The Hächler Climbolino® E is a compact battery-operated service connection robot that has revolutionised milling robots for trenchless sewer rehabilitation.
With a wide range of applications from DN 60 to DN 300, the unique German designed machine was developed to be a versatile, all-encompassing unit that can tackle reinstatements with ease, yet be powerful enough to handle constant robotic grinding with its powerful electric milling spindle.
The Climbolino® E was the answer to a difficult project at one of Mr Drains strata blocks in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood in May this year.
The team of three were tasked with the difficult challenge of completely rehabilitating a critical sewer stack line, which ran behind the bathroom walls of the apartments, and returning it to service in the same day.
With over 20 apartments in the building, it was imperative that the sewer was only out of action for a short period of time and noise was kept to a minimum so that the residents wouldn’t have to be relocated and surrounding residents and business weren’t impacted.
The project involved cleaning, relining, and reinstating the junctions on a heavily corroded 30m cast iron sewer pipe that ran through the middle of the apartment block.
With the access point to the pipe located on the roof of the building, the team was able to easily relocate the Climbolino® E from the ground floor up the fire stairs to the roof of the building, aided by the small wide rubber wheels and ergonomically designed non-slip handles.
“The robotic cutter is really easy to manoeuvrer and is a great asset in our strata blocks where there are many tight spaces and staircases to overcome,” said Mr Drains operations manager Ben Harrison.
With no power required, the team was able to get to work immediately using a small compressor and the units two 56 V batteries.
“We can be really efficient with this unit,” said Harrison.
“It is easy to operate, even in hard-to-reach places and we don’t need to spend our time hunting for a power source.”
The team commenced cleaning the host pipe, aided by the Climbolino® E’s sophisticated control unit and extra-large 12-inch LED display, before relining the pipe using the CIPP inversion method.
The Climbolino® E demonstrated its effectiveness while reinstating the junctions on the relined pipe.
“This unit makes light work of the reinstatements. Its high performing motor guarantees clean and efficient cutting work even in vertical pipes,” said Harrison.
“This complex job wouldn’t have been possible without the Climbolino® E.”
The clarity provided by the unit’s screen also ensured the team had exact precision and control from the single-handed operating joystick, preventing any accidents to the host pipe while navigating to the junctions, some of which were only DN 50.
The detachable display also made it possible for the crew to choose the ideal working position and not be tied to a fixed location.
Most importantly on this job, the low noise emissions of the unit allowed the team to operate into the evening to complete the reinstatements without impacting the residents.
“This job would have taken an extra day if it weren’t for this robot,” said Harrison.
“Our team now preferences this robot over any other cutter.”
Once the reinstatements were complete, the team door knocked to let residents know the sewer was back up and running.
The Climbolino® E saved this building from a very expensive reinstatement costs. If it weren’t for the Climbolino® E and its ability to reinstate the junctions from the roof of the building, the crew would have had to enter each apartment to perform the reinstatement, leaving unwanted damage to the bathroom walls.
Harrison acquired the unit from Australian and New Zealand supplier Pipe Core, who has a service department to help keep units up and running with minimal downtime.
With high demand for the unit now established in the trenchless market, Pipe Core now has stock available at their Port Melbourne warehouse ready to be shipped.
For more information visit the Pipe Core website.