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Nexterity builds remote-controlled robot to take on pipefitting's toughest bolt work
A startup founded by a former ExxonMobil engineer has developed a battery-powered, remote-controlled robot that loosens and tightens the bolts joining sections of pipe, four at a time. Nexterity says the device is aimed at a task that injures pipefitters and slows work across oil, gas and petrochemical sites.
Nexterity's device is built in two main sections that clamp around a pipe. Once attached, the battery-powered unit slides along the pipe and can loosen or tighten four bolts in a single pass, and the entire system fits inside a Pelican case.
Founder Lindsey Elliott, a former engineer and planner at ExxonMobil, settled on the bolted flange joint — the connection between lengths of pipe used to move oil, gas and petrochemicals — as the place to focus. Those joints require heavy physical effort to work and account for many pipefitter injuries.
Labor supply compounds the problem. Elliott said workers tire when asked to put in 12-hour days for three months straight, and that pipefitters she has spoken with across the U.S. and Canada repeatedly describe North American pipefitting productivity as notoriously low.
Nexterity is among the Startup Battlefield 200 companies selected to take part in this year's Disrupt showcase, a cohort of early-stage businesses chosen to present their technology.
Fasteners have been a long-running interest for Elliott, who attended the annual Bolting Symposium, now in its 13th year. She said the highlight there was playing Bolting Bingo against a room full of self-proclaimed "torque dorks."