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ROBOT DISTRIBUTION

Updated

USE CASE · WATER AND UTILITY NETWORKS

Large-diameter sewer and culvert inspection robot: inspect large structures without sending a crew inside

The robot travels through large trunk sewers, egg-shaped collectors and culverts under roads, camera centred in the section, driven from the surface. Sewer crews only go in to carry out work.

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A Minicam Proteus CRP300 inspection crawler enters a large concrete box culvert under a road while the operator watches the reel at the entrance.

IN BRIEF

Updated

  1. A large-diameter sewer inspection robot is a tethered camera crawler that lifts its camera to the centre of large pipes and inspects trunk sewers, egg-shaped collectors, box culverts and storm drains without man entry.

  2. The iPEK ROVION RX400 works from DN400 to DN2000, with four-wheel drive, a two-speed gearbox, an automatic camera lifter and up to 500 m of cable, according to its manufacturer.

  3. Robot Distribution selects the crawler and accessories for your structures, delivers it, trains your teams and maintains it, to buy, rent or as RaaS.

WHY

Large sewer and culvert inspection

Large trunk sewers, walk-in egg-shaped collectors and culverts under roads or railways are often inspected on foot. Man entry is confined-space work: ventilation, gas detection, a surface watch and often flow diversion.

A large crawler records the same survey from the surface. The camera is raised to the centre of the section to see the whole wall, defects are measured and located, and the crew only goes in for the work decided from the report.

HOW IT RUNS

How a large structure is inspected.

  1. Preparing the structure

    We locate accesses, manholes and culvert heads, check the section shape (circular, egg-shaped, box) and the water level. Crawler, wheels and lifter are chosen accordingly: the IBAK T76 covers egg-shaped profiles DN400 to DN1400 and reaches DN3000 with the HeightFlex attachment, according to its manufacturer.

  2. Setting up

    The crawler is lowered through the manhole or placed at the culvert entrance, then connected to its reel. The Minicam Proteus CRP300 works from 300 to 1,000 mm, and up to 2,200 mm with the CEP300 elevation platform, according to its manufacturer.

  3. Driven inspection

    The operator drives from the surface, centres the camera, points it at joints, cracks and connections, and records the distance of each observation. On long runs cable length matters: 300 or 500 m on the Envirosight ROVVER X reels, according to its manufacturer.

  4. Coding and report

    Observations are coded to the European standard EN 13508-2, illustrated with photos and gathered in a report per section, used to plan cleaning, rehabilitation or structural repair.

Two technicians lower the Minicam Proteus CRP300 crawler through a trunk sewer manhole in a street, next to the inspection vehicle.
The crawler is lowered through the manhole and connected to its reel.
The Minicam Proteus CRP300 crawler, camera raised to the centre, lights the wall of a large egg-shaped brick sewer.
With the camera raised to the centre, the crawler films the whole wall.

THE ROBOTS

Large-structure inspection robots in our catalogue.

  • iPEK ROVION RX400

    Pipe and sewer inspection

    Key feature
    400–2,000 mm pipe
    Key feature
    Up to 500 m cable
    Key feature
    2-speed gearbox
    On order
    Price on request
  • Minicam Proteus CRP300

    Minicam

    Minicam Proteus CRP300

    Pipe and sewer inspection

    Key feature
    300–2,200 mm pipe
    Weight
    32 kg
    Key feature
    1 bar pressure-tight
    On order
    Price on request

  • IBAK

    IBAK T76

    Pipe and sewer inspection

    Key feature
    150–2,000 mm pipe
    Ingress protection
    IP68
    Lift height
    210 mm
    On order
    Price on request
  • Envirosight ROVVER X

    Envirosight ROVVER X

    Pipe and sewer inspection

    Key feature
    100–2,400 mm pipe
    Weight
    6 kg
    Ingress protection
    IP68
    On order
    Price on request
  • Rausch L 135

    Rausch L 135

    Pipe and sewer inspection

    Key feature
    140–1,500 mm pipe
    Weight
    20 kg
    Key feature
    Nitrogen-pressurised
    On order
    Price on request
The whole solution · Water and utility networks

BEFORE INSTALLING

What the site survey checks before purchase.

  1. Sections and diameters

    The diameter range and section shapes decide the crawler and lifter: DN400 to DN2000 for the iPEK ROVION RX400, 5.5 to 60 in (about 140 to 1,520 mm) for the Rausch L 135, according to their manufacturers.

  2. Access and lengths

    Manhole size, culvert heads, distance between accesses and where the vehicle can park set the cable length and how the crawler is deployed.

  3. Water, flow and deposits

    Water level, flow and deposits are noted: cleaning or flow diversion may be needed for the camera to see the invert.

  4. Atmosphere

    In networks where an explosive atmosphere is possible, the equipment must suit it: the IBAK T76 is available with an explosion-protection option, according to its manufacturer.

FAQ

Network managers' questions about inspecting large structures.

Up to what diameter can a robot inspect?

According to the manufacturer: DN2000 for the iPEK ROVION RX400, 2,200 mm for the Minicam Proteus CRP300 with its elevation platform, DN3000 for the IBAK T76 with the HeightFlex attachment, and 96 in (about 2,400 mm) for the Envirosight ROVVER X depending on crawler size.

Does the robot replace man entry into trunk sewers?

For the visual survey, in most cases: it films, measures and locates defects from the surface. Physical work, sampling and some checks are still done by a crew, under confined-space procedures.

Can egg-shaped sewers and box culverts be inspected?

Yes, with the right equipment: the IBAK T76 is rated for egg-shaped profiles DN400 to DN1400 by its manufacturer. For box culverts, the survey checks invert width, height and the lighting needed.

Is the crawler waterproof?

Yes. The RX130 crawler of the Envirosight ROVVER X is IP68 to 1 bar, and the Rausch L 135 is nitrogen-pressurised with a leak sensor, according to their manufacturers. A high water level still hides the invert.

Do the reports follow a standard?

Yes: observations are coded to EN 13508-2, the European standard for describing the condition of drain and sewer systems. The report is produced section by section, with video and photos.

USE CASES

Send us the list of your structures and their sections. We choose the right crawler.

Robots, acquisition mode and delivery terms, in one written proposal.

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