q1 2020. Lacuna will need low cost low power nodes, using GPS for timing,SX126X and Security chip like ATECC608A to store security Keys and Credentials licence keys etc. IT would be nice to see your boards grow to meet these sort of needs., around the STM32 see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n911zTNIn8E.
Can you give me contact of your Sale/Marketing person as looking to sell direct in the UK area… Have a great year.

Simon

P.S Picture of Cube Cell the correct picture of seals and of 3 units on test rig.

[BDM]

Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

[Supporter]

Thank you for your information, Simon. Finally, our computer and network can be used normally in the last weekend~~~ Everything is recovering quickly.

Your suggestion is very professional. In the beginning, when we made the CubeCell prototype, we all used softer plastics, but the samples produced this way will collapse and look ugly. Therefore, in batch products, the shell of the capsule were made of AB material, and the middle part was still made of softer plastic.