Camera Transporter Switches Between Wheels and Tracks

WTR III transformer transporter inspection camera from CUES Inc.

The WTR III transformer transporter inspection camera from CUES Inc. can quickly change between wheels and optional high-traction tracks, allowing it to navigate a variety of conditions in 6- to 30-inch pipes.

“In clean or new pipe, tracks work great,” explains Paul Stenzler, vice president of sales. “But in pipes with debris or sand, wheels tend to perform better. Because our customers encounter all kinds of conditions, we designed a transporter that offers the best of both worlds, so they don’t have to own two machines.”

The unit’s base configuration has wheels in various sizes to adapt to pipe conditions. A single-point removal system means changing sizes takes only a few minutes. “You don’t have to loosen, say, six things to take off the wheels,” Stenzler says. “There’s just one tool and one turn, and the wheel comes off.” Converting from wheels to tracks takes 10 to 15 minutes.

The unit uses two different transmission assemblies to generate sufficient torque to maintain traction with the various-sized wheels and the tracks. “Larger tires provide greater speed, but less torque, unless you compensate for it with gear reduction,” Stenzler points out. “You also have to compensate for the slower speed when you use the tracks.”

Weighted adapters help increase traction and raise the unit higher, increasing bottom clearance and keeping the camera head optically centered in different-sized pipes. “With more bottom clearance, the transporter can traverse debris, instead of pushing it along like a bulldozer,” Stenzler says. “And having the camera centered in the pipe optimizes light output and keeps it high enough to clear most flows.”

The unit accommodates the CUES OZ III pan-and-tilt zoom camera and OZ III Nite Lite pan-and-tilt camera. The camera fits snugly into a docking bay with a mating connector built into the transporter carriage. That eliminates external cables, which can get tangled in debris and get stressed during insertion and retrieval, Stenzler says.

“The unit is very compact,” he says. “It can accommodate almost any kind of pipe condition and provide optimal setup for efficiency, distance and clearance in various pipe conditions encountered in sanitary and storm sewer systems.” For more information: 800/327-7791; www.cuesinc.com.



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