The light stuff

Engineers look to lightweighting construction and agricultural equipment to contribute to efficiency while maintaining safety compliance.

Customers in the agricultural sprayer industry want longer spray booms for higher efficiency and productivity. Manufacturers have lengthened commercial spray booms from 60 ft (18.3 m) to the more than 120-ft (36.6-m) booms currently used. John Peterson, Director of Engineering, Global Applications & Seeding Electronics Functional Group at AGCO, said that as the structures grow, it becomes obvious that traditional welded steel cannot be used.

Domex, a high-strength steel, is used in current products, but it does not provide the length-to-strength ratio necessary <bold>AGCO and NDSU are researching joints of multiple types of materials to create longer, lighter-weight spray booms.</bold> for longer structures, which Peterson says could be more than 170 ft (51.8 m) long. “The boom becomes so heavy that problems arise in the middle where it attaches to the platform. Adding more steel is a vicious cycle,” he said. “There is a quest for everyone in the sprayer business; everyone is trying to make lighter structures.”