Castors and Wheels go Underground!

December 24, 2015

Ross Castors

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I am constantly fascinated with the application of our castors and wheels, and this week I have learnt something new! A whole world exists below our feet underground, which only drain inspection cameras on wheels can explore! Sewer inspection cameras on rubber wheels have to be heavy, robust and sturdy to work in such an extreme environment. I must admit this isn’t an area I was expecting to be writing about, but it is one that just shows the versatility of our casters and wheels to today’s world. These heavy duty inspection cameras on wheels, are lowered into the underground world, and remotely controlled to explore the integrity of underground sewers, waste pipes and water pipes.

A recent survey highlighted the staggering issue that water companies in England and Wales, lose 3.36 billion litres of water a day due to leaky, split and damaged pipe network. This is hard to visualise this level of loss, put another way its equivalent to fourteen million baths of water. This is an improved situation, can you believe, from the 1990’s, when the leakage was thirty five per cent higher. Others argue that if all the pipes could be fixed it would save enough water to supply 22.4 million people every day. Many water companies say fixing all of the leaks is financially unviable, as the cost of replacing all the pipes under the United Kingdom would be over one hundred billion pounds. Hence the growth of the underwater, underground inspection cameras on plastic wheels. These clever robots on wheels can identify gaps, cracks and holes allowing the Water companies to repair and replace segments, rather than a complete network.

Sold as a pack, of an inspection camera, cable and screen, not only are the robotic cameras on wheels, but also the reel of cable sits on a frame mounted on black rubber wheels. This manoeuvrable set allows drain inspection companies and water companies to access even the most inaccessible pipes and drains. Inspection cameras can be attached to motorised drums to drive the cable underground. Trolley wheels support this motorised drum and can act effectively as a push camera system. There is a huge range of technological advances in pipe inspection, and its application varies from water companies to oil and gas installations.

Subterranean applications for caster wheels are not a new phenomenon. Having said that, the last time I wrote about it was the rescue of the Chilean Miners, back in 2010. In this scenario shock absorbing castors were built into the rescue pod. Solid rubber wheels, and plastic wheels are used extensively in oil and gas operations, above and below ground. A popular rubber wheel in these environments tends to be an anti-static rubber wheel, or an electro conductive rubber wheel. Avoidance of sparks, and absorption of electro conductivity being of utmost importance in these cases! So with a whole network of underground pipes under the UK, there may be an inspection camera on plastic wheels, roaming around beneath your feet!