Mobile inspection system provides low-cost reliability

Mobile inspection system provides low-cost reliability

Mobile inspection system provides low-cost reliability

High-end, sophisticated inspection systems are great. You’ll feel confident in your ability to successfully handle anything a job requires. But sometimes such a system is too much. You need something simpler yet still reliable. That’s the market Aries Industries is targeting with its Sentinel inspection system.

It is a self-contained mobile unit that requires only a single cable connection. The nonsteerable tractor can be set up quickly for operation in 8- to 15-inch pipe. A large-line kit with an auxiliary light allows for inspections in pipe up to 36 inches. The aircraft-grade aluminum reel keeps the system durable yet lightweight and includes 700 feet of cable. In total, the Sentinel weighs in at 120 pounds. The system’s pan-and-tilt camera has a 40:1 optical zoom.

“The goals were to keep it in a small, mobile package and keep the manufacturing costs down so we could ensure customers a low-cost system,” says Jeff Patin, a senior mechanical engineer at Aries Industries. “It’s meant to be entry-level or ancillary to bigger operations. Say you have an expensive CCTV truck, but you have a situation where you only have to go in and take a look to prep for a liner or something. You don’t want to have put a $100,000 CCTV system into action just for that, so here’s this small, mobile system that can be shared among trucks.”

Even though the system is low-cost and mobile, Aries Industries has ensured that it isn’t at the expense of reliability. One of the key aspects of the design, Patin says, is how seals are applied throughout the system. Aries Industries used a pressing technique on the seals that prevents any water intrusion, even if screws become loose.

“That design changes the reliability side of it and allows for fewer fasteners, so it lowers the complexity for the end user,” Patin says.

Aries Industries also considered ease of use for the end user in its decision to make the system suited for both North American and international customers. The Sentinel has universal voltage capabilities and a focus on internal components to allow for easier do-it-yourself troubleshooting.

“It may not have a lot of network support, but looking at internal components makes it very self-sufficient,” Patin says. “Sometimes systems have so many bells and whistles that the average person has to send it in to a repair center. This system takes less of a skill set. It is designed without some of those things that give you common failures.” 800-234-7205; www.ariesindustries.com.



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