Delta Boom Features - Goldacres MY17-19 Operator's Manual

Delta Boom Features

Centre Section
The Delta centre section is made up of two
components, the Paralift rear and the boom centre
section. The two are held together by 4 delta links.
These links allow the boom to be suspended in
order to provide roll and yaw suspension.
Roll suspension acts when the boom pitches up
and down at the tips. Yaw suspension acts when
the boom moves fore and aft at the tips. If the
boom did not feature yaw suspension there would
be excessive stresses exerted on the booms and
centre section when cornering or corrections of
line are made. The yaw suspension allows the chassis
of the sprayer to move left and right without any
movement being transferred to the boom. The
Paralift rear will move with the centre of the sprayer
but the boom centre section will remain static or
level as it rotates around the delta links connecting it
to the Paralift rear.
The boom yaw is dampened by a combination of
springs and dampers. If the springs are not tensioned
correctly the boom will be able to yaw excessively
and the springs may be damaged. If a spring is
damaged, both opposing springs must be replaced at
the same time.
Hydraulic Raise & Lower
The Paralift on a Delta boom enables the boom
to be raised and lowered to maintain a consistent
boom height above the target.
Delta booms feature a Paralift rear which uses two
hydraulic cylinders to perform the lift, while also
acting as a component in the vertical suspension
system. Each hydraulic cylinder is connected to
an individual nitrogen charged accumulator which
smooths out the boom ride. The boom limit height
switch allows the operator to adjust the minimum
ride height of the boom.
The hydraulic lift also enables the boom to be raised
prior to folding and then used to lower the boom
onto the boom rests once folded in.
Hydraulic Fold
The hydraulic fold feature allows the boom to be
opened and closed from within the cabin.
Hydraulic phasing cylinders are used in the folding
operation of the boom. This ensures that both sides
of the boom are synchronised and will open and
Prairie 1500-3000L Operator's Manual MY17-MY19 - REV 0
close together so that the weight distribution is the
same on both sides of the boom.
As hydraulic fluid enters one hydraulic cylinder, it
acts upon the first ram and causes it to move. This
motion results in an amount of fluid entering the
second hydraulic cylinder which causes it to move
an equivalent distance. There is also a flow restrictor
for each cylinder so that the hydraulic fluid will enter
and leave the respective cylinders at a controlled
rate. This has the effect of slowing down the rate
of fluid transfer and thus causes the boom to open
and close more slowly - protecting the boom from
damage. If the phasing cylinders do not fold together,
information on re-phasing the rams can be found in
Chapter 11 'Troubleshooting'.
Boom Balance
The Delta boom suspension system causes the
boom to adopt the same plane as the spray tanker.
If one side is heavier than the other, the boom will
tend to hang lower on the heavy side, so both sides
need to be balanced for the boom ends to sit at the
same height.
To achieve this, a boom counterweight can be
included on the boom and placed strategically
so that it compensates for the opposite end
and balances the boom. The different sized
counterweights can be used and/or moved to help
balance the boom correctly.
Boom Cables
Boom cables are a critical part of the Delta boom
and it is important to ensure that boom cables are
correctly adjusted prior to operation.
Loose boom cables can cause boom damage by
allowing the outer boom section to hang out of
alignment or to 'break away' too easily. This can
shorten the sprayers life by placing unnecessary
stresses on the boom, Paralift and chassis.
The cable tension can be checked by inspecting
the cable springs, further information on boom
adjustment and alignment can be found in the 'Boom
adjustment' section.
Continued over page
Chapter 9 - Delta Boom - 49