RUD-Proof Camera Housing

The camera enclosure needed to be lightweight so it could be supported by a basic tripod, battery powered to be independent of the test stand's power status, actively and passively cooled so it does not damage the camera in the hot North Carolina sun, weather resistant to prevent damage during a passing rain storm, and of course, resiliant to an engine RUD.

The enclosure is constructed of an 6" aluminum 6063 square tube with 1/8" walls. The front end of the enclosure is capped with a 1/4" thick acrylic plate and the rear end is enclosed with a 1/4" thick aluminum 6061 door. The door is held on with four thumb screws and has a seal to prevent water intrusion through the door. All screws were sealed with silicone as well.

There are two 60 mm computer fans to circulate air in and out of the enclosure to actively cool the camera. The entire enclosure is painted a bright white to reduce heat absorbed from the sun. The battery which is capable of running the enclosure for 11 hours straight (in tandem with the onboard camera battery) is mounted at the ceiling of the enclosure.

On the bottom of the enclosure, there is a custom Arca-Swiss tripod mount to enable use of a standard tripod head and legs.

I manufactured the acrylic window, front and rear frame, door, and Arca-Swiss mount on a CNC router. The enclosure frame was too large to use the router for, so I used templates to accurately drill all of the holes on the frame. Also, I installed a WiFi access point on the Liquid Rocketry Lab test stand that connected to our network to allow remote control of the camera.

The enclosure and camera were tested at the May 2024 cold flow of the Liquid Rocketry Lab test stand. The camera successfully connected to the LRL network and I was able to control it from 1300 feet away.