Description
Challenge
The customer needed a single tool to perform visual inspections from a distance of 30 meters and spot mechanical tests of snubbers in a nuclear power plant. Snubbers are safety mechanical devices used to control and monitor the movement of structures during abnormal dynamic conditions such as earthquakes and large turbine cycles. Beyond visual inspection of snubbers to maintain safety, the customer needed to be able to grab hold of these snubbers to perform a spot mechanical test to make sure they were bearing load properly. The challenge was to come up with an all-in-one pole tool to perform these functions from the ground level thus avoiding constructing scaffolding.
Development
The customer provided Intertest Inc. engineers with data and sample snubbers to design a set of all-encompassing jaws to grab hold of the snubbers in the power plant. The customer needed the full design and built product within a 1-month window to meet their outage season time frame. Also, weight and jaw design were of importance.
Solution
InterTest engineers had previously designed standard products, the RT1000 Complete Electromechanical Retrieval Tool Kit and the XtendaCam Products, that had proven capabilities for this type of work. A combination of these systems became a viable option to meet the customer’s specifications of their application. With the provided sample snubbers and data, 2 different-sized jaw sets were designed and 3D metal printed. The camera and retrieval tool head was fully extended and tested to be sure the carbon fiber telescoping poles could bear the torque load.
Related Products:
RT1000 Complete Electromechanical Retrieval Tool Kit
Newer Solution:
XtendaCam® HD Zoom with Gripper