TPT July 2015

Technology News

Pipe robots for the internal grinding of welding seams

the location inside the pipe, the grinding module is fixed by a clamping system. Controlled by an on-board grinding camera, a powerful three-phase current motor with changeable grinding disc mounted on a rotating unit (380°) and a radial stroke makes it possible to machine local areas point by point with an accuracy of 0.1mm. Standard robots from inner diameter 75mm to 1,200mm are available for visual inspections combined with possible laser measurements for online defect sizing and evaluation of the interior pipe ovality or weld seam profiling. A 100 per cent determination of the wall thickness or detection of pitted areas can be done by using available ultrasonic robots. Customised robots can also be produced. Inspector Systems – Germany Website: www.inspector-systems.com

wall of the pipe, the robot gets centred/ stabilised and is able to drive through bends ≥1.5D as well as horizontal and vertical sections, in particular of so- called ‘non-piggable’ pipeline systems. With its grinding robot technology, approved by renowned international companies and expert organisations in the offshore, oil and gas and nuclear industry, Inspector Systems has the technical know-how to competently grind welding seam connections from the inside and thereby prolong their fatigue. Beside the removal of weld undercuts the qualified two-step process (grinding/ polishing) eliminates surface cracks as well as corrosion areas or any other kind of debris and defects. Additionally, a prevention of surface cracking is given and even a difficult conditioning of the misalignment between pipe ends can be performed. Once the robot has reached

MACHININGof weld seams is necessary whenever the quality assurance and safety of the seams are subjected to high stresses. Specialised in the development and production of self-propelled, tethered pipe robots for the interior inspection and non-destructive testing of complex pipeline systems, Inspector Systems also offers technologies for interior machining. The basic structure of all of the robots consists of several drive units with special rubber coated wheels that are flexible and connected to each other and to the testing or machining module by means of folding bellows. This modular design ensures a high degree of bendability and allows insertion into the pipe system, even when only a small amount of space is available – such as with open armatures or flanges. Due to the pneumatic pressing of the rubber wheels against the inner

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J uly 2015