Increased Product Life with a Sub Soiler OEM

Overview

Chapmans was approached by a valued, long-standing customer wishing to develop an innovative subsoiler leg to mount on a new machine. Their existing design closely resembled competing products, and they sought a distinctive solution to set their product apart from the competition.  These machines are a combination rotavator/fertiliser, using the subsoiler leg to open and lift the soil before adding the fertiliser, prior to the rotavator blades turning it over.  The original leg was manufactured from mild steel and wore out rapidly, due to the depth of working, prompting the need for a more durable and cost-effective solution.

Issue

The original leg was a legacy design over 1 metre long, to enable it to fit within the machine’s structure, and this could not be altered. However, the working depth and, therefore, the wearing area was only approximately 200mm.  As a result, at the end of its wear life, the user would be required to scrap over 20Kg of serviceable steel per leg at significant cost, due to there being ten legs per machine.  The customer needed a cost-effective redesign that preserved the functionality of the legacy design while reducing waste and increasing wear life.

Design Brief

The new leg needed to act as a subsoiler, working in combination with a rotavator and seed/fertiliser drill.  The customer requested that we work with armacarb tungsten carbide tiles to increase the product’s wear life.

Our Proposal

We proposed a modular, three-piece assembly, comprising the leg, and a replaceable wing and point, meaning that the end user does not need to scrap over 20Kg of perfectly serviceable steel whenever the ground engaging section has worn out.

The point has an extended shin to cover the working depth while both the wings and point have armacarb tungsten carbide tiles attached to increase the wear life of the part by up to seven times compared to standard boron steel. The wear life of the leg is significantly increased when compared to the original mild steel design.

The Result

Field trials demonstrated that the redesigned leg assembly delivered a sevenfold increase in lifespan over the original design. Moreover, end-users benefited from reduced maintenance costs, as only the worn points and wings typically required replacement. This innovative solution not only minimised waste but also enhanced the cost-effectiveness and competitiveness of the customer’s product in the market.