Making the

ROV frame
The ROV frame is the body or chassis of the ROV that holds the thruster
motors and propellers and the buoyancy tanks.
Two people can make the frame in two halves and then join them together
ready for the rest of the ROV.
1. Find the ROV frame kit:

10 x 21 mm tubes 2 x black
rubber caps




4 x 44 mm tubes


2 x 60 mm tubes



2 x 95 mm tubes





14 x Tee joiners 4 x 120 mm tubes

Produced by the School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
G Dunbar, J Still, T McKay, S Allardyce 2003-2007 www.rgu.ac.uk/eng
1. Note: making the frame involves pushing the tubes onto the joiners. It may
help to warm the tubes in water or between your hands to soften them and
to use something hard like a spoon or coin to press the pieces together.
2. Select four Tee joiners and the 8
shortest tubes (21 mm)
3. Make four side struts like this.

4. Take the two vertical struts (60
mm) and make two H pieces.
5. Take eight more Tee joiners to go
with the two H pieces.
6. Push the Tee joiners in and twist
them all the same way so they are
like table legs.
7. Take the four longest pieces (120
mm).
Produced by the School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
G Dunbar, J Still, T McKay, S Allardyce 2003-2007 www.rgu.ac.uk/eng
8. Carefully ease the pieces into C shapes by bending them between your
fingers little by little along their length so they do not kink. Take your time.
Warming the tubes helps.
9. Push the C shapes on to the two
H shapes to make them into
Ds.
10. Do the same to the other feet of
the H to make two ovals.
11. You now have two side frames. 12. Take the four 44 mm and two 25
mm pieces to make two Tees as
shown.
Produced by the School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
G Dunbar, J Still, T McKay, S Allardyce 2003-2007 www.rgu.ac.uk/eng
13. Attach the two Tees to one side
frame.
14. Take the last two tubes (95 mm)
and attach them to the other side
frame.
15. J oin the 2 halves together and
gently straighten any slight bends
or curves.

16. The basic frame is finished! The
Tees are at the bottom. They are
used to hang ballast weights on
and the rubber caps keep the
weights in place.
When the other members of the team have finished their parts the ROV can be
assembled.








Disk Ref: E:\InsE&T Course\Peterhead 20 Feb 2007\ROV Instructions Compressed\01 ROV Instructions 1a Frame.doc
Revised: 08 March 2007
Produced by the School of Engineering, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
G Dunbar, J Still, T McKay, S Allardyce 2003-2007 www.rgu.ac.uk/eng