Zimmatic 8-5/8”Pipeline

Zimmatic 8-5/8”Pipeline
Zimmatic Pipeline Now Includes 8-5/8” Diameter Span Options
New for 2012, Lindsay has added an 8-5/8” diameter span pipe option to its industry leading line of
Zimmatic pipe. This new pipeline diameter will allow even more flexibility in building and pricing spans
to meet your customer’s expanding needs in the field. This product insight document explains the
advantages of 8-5/8” pipe and also reviews the current span offering from Zimmatic. In addition this
document provides a review of updates to the best-in-class production practices that make Zimmatic
span pipe second to none.
Product family:
Zimmatic
Product line:
Pipeline
Published by:
Tanner Hoffman
Date:
May 2012
Form number:
ZIM-05-12
Addition of 8-5/8” Pipeline
Updated Span Offering
The Zimmatic brand continues to advance as a global leader in mechanized irrigation with the release of new
products and options to help meet the expanding needs of growers worldwide. At Lindsay it is very important
to continually assess how the Zimmatic product fits the needs of each customer. In doing so costs of materials
and overall machine operation costs play a large part. Over time, the global supply of materials required to
produce spans using 8-5/8” pipeline has changed dramatically. To take advantage of these positive changes
Lindsay Corporation has made the capital investments necessary to produce this popular pipeline size.
With the launch of 8-5/8” pipeline, a full compliment of galvanized and poly-lined spans are now available.
This will allow you to order machines for all situations which include the new 8-5/8” diameter pipeline.
Updated 8-5/8” machine designs include the following options:
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Span lengths of 113’, 135’, 157’, 160’, 168’, 179’ and 180’
Span extensions of 1’, 3’ and 11’
Updated galvanized and stainless steel solid joints, allowing operation on slopes of 8% to 10% grade
depending on span length.
Updated 8-5/8” diameter swivel joints for operation on even more challenging terrain
Standard, Medium and High Clearance Tower Options
Newly designed lateral intake spans and joints
Use of all available driveline combinations, depending on tower height selection
All alignment options
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All of the design tools at your disposal have been updated to accommodate this change, including the
Zimmatic Price Book, SmartQuote, SmartDesign and all applicable design, installation and service manuals. In
order to make this important machine transition as simple and effective as possible for your dealership and
customers.
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Machine Affects from 8-5/8” Changeover
9500P Center Pivot
Incorporation of 8-5/8” spans into the Zimmatic 9500 product line allows even more flexibility to design a
machine that is the perfect fit for a growers needs. The 8-5/8” spans can be used in many different applications
to reduce friction loss, lower overall upfront machine costs and provide the span length clearance options
needed to match nearly any terrain or field design. Specific machine changes and points of interest are listed
below to help you become familiar with this new product.
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Pivot Point – 8-5/8” pivot points include a traditional
8” riser with Zimmatic’s exclusive external collector
ring. The design of the pivot point remains consistent
structurally with other Zimmatic machines. In order to
connect directly to 8-5/8” spans, this new pivot point
option includes a new 8-5/8” upper elbow.
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Spans – As previously mentioned 8-5/8” spans are
currently offered in lengths from 113’ to 180”, with
available span extensions in 1’, 3’ and 11’ lengths.
Swivel spans are not available at this time, but are
currently in development for release in 2012. Swivel
spans, where needed, are available for order in 8”
diameters. All trussing and structural span parts are
consistent with existing Zimmatic spans.
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Joints – The 8-5/8” joint has been updated with
additional gussets for added strength and improved
field performance. This update is covered in greater
detail in the following pages of this document. Outside
of these simple structural updates the 8-5/8” standard
tower joint has remained consistent with the patented
Lindsay Uni-Knuckle design that leads the industry.
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Towers – All tower options are available for use with
the 8-5/8” machine with the exception of Super-High
Clearance models. The Standard, Medium, and High
Clearance non-towable options utilize the same
components as 6-5/8” and 8” models, while the High
Clearance Towable tower has been updated due to the
tower bracing design’s interaction with the new larger
diameter pipeline.
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Ancillary Parts – Due to the larger pipe diameter it was
necessary to update the clamp assemblies that attach
the Booster Transformer, 8 AWG Junction Box, and the
SmartChip Control Box for the 9500CC to the pipeline.
These parts now require unique modules, for use with
8-5/8” pipe.
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Machine Affects from 8-5/8” Changeover
9500L Lateral Move Machines
The effects on the 9500L lateral product line are very similar to those of the 9500P Center Pivots. All spans for
general use within the machine have changed to 8-5/8” diameter, along with the lateral specific intake span,
and all applicable intake joints.
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Intake Joints – The 9500L intake joints have been updated to 8-5/8” diameter, to expand the current
offering which includes 6-5/8” and 8” joint options.
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Intake Span – The lateral specific intake span, which includes heavier wall pipe with additional strength for
interaction with the cart and ditch fed intake modules has been updated to include 8-5/8” diameter pipe in
addition to the existing 6-5/8” and 8” offerings.
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Free Standing Span – A free standing span conversion kit has been developed to allow the use of 8-5/8”
spans as the free standing span in end-fed and off-center-fed applications, where the free standing span
does not attach to the 9500L lateral cart.
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Joints – A full compliment of 8-5/8” joints has been developed including solid, reduction and transition
joints for use with the 9500L lateral move machine.
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Machine Improvements for 8-5/8” Pipe
Joint and Tower Leg Improvements
As part of the update for use of 8-5/8” pipeline the engineering
team at Lindsay has worked diligently to ensure that the new span
options will integrate as seamlessly as possible into the product
line. This has required the development of spans up to 180’ in
length. Given the additional pipe diameter and longer length spans,
which result in significant weight additions, a full battery of testing
was completed to ensure the structure of the 9500 machine would
perform to Zimmatic standards in the toughest conditions.
Finite Element Analysis was used to maximize
the design throughout the system.
Several methods of testing were used to maximize the performance
of the machine including, Finite Element Analysis, Accelerated Life
Testing, and various isolated component tests.
Improvements have been made to the span connection joint and
tower leg mounting hardware based upon these test results.
Span Connecting Joint Improvement:
Additional gussets were added to the pivot end joint between the
coupler bar assembly and the pipeline. These simple, inexpensive
gussets add significant strength to the joint overall, to support
heavier spans and rougher terrain. These joints were subjected to
severe Accelerated Life Testing and performed significantly better
than previous designs.
Gussets have been added to all 8-5/8” joints
between the Uni-Knuckle coupler bar
assembly and the pipeline for added strength
Tower Leg Mount Updates:
Through the use of Finite Element Analysis and computer modeling
procedures the tower leg mount design on all 8-5/8” machines has
been maximized. The geometry of the mounting ears on the joint
and pipe connections fits precisely to the angle of approach from
the tower leg as it exits the drive-tube mount. This ensures a
proper fit and eliminates any undo stress on the tower leg during
operation.
In addition to the updated geometry of the tower leg mount a
special laser-cut washer has been added to the tower leg mounting
bolts. This helps to more evenly distribute the span load through
the tower leg angle
A new tower leg washer has been developed
for all 8-5/8” machines for additional
strength and machine performance
These machine improvements having been thoroughly tested
implemented with 8-5/8” span machines are now being evaluated
for use in other 9500P and 9500L applications.
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Lindsay Span Advantages
Common pipe lengths
All Zimmatic 9500 spans, including those with the new 8-5/8” diameter pipeline, are constructed with a
simple combination of 44’ full pipe and 22’ half pipe.
Heavy-Wall 11 Gauge Pipe
A key competitive advantage that provides superior strength, reliability, and machine longevity. All Zimmatic
9500 spans are built using heavy wall 11 gauge pipe.
Multiple Span Length Options
Span lengths starting at 113’ through 180’ in 8-5/8” diameter (and up to 201’ in 6-5/8” and 5-9/16”) allow
amazing flexibility in machine design. Machines can also be built to fit specific field dimensions, dynamic
terrain, or man made features such as bridges or field roads with relative ease.
Flow Drilled Outlets
All Zimmatic span pipe utilizes a flow drilled outlet design. The flow-drilled outlets are more uniform in
production and provide a stronger, longer lasting connection than traditional welded outlet designs.
Common Truss Design
Structural steel used within the truss-work is interchangeable from span to span and within spans
themselves.
Molded Head Truss Rods
The hot-formed head design allows for longer spans to run in tough terrain with better performance and
machine longevity in the field, providing a consistent, high strength span support and truss connection.
Formed Truss Rod Pockets
Spread the span’s load evenly over a large surface area with high strength hardware connections.
Formed Truss Rod Pocket with Molded Head Truss Rods
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Lindsay’s exclusive Flow Drilled Outlets provide superior
strength and uniformity.
Lindsay Plant Updates for 8-5/8” Tooling
By investing in proper tooling and machine updates Lindsay Corporation has ensured the same level of high
quality production you’ve come to expect on all Zimmatic equipment will continue on the introduction of
8-5/8” pipeline.
New machine releases of this type require a significant capital investment for updated fixtures and
equipment. This allows for the utmost in uniformity and consistency as material flows through the plant. In
addition proper fixtures and tooling ensure that all Zimmatic products are produced as efficiently as possible.
The proper fixtures and tooling not only guarantee increased efficiency in production, but they also ensure
Zimmatic machines are produced to the highest quality standards. These precision fixtures hold every part to
exacting tolerances, with repeatable results. When coupled with Lindsay’s stringent quality control and
inspection processes, only parts that meet the Lindsay standard are shipped to the customer
In every portion of the business Lindsay corporation strives for the highest efficiency, greatest quality and
ultimately absolute customer satisfaction. Investments in manufacturing, such as these machine upgrades for
the release of 8-5/8” pipeline help support these goals.
Tooling Updates
New roll form tooling (upper left)
has been purchased to turn raw coil
steel into finished 8-5/8” pipe.
Multiple jigs and fixtures (upper
right) have been created and
updated to produce parts specific
to 8-5/8” diameter spans
Many new forming dies (middle
left) for use both inside Lindsay and
at 3rd party suppliers have been
created to manufacture new parts
from raw material.
Multiple work cells (middle right
and lower left) have been updated
or created to support the
manufacture of 8-5/8” pipe.
Many existing automated
manufacturing processes (lower
right) have been updated to
incorporate the 8-5/8” product.
Ensuring efficient uniform
production.
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The trademark Zimmatic is owned by Lindsay Corporation. All other trademarks are the properties of their
respective owners, and are referred to solely for informational purposes. No affiliation, endorsement or
connection between the owners of these trademarks and Lindsay Corporation, or any of its affiliates, is implied or
should be inferred from such references.
Copyright 2012 Lindsay Sales & Service, LLC.