As agricultural equipment manufacturers seek ways to improve productivity, lightweight composite materials are finding their way into the design of modern machinery. One agricultural machinery manufacturer has paired carbon fibre sprayer booms with Vesconite bushings, creating a combination that delivers durability, chemical resistance and improved field efficiency.
The manufacturer has incorporated Vesconite bushings into the pivot points of its carbon fibre agricultural sprayer booms, replacing traditional steel components with advanced composite materials that enable larger, lighter and more productive equipment.
Sprayer booms are among the most important structural components of crop sprayers.
Supporting multiple spray nozzles across their length, they are designed to distribute herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and liquid fertilisers evenly across fields. As farming operations continue to grow in scale, manufacturers have sought to increase boom widths so that more hectares can be covered in less time.
Replacing steel with carbon fibre has played an important role in achieving this objective.
Carbon fibre offers a high strength-to-weight ratio, allowing significantly lighter boom structures while maintaining the stiffness required for accurate spraying. The reduced weight makes the booms easier to fold, unfold and stabilise during operation and transport. Lower mass also allows manufacturers to design greater boom spans, enabling operators to cover larger areas in a given time and improving overall productivity.
The material offers additional advantages in agricultural environments. Unlike steel, carbon fibre is not susceptible to corrosion and is unaffected by water, fertilisers and many agricultural chemicals.
Vesconite complements these properties. The engineered bearing material is considerably lighter than metal, does not swell in water, and offers excellent resistance to many agricultural chemicals. It also operates with low friction and can perform reliably with little or no lubrication, making it well suited to the demanding conditions encountered in the field.
According to Leandro Panzini of Vesconite Argentina, the decision to specify Vesconite came naturally once the designers reached the boom pivot points.
“When they had to design the booms, and they had a few breakpoints where they needed to fit a bushing, they said, ‘We have the correct material’,” notes Panzini.
What makes the application particularly interesting is the manufacturer’s background. The agricultural equipment company originated as an offshoot of a marine business with extensive experience in advanced composite materials, including fibreglass, composite laminates and carbon fibre.
The company was already familiar with Vesconite through its use in rudder systems and other marine applications on sailing yachts. Having successfully used the material in demanding marine applications, its engineers understood the performance benefits that Vesconite could bring to a new generation of lightweight agricultural machinery.
That existing confidence in Vesconite helped streamline bearing material selection when developing the sprayer booms.
As manufacturers continue to pursue lighter, more efficient agricultural equipment, combinations of advanced composites and engineered bearing materials may become increasingly common. The ability to reduce weight without sacrificing strength enables wider equipment, lower operating loads and improved productivity, all while maintaining durability in harsh operating conditions.
