Visual Grabbers - A Tool You Didn’t Know You Needed
Standard Grabbers vs. Visual Grabbers
Have you ever dropped a bolt in an engine, or a valuable piece of jewelry down a drain? Imagine how long it would take to disassemble an engine or a drain to get to an object that you can view and pick up within seconds. Borescope grabbers are an invaluable tool to retrieve hard to reach or objects that are not visible due to dropping or other factors. Given the time and labor these endeavors take, a borescope grabbing tool pays for itself after one or several uses. The visual grabber is a forward-facing borescope with a camera, lighting, and a grabbing tool at the front of the probe that can be extended and retracted to view and pick up objects.
There are inexpensive grabbing tools on the market like the ones in the links below which has a retrieving claw and some with a built-in light but no camera. While these are useful, sometimes the object to be picked up may not be visible inside an enclosure making the job more difficult and sometimes impossible. With a Visual Grabber, the user can easily see what is inside or in front of the grabber and take out the desired object easily by inserting the probe into a space and retrieve objects with the retractable grabber arms.
Alternate Names for Visual Grabbers
The visual or borescope grabber may be advertised under different names such as a peep grabber, peeking grabber, pickup tool with a camera, golden eye retrieval tool, Hawkeye pickup retrieval grabber tool, camera-assisted retrieval tool (CART), and blue-eye grabber tool, remote inspection and pick up tool, retrieval tool with a camera, etc.
- Probe head with grabber claws and tiny camera with built-in lights
- Insertion probe tube
- Operation handle to manipulate the grabber claws
- A display to show live images transmitted from the camera
Visual grabbers with an LCD screen allow the user to have an all-in-one instrument with a viewing display built-in to the tool. Some examples of these include the following.
2. USB Computers and Smartphone Compatible Visual Grabbers
3. Borescopes with Working Channels for Grabbing Tools
Some applications for grabber borescopes or visual grabbers include those used in Aviation and Automotive Maintenance for retrieving bolts and other dropped objects, Industrial, Plumbing for unclogging drains, Home/Personal Use such as finding objects down drains and pipes, or removing debris from tight spaces. Also used in applications for HVAC professionals, insurance adjusters, maintenance staff, marine mechanics, roadside assistance personnel, trade professionals, and manufacturing professionals.
Some drawbacks of the visual grabber are that the camera is covered by the retracted claw upon entry which may make it challenging to navigate to the desired object that you want to retrieve. Once inside, the claw can be opened and live video from the camera can be seen. Space also may be limited within the enclosure which may not allow the claw to be fully extended which will make the pickup more difficult. In any case, the benefits certainly outweigh the disadvantages of using a visual grabber.
- Probe head overall diameter and size. From 6mm / 0.24" to 21mm / 0.81"
- Insertion probe type and length. From 1.2ft long to 5ft long*
- What device to use to display live image, iPhone, iPad, Android, a laptop, or USB monitor, or a built-in LCD screen?
- Camera quality such as resolution and focus range
- Cost
