Al sprayer boom project

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My old steel spray booms were shot. I spent equal time repairing bent or cracked booms as I did working in the field. Old booms were manual folding and statically attached to the 3 pt tank and pump. I've come up with my own design of a boom system that is hydraulically folded with tip height control and boom end breakaways. To prevent cracking, each boom has independent suspension. To save on weight, I'm building the booms out of Al. I'm much more of a stainless welder, but I should be proficient with Al by the time I'm done. First two sections are welded up. I need to work on my photography skills. Most of my close-ups were very badly out of focus. Here are two shots of my project so far. Attachment 311471Attachment 311481More to come...Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:Seems like something wrong with the attachment. Can't view it.
Reply:Sounds like a vast improvement, and pics don't work well for me either
Reply:Not sure what happened with my first post photos. I'm using Tapatalk. Made a little more progress. 3 of 5 boom sections are now welded up. 2 10' section and 1 of the 3 8' sections. The overall working width should be 45' when the hinged breakaways are added. I put a deep bevel at the joints. All of the material so far is 1/8" wall 1 1/2" square tubing. The details for anyone interested:Machine is a Lincoln Precision Tig 185, set to max amps to start, but not welding the entire joint at that heat. 3/32" red tungsten on a 17 air cooled torch with a #7 gas lens. 1/16" 4043 filler. Going to go through a few more stainless brushes than I originally thought. I have stainless bristles all over my table at the end of the day.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:This project is still going on. Haven't been able to spend as much time as I should on this. I'm just a few weeks away from needing to put this thing to work and have a bunch to do. Such is farming. Main boom sections are mostly done. Outer boom hinges and boom reinforcements are finished and ready to put together. Pic 1 is an outer hinge. "Big door hinge"It's 3/16 plate and tubing with a 3/4" bolt. Attaches to booms with some reinforcement. I'll be doing the hydraulic cylinder mounts and main frame next week, unless other farm duties come calling.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:Just an FYI if you're using brushes with plastic handles......... don't. Especially on alu. The material welded gets much hotter and transfers through the bristles to the handle, melting them and allowing the bristles to fall out. Don't ask how I know that. I now buy wood handled only.Nice job by the way. It'll be nice to see them finished.Last edited by millrat; 03-13-2013 at 10:33 AM.Reason: Wrong button
Reply:I wasn't aware you could buy stainless steel brushes with plastic handles. I assumed the only way to get them was to buy a Chinese made welder.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:Originally Posted by manningI wasn't aware you could buy stainless steel brushes with plastic handles. I assumed the only way to get them was to buy a Chinese made welder.
Reply:More progress on this project. The left and right booms are finished, including the breakaway assemblies for the outer 8'. Here are a few photos of the project:Boom extended and folded. Pivot is at the top, hydraulic cylinder attaches at bottom (folds vertically). Close view of pivot assembly. Boom breakaway assembly. Springs are positioned to hold the booms folded for transport. The system plumbing will attach to the angle. Spray nozzles will be flush with bottom of the boom section when installed to protect them. Currently spraying, spreading manure, and planting, so this job only sees work on the very rainiest of days. I hope to have it finished by mid summer for weed control in corn and soybeans.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:This is turning out nice, curious to see how it holds up since sprayer booms get beat to **** normally. Wonder how the aluminum will take the fatigue.
Reply:Not in the photos yet is a suspension system for the booms. The factory setup does not have any suspension, which caused repeated failures at the fold points. I'm hoping to avoid that with lighter aluminum booms with a suspension system.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:Looking good so far Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Awesome project!
Reply:Pretty smart to use all the bolts you've used.  The aluminum stuff I've seen, subject to vibration and impact, generally wallows out the bolt holes.  The large number of bolts should spread the impact load on the holes.I'm not sure how critical it is, but how about the electrical effect between the dissimilar metals?  I know there's some reaction, but don't know how bad it would be in this application, and whether it'd be accelerated by the chemicals.Aluminum is pretty nice stuff, but I don't have the moola to get into it.  And the price of the metal just about makes for a heart attackNeat job"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammI'm not sure how critical it is, but how about the electrical effect between the dissimilar metals?  I know there's some reaction, but don't know how bad it would be in this application, and whether it'd be accelerated by the chemicals.
Reply:nice work, good looking aluminum welds there! What sort of parts does the machinist make for you? Just curious...Miller diversion 165Miller mig 211Hypertherm pm 30Milwaukee 6230 14 inch chop sawMd 45 mag drill (RIP; fell on its head)New MD 45! Thanks to the esposa!Finally got an O/A setup
Reply:Updates?
Reply:looks good! cant wait to see it all done and field ready.Lincoln SA 200 Lincoln Idealarc 300/300 TIG
Reply:Spring came on quick, and I needed to get some spraying done before my suspension system was finished. So I slapped the new booms on my tank and went to work. After just a few acres of bouncing around, it was clear that the longer booms require suspension on my ground. I took them off, put the old booms back on and prayed they held up. During the brief time between planting, haying, and running after cows, I did more work on the suspension system. The basic design is a 1" solid bar sliding through tubing with springs on either side. The slide is attached to the sprayer frame at the hanging pivot. I hope to get more work finished on this soon. Going from a 33' boom to a 45' looks to be a real time saver.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:I'm slowly getting it all together in between everyday work and repairs. The center hookup is mostly 3/16" steel, so that was all mig welded. I'm happy with how my weld turned out, considering how littlest experience I have. Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:Nice work, thanks for taking the time to post it. I am a 5th generation farmer and am always happy to see the ingenuity and self-sufficiency of farmers get some exposure.Miller millermatic 251Miller aircrafter 330st, wp201961 Lincoln SA200Ellis 1600 bandsawLogan 820 latheSouth Bend 13"Bridgeport M Head