Russian Alfa Class

[rwtdiver]

My typical driveline setup sees the interface between the drive shaft and motor shaft taking the form of a dogbone connector. That offers some efficient "slop" to take into account slight misalignments. Makes installing the cylinder a snap. I steer clear of intermediate shafts that are basically elongated dogbones. Seems a lot of subs I get in have that setup. Spring for the universal if your shaft is not aligned with the motor shaft. Saves a lot of headache during cylinder installation.

Bob

Hi Bob,

I missed your post here! I agree with you about the final main shaft hook up.



Using the dogbone is what I have used on all my boats. Sometimes to many questions can sure get confusing! I know we have had this discussion before, but sometimes to much blogging and not enough building is not a good thing!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[CC Clarke]

Good progress Rob.

The first render is my completely re-designed Alpha front end. The Bow Plane Support Platform has two brass bushings and is removable. Note the 2mm high section interconnect frame backstops encircling the inner bow diameter which aid in installation alignment and increased strength at the joint. In addition, each section has internal ribs molded into the hull for increased rigidity and strength. The frames were increased in width from approx 7 to 15mm. Passages for air and water management are included for each hull section.

The sail needed a facelift to include the access door walkways; limber hole flaps were installed and a lot of extra detail was added, especially on the stern rudder supports. Cooling intakes were added to each side. The only external details I retained from the original model were the five round, vents -just because they looked cool after printing, though I could never find any photo reference to verify them.

FDM (filament) printing was only used for the interconnect frames; everything else is resin-printed to capture the additional details and minimize the amount of time sanding layer lines associated with that style of printing. Resin printing needs a slight scuffing and it's ready for priming. The only appreciable exterior sanding is at the hull joints. For those, resin can be wicked into the cracks, and cured with a hand-held UV light. The results are very smooth and sanding is minimal.

Am about to pack all of my printing gear up for our upcoming move to AZ.

[rwtdiver]

CC,

Your Alfa looks great! The quality of your build speaks for itself! I really appreciate and admire the engineering that you have put into Alfa project!

Makes me want to take a hammer to mine! :-))

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[neitosub]

Looking good Rob! One suggestion I have is to replace those Tamiya-style connectors on the ESCs with Deans plugs. Much easier to plug and unplug, and they take a lot less space as well!

Cheers,
Nate

[rwtdiver]

Looking good Rob! One suggestion I have is to replace those Tamiya-style connectors on the ESCs with Deans plugs. Much easier to plug and unplug, and they take a lot less space as well!

Cheers,
Nate

Not to worry Nate,

I have not started any of the wiring process yet. The photo just shows were the electronic might be located. I only use deans connectors on all my power supplies! Thank you for your input!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[rwtdiver]

Today I was granted some time to really try and get some things done on my ALFA!





I had tools, and everything else related to RC sub building out today to try and get this project completed and in the water! I did finish up the 70 mm WTC, and it all works!! I water tested the WTC to check for any leaks and I am happy to say I lucked out on this one. I decided to run my RX antenna on the inside of the cylinder just like on all my SD. My subs do not get much further than 10 feet from my TX and if I do dive it is no more than 2 feet at the most. Never had a problem.

Tomorrow I will start working on the balance and the trim work!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[rwtdiver]

Today I got a good start on trimming out the Alfa!



I added some weigh to the bottom of the hull in order to get my CG set up correctly! Then after about 5 trips to the pool and back to the building table, and after adding foam to the upper section of the I think I just about have the boat where I want it. I most likely will be doing yet more minor adjustments tomorrow.

I have found a very good fit on my battery! It's a VENOM 11.1V/3 cell 4000 mAH 20C Lipo battery. It fits like a glove in the lower battery compartment. This battery is one that the RC Cars guys use because of the extra care that has been taken to prevent water or dampness issues.

As we have discussed on this forum and the dive tribe meeting, going overboard on any additional coverings or other forms of keeping the moisture/water out can do more harm than good! Besides if you put the time and effort in MAKING SURE your WTC dose not leak, your water issues are solved!!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[Sam Victory]

The Alfa submarine has a very sleek shape, which I really like. Note that its two front dive planes are staggered up and down, as this is the only way they can both retract into the hull. Many Soviet submarines had flaps on their forward diving planes, and the Alfa submarine was no exception.


V




Akula I



、



Sierra I

[rwtdiver]

Thanks for the info and photos Sam!

For now, I am just going to use the forward dive planes in the up/down movement only.

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[rwtdiver]

I think the final use of floatation and weights is complete and the boat is just about right in the water photos tomorrow of the boat in the pool!



I did make a change to my RX antenna installation. I moved it to the out side of the WTC, It was just to jammed up on the inside.



Tomorrow will be the final testing, and if all goes well we will head for the finish room!!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[rwtdiver]

Today I finished up the final trim work on the Alfa Sub!



I did have to add a small piece of foam to the real starboard side to bring her to level on the horizontal axis! My wife did shoot a video which I will post up soon. The 70mm WTC that I purchased from Bob (Nautilus Dry Docks) worked great. The ballast sizing for the 1:96 scale 3D printed Alfa seems to be right on the money. I set this sub not to go totally under water, but just about 3/4" up the sail. I need to put another good resin coat on the interior of the hull to seal up the PLA a little better. That is an issue with using PLA even at 100% in-fill, it will absorb some water the longer it sits in the water, and this will certainly change the balance and the ballast system.

A good interior hull seal (resin) and a few good coats of primer on the outside prior to final will take care of this issue.

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[rwtdiver]

https://youtu.be/PPUIyQCSlW4

Sorry for the video quality!

The above is the running of the Alfa today! Not much to see, only that it does move and is operational. I am very happy with the response other than the small Alfa rudder does not have a great turning radius for my small pool. No big deal, that's how most of my subs have been in our pool.

I am very pleased with the performance, and we can now move to the finish work! As for the finish on my boat! "WHAT EVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT"

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

NOTE: This build is complete, and I will be moving on! Thank you all for you participation and your input!

[rwtdiver]

These are the finished photos of my Russian 1:96 Scale 3D Printed Alfa Boat!





It was a fun build, and I am very pleased to how it turned out!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"

[SubDude]

Turned out really well Rob. It's a well built, good looking boat.

[rwtdiver]

Turned out really well Rob. It's a well built, good looking boat.

Thank you Steve,

It certainly not up to par to the standards that are posted on this forum! And for sure not even close to the sophistication, design, and finish that you apply to your boats.

I know that some really don't care for how I finish out my boats, and that I do not have a true (not even close) representation of a full scale boat, but that is not my forte. And my god, would it not be a boring world if we all did it the same way?! We are all individuals and we should all build on that! "Be Yourself"

Thanks again for the compliment Steve!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat"