Agricultural

Agricultural equipment is not always the first industry people think of for deep hole drilling, but I have done more work for tractor and harvester manufacturers than for almost any other sector. These machines use an enormous number of hydraulic cylinders, and those cylinders need deep, straight bores. What sets agricultural work apart from, say, aerospace or oil and gas is the volume. Agricultural component manufacturers run high production rates, and the cycle time matters more than getting the last 0.01mm of tolerance. ...

Agricultural sprayer booms are long, lightweight structures that fold out from the sprayer to apply pesticides and fertilizers. They need several types of deep holes — through-holes for fluid passages and cross-holes for nozzle mounting. Over the years I’ve drilled literally thousands of these boom sections, and there are nuances that don’t show up in any textbook. The boom sections are typically made from aluminum or stainless steel tubing. Aluminum is common for weight reduction — a 30-meter boom set made from 6061-T6 aluminum weighs roughly 40% less than an equivalent 304 stainless build. A typical boom section might have a 20mm through-hole running the full length for the spray fluid, with 6mm cross-holes at regular intervals for the nozzle bodies. ...

The Unique Demands of Agricultural Hydraulic Cylinders Agricultural equipment uses large hydraulic cylinders for tractors, combines, and loaders. A typical cylinder might have a 150mm bore through 2 meters of barrel. BTA drilling is the standard method for these large diameters because single-lip gun drills cannot handle the material removal rate required for production efficiency. I have set up BTA drilling cells for three different agricultural equipment manufacturers, and each one had slightly different requirements based on their cylinder designs. ...

Agricultural and forestry equipment is a steady market for deep hole drilling. Tractors, harvesters, loaders, and loggers all use hydraulic cylinders for their working functions. Every cylinder needs a drilled bore, and every rod needs a drilled hole if it’s hollow for weight reduction. I’ve worked on components for several agricultural and forestry equipment manufacturers. The work is similar to construction equipment but with some differences in volume and pricing. ...