Nexterity wants to automate the hard, dangerous part of pipefitting
The startup's robot can tighten or loosen four bolts at a time, and it fits in a Pelican case.
Lindsey Elliott, a former engineer and planner at ExxonMobil, sees great potential in bolting technology. At the Bolting Symposium, she proposed "Bolting Bingo" against self-proclaimed "torque dorks." Elliott realized that the bolts connecting pipe sections, known as "bolted flange joints," pose a significant safety risk for pipefitters and contribute to low productivity.
She launched Nexterity, a startup selected for TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield 200, with a solution: a remote-controlled robot to handle this challenging task. The robot, which slides along the pipe, can loosen and tighten up to four bolts simultaneously. Nexterity has developed various configurations to accommodate standard pipe sizes, primarily between 2 to 8 inches in diameter (NPS2 to NPS8).
This design choice was influenced by discussions with experts in the Pressure Vessels & Piping Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Elliott believes the market for this automation is vast, encompassing industries such as water, wastewater, food and beverage, mining, and nuclear energy.
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