Fabrication of acrylic viewports

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At U-Boat Worx it’s our mission to offer explorers the best possible view from all our subs, including the deep diving submarines.

Our submersibles feature the largest and thickest acrylic windows ever made, and our engineers carefully design components so they don’t obstruct the view. Our acrylic viewports are created by specialist companies that have the ultimate levels of craftsmanship, only using highest- grade materials to ensure the clearest acrylic.

Each Cruise Sub for example has two acrylic hyper-hemispheres and one pilot window. The acrylic of the deep diving windows is incredibly thick – more than 20 cm (7.8 inches). Our suppliers have been making the lion’s share of acrylic viewport windows in the world, including those used in U-Boat Worx deep diving submarines.Thanks to ingenious engineering methods, we can deliver hyper-hemispherical acrylic viewports that are cast in one continuous piece, with no bonding required.

After the design of an acrylic viewport has been approved, the production starts. A mixture of powder and a liquid formula are combined in exact ratios in a specially constructed mould. After the mould has been filled, it is subjected to high pressure in an autoclave, and the temperature is slowly raised in order to initiate the polymerisation process.

After cooling the raw casting of the acrylic dome or hyper-hemispheres, it is removed from the mould. The raw casting is machined into its final shape over several stages. After each phase, the raw casting is re-heated (annealed) to release any stress that may have developed in the material.

 

When a perfect sphere with the specified thickness has been achieved and the viewport has finally cooled down, the polishing process starts.

Upon completion of a window, it undergoes a visual inspection and is measured, before entering our testing program, which include a wide range of trials including the major hydrostatic pressure tests of the complete pressure hull.

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    C-Researcher Series
    • C-Researcher 2
      500 M 1,640 Ft
      5,750 KG 12,700 Lb
      2
    • C-Researcher 2
      1,140 M 3,740 Ft
      7,200 KG 15,800 Lb
      2
    • C-Researcher 2
      3,000 M 9,840 Ft
      9,960 KG 21,950 Lb
      2
    • C-Researcher 3
      300 M 1,000 Ft
      6,300 KG 13,900 Lb
      3
    • C-Researcher 3
      1,140 M 3,740 Ft
      8,900 KG 19,620 Lb
      3
    • C-Researcher 3
      2,500 M 8,200 Ft
      11,300 KG 24,910 Lb
      3
    • C-Researcher 3 LH
      500 M 1,640 Ft
      4,100 KG 9,040 Lb
      3
    • C-Researcher 3 LH
      1,700 M 5,570 Ft
      10,500 KG 23,150 Lb
      3
    • C-Researcher 5
      300 M 1,000 Ft
      8,600 KG 18,960 Lb
      5
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  • NEXUS Series

    NEXUS Series
    • NEXUS 7
      200 M 650 Ft
      11,000 KG 24,000 Lb
      7
    • NEXUS 8
      200 M 650 Ft
      12,000 KG 26,000 Lb
      9
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  • Cruise Sub series

    Cruise Sub Series
    • Cruise Sub 5
      500 M 1,640 Ft
      8,500 KG 18,750 Lb
      5
    • Cruise Sub 5
      1,140 M 3,750 Ft
      11,000 KG 24,250 Lb
      5
    • Cruise Sub 5
      1,700 M 5,570 Ft
      16,000 KG 35,260 Lb
      5
    • Cruise Sub 7
      300 M 1,000 Ft
      9,500 KG 20,940 Lb
      7
    • Cruise Sub 7
      1,140 M 3,740 Ft
      14,500 KG 31,970 Lb
      7
    • Cruise Sub 9
      300 M 1,000 Ft
      11,000 KG 24,250 Lb
      9
    • Cruise Sub 11
      200 M 650 Ft
      13,300 KG 29,320 Lb
      11
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    Super Yacht Sub 3
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      3,800 KG 8,380 Lb
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      300 M 1,000 Ft
      6,010 KG 13,250 Lb
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      200 M 650 Ft
      7,340 KG 16,180 Lb
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      2,500 KG 5,510 Lb
      2
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      9,000 KG 19,800 Lb
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      150 M 500 Ft
      120
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    Nautilus
    • 17 occupants
      150 M 500 Ft
      17
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Model Overview
feet/poundsmeter/kilogram
  • Occupants (min.)

    2
    99
  • Depth (min.)

    100
    3000
    328
    9840
  • Weight (max.)

    2480
    1300000
    5465
    2500000
  • Height (max.)

    150
    1000
    60
    1000