Visibility: Crystal clear
Current: Strong
We are narrowing it down! In the past couple weeks, we’ve used high resolution HP Jet Fusion 3D-printed parts to build our production prototype. That means it’s design is virtually identical to the Nemo that you, our backers, will be receiving! This comes as music to the ears of our engineers. However, it’s not all been smooth sailing.
Report: Many of our previous prototypes saw updates to the design concept: from performance, manufacturability, ease of use, and more. The production prototype we have today initially had some errors that all came down to the thousandths of an inch – but we figured it out! We’ve spent hours upon hours, carefully modifying the parts to match what our injection molded parts will be. It feels like a natural part of the process – every iteration is becoming more and more detailed, and we finally are at the last one.
…so, does it work?
It works! The engineers have been using the breathing machine relentlessly to confirm the performance and efficiency of the system, which has been optimal thus far. But, sometimes nothing compares to a real-life test to really validate the bench testing. So this week we took the prototype for a spin in the pool and at a beautiful dive spot in West Palm Beach, Florida – Blue Heron Bridge in Phil Foster Park. It is a perfect Nemo spot, so if you’re in the area – check it out!
The dive was wonderful. Nemo performed just as expected and with a run time of 63 minutes on a single battery pack. The average depth of the dive was right around 8 feet. The pool dive, however, which had an average depth of around 5-6 feet, boasted a run time of over 80 minutes!
Forecast: Our next major step is to begin the tooling of the injection molds. We have maintained contact with the molders, and they know we are very close to pulling the trigger. Hopefully by the next update we can say that steel has been cut! We’re just down to the thousandths of an inch.
Thank you for your patience, we can say with certainty: It’s worth it.
– BLU3 Team