Description
Challenge
Snubbers are safety mechanical devices used to control the movement of structures, such as piping, during dynamic or abnormal conditions. They can be difficult to access and require additional equipment such as ladders, lifts, or construction scaffolding, making inspections challenging, time-consuming, and costly. The customer needed a tool to inspect the snubber's effectiveness from the ground level. Ultimately, the tool would require a firm grip to grab the snubber and perform a spot mechanical test, ensuring it was bearing the structural load properly.
Development
The customer needed this device to be lightweight and rugged, able to grip the snubber from more than 20 feet away. InterTest combined the telescoping, carbon-fiber pole from the XtendaCam HD Air, a commonly used camera system for snubber inspection, with the iGrab RT-1000 Electro-Mechanical FOD Retrieval Tool, a motorized retrieval tool offering 50lbs of closing force, to create a unique extendable retrieval tool. The durable yet lightweight XtendaCam poles were previously tested on the XtendaCam with RT1000 Retrieval Tool to ensure they can withstand the torque load. The design used a custom curly cord inside the poles to mitigate cable entanglement or damage during extension and retraction. Additionally, InterTest designed two sets of interchangeable jaws with a center distance of 2.5" or 1.6" when closed and a maximum opening range of 8.4" or 2.5" for various snubber inspections.
Solution
The custom Xtenda-Grab features a telescopic, carbon fiber, tilt-adjustable pole that allows the inspector to conduct snubber inspections from the ground. The various features, including the internal cable design and the custom jaw sets, demonstrate the attention to detail when designing this solution. This innovation addresses safety hazards and significantly cuts down on the time and financial resources traditionally required to access snubbers, streamlining the inspection process.
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