Long booms and rough terrain can combine to produce potentially damaging boom bounce on off-road equipment. The resulting abnormal mechanical stresses can bend metal parts and lead to equipment failure. Designers at a manufacturer of agricultural equipment eliminate this problem on their self-propelled, high-clearance sprayers with their boom-cushioning suspension. This system adds AccuMight bladder accumulators, from Accumulators Inc., Houston, to the lift and wing-tilt cylinder circuits at the lifting area of the machine’s two 45-ft booms.
The 45-in.3 bladder accumulators, only 7.8-in. high and 5.4-in. in diameter, dramatically reduce the shock to which the booms are exposed while the sprayers move off road in rough terrain. By adjusting the nitrogen-gas precharge pressure in the accumulator, the boom is made to float in place rather than bounce out of control. The accumulators also produce even spray distribution, which results in an efficient sprayer package.
