Milling robot devours every obstacle in the sewerage network
Traffic is flowing on the roads without interruption. The column of cars moves forward, motorcycles putter along, heavy goods vehicles rumble their way through - just like always. Yet underneath the road surface something is happening. Almost unnoticed by road users, the sewers and drains are being rehabilitated. With no sign of a road digger! Torn up roads are a thing of the past. Modern sewer rehabilitation concepts have done away with the need for several days of road works, along with the stress for digger operators and impatient motorists. No mess, no jams and no potholes in the road.
Today’s sewer maintenance tools are special cameras and milling robots. Günter Meister, managing director of BRM GmbH in Biebergemünd, explains what actually goes on in the darkness of the sewer pipes: “The manhole cover is the doorway into this underworld. First, the maintenance operatives lower a special camera trolley into the pipe. Using this camera they carry out a visual inspection of the sewer pipes. The camera head - our own design - can be swivelled 270 degrees horizontally and 400 degrees radially. This ensures that the specialists are able to inspect the pipe walls in minute detail, and determine any damage.”
Once the initial inspection has taken place, the milling robot starts its work. Small and compact it nevertheless uses its gigantic power to munch its way through the underground drainage network. The rotating milling head, with its diamond-studded surface, simply devours ingrown tree roots, broken-off pipe splinters and hardened, encrusted muck, thus removing any blockages in the pipes. The milling robot consists of a two-axle trolley to move the robot forward and back inside the pipe. Two hydraulic cylinders are fitted to the trolley and these tip the milling arm up and down or forward and back. The control electronics are also fitted to the trolley. A flange-mounted circle gear turns the milling arm. The air motor is carried on the milling arm itself. This motor supplies the power for the milling work and causes the milling head to rotate. At the command console the operator manipulates joysticks and switches to control the milling robot. The special camera fitted to the milling arm monitors the work underground and transmits the images to a monitor. It means that the specialists are constantly able to monitor the progress of the cleaning work.
