Supplemental guide on Camera Fabrication
This document describes the steps for fabricating your camera and lighting system.
1 Materials needed
Gather all your materials. You will need the small lexan sheet (covered in white plastic),
a plastic cup, your camera and cables, a film canister, bus wire (the white solid core
wire), 4 LEDs, and a 33 Ohm resistor if you are using a camera needing a 9V supply (not
pictured).
Figure 1 Materials for Camera
2 Sketch your circuit
The black and white camera requires 9V at 100mA. The LEDs require 3V at 25mA. The
battery supplies 12V. Figure 2 displays a circuit which drops the voltage to the camera to
9V and puts 4 LEDs in series over 12V.
Figure 2 Circuit diagram (with 9V black and white camera)
3 Fabricate the lens
To waterproof the camera you need a barrier lens between the water and the camera. This
prohibits water from entering the camera and also provides an air gap between the outer
and inner lens so the refraction of light through the water does not distort the image. If
you want to include your LEDs in your camera assembly (recommended for ease of
sealing) drill the appropriate number of holes for each LED in the lens plate with a 7/32”
drill, as shown in Figure 3. Cut the lexan into a disc so it fits into a plastic cup. Epoxy
will be poured into the cup to seal the system later on. You should make cutouts in the
lexan that will facilitate pouring epoxy into the cup. Make the lens sit as far as possible
into the cup to conserve the volume of epoxy required, but remember you have to fit
cables, LED wires, and your video connector should you choose to keep it attached. Keep
the white plastic on the lexan during this process to prevent scratching of the lens.
Figure 3 Lens and LED mounting plate inside cup
4 Glue the camera onto the lens
Test your camera in a TV and see if it is focused for both far and near viewing. If it needs
focus, you can screw the face of the camera in or out. Remove the plastic coating from
the back side of the lexan lens. Put two VERY SMALL DROPS OF SUPERGLUE on the
outside edge of the camera face and glue it to the center of the lexan lens. You want to
use very little super glue, as it spreads out on the camera face. Plug your camera in again
and MAKE SURE IT IS STILL FOCUSED. Run a small bead of super glue around the
edge of the camera face and around the threads of the camera to seal it and lock it into a
focused position. This superglue will prevent epoxy from getting into the lens. Cut a ring
off the open end of a film canister about ¼” high. Remove the remaining white plastic
from the other side of the lens and glue on the rounded edge of the film canister ring,
centered on the camera. This ring will prohibit epoxy from getting on the lens when the
assembly is cast. Your final assembly should look like Figure 4.
Figure 4 Camera and film canister ring glued to lens
5 Glue the LEDs to the lens
Put an LED in each LED hole and put a small bead of super glue around the backside
edge of the LED, as shown in Figure 5. Be careful to not smudge super glue on the face
of the LED, as it will make the light blurry. Remember also to orient your LEDs such that
you can connect the positive terminal (long leg) to the negative terminal of the next LED.
Figure 5 LEDs glued into lens
6 Solder connections of all the wires
Solder together your LEDs, positive terminal of one to the negative of the other.
Remember to leave the first positive and the last negative terminal unconnected. Solder
two pieces of bus wire to the remaining LED terminals so they can reach the power
connector. Cut off the power connector on both the camera and the long cable
video/power cable. Remember WHEN YOU CUT OFF THE CONNECTORS, LEAVE
AS MUCH WIRE AS POSSIBLE SO IT CAN BE STRIPPED AND SOLDERED. Put
the resistor in series with the camera circuit and hook the LEDs up in parallel with the
power coming in, as shown in the circuit diagram in Figure 1. You can choose to also cut
off the video connector if you want to save room in the cup. When everything is all set
you can wrap it in electrical to make a tight package. When everything is packaged verify
it works by hooking it up to the 12V battery and the video connector on a TV. The wiring
and packaging are shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6 wiring and packaging of camera and LED circuits (not shown with resistor)
7 Glue the lens into the cup
Glue the lens into the cup by putting a small bead of superglue around the edge where the
lens meets the cup. Make sure the lens is LEVEL, as you don’t want it to be cockeyed.
Leave the wires coming out of the face of the camera lens, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7 Camera lens glued into cup
8 Put screws into the cup
When you mount your camera to your robot, you will need to screw it to PVC. You can
cast screw threads right into the epoxy by putting screws into the cup in which you will
mold the camera, as shown in Figure 8. Put screws wherever you think you many want to
mount it, such as on the sides and the back. KEEP YOUR SCREWS AWAY FROM
THE WIRES. You don’t want water to leak around the screw threads and touch the
wires.
Figure 8 Screws in cup to cast in screw threads
9 Cast the camera in epoxy
Before you cast the camera, hook it up to power and video one last time. It is better to
find out now it doesn’t work, as it can’t be repaired once cast in epoxy. Mix the 2-part
urethane epoxy and pour it in through on of the holes in the lens. Fill the up all the way
up past the base of the LEDs. Be very careful to not cover the LEDs too far. If you have a
lot of room in your cup, you can conserve epoxy by taking up the volume with foam.
Figure 9 Camera cast in urethane epoxy (with camera and LEDs turned on)
