Nexterity Robot Automates Dangerous Pipe Flange Bolting
Nexterity’s portable robot tightens four pipe-flange bolts at once, targeting injuries, labor shortages and low productivity across global industries.
Summary
Nexterity founder Lindsey Elliott, a former ExxonMobil engineer and planner, is developing a battery-powered, remote-controlled robot to automate the strenuous loosening and tightening of bolted flange joints. The two-piece machine attaches around a pipe, travels along it and handles four bolts simultaneously, targeting injuries, labor shortages and low North American productivity. Elliott says U.S. and Canadian pipefitters can face 12-hour days for three consecutive months.
Nexterity has configurations for standard pipe sizes, focusing on NPS2 to NPS8, or two to eight inches in diameter, which Elliott says account for 80% of pipes. Each configuration fits inside a Pelican case and can be carried by one worker, enabling a rental construction-equipment model and rapid movement between sites. Elliott developed the design through discussions at the 13th annual Bolting Symposium and with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Pressure Vessels & Piping Division. Selected for Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt, Nexterity sees applications across oil, gas, petrochemicals, water, wastewater, water treatment, food and beverage, mining, nuclear, and green and sustainable manufacturing, although deployment, pricing and performance details remain limited.
Positives
- Four bolts can be loosened or tightened simultaneously by Nexterity’s battery-powered, remote-controlled robot.
- NPS2 to NPS8 pipes represent 80% of pipes, giving Nexterity a highly repetitive task to automate.
- Each robot configuration fits in a Pelican case and can be carried between sites by one worker.
- A rental construction-equipment model could make the machines flexible to deploy across multiple facilities.
- Oil, gas, water, food, mining, nuclear and sustainable manufacturing use the same bolted piping infrastructure.
Risks & concerns
- Pipefitters can work 12-hour days for three consecutive months, contributing to fatigue and injury risks.
- North American pipefitting productivity is notoriously low, based on Elliott’s discussions with workers across the U.S. and Canada.
- Labor shortages increase pressure on the existing pipefitting workforce.
- Commercial deployment, pricing, customer adoption and measured performance details remain limited.