Pipelayer Product

Overview

A pipelayer is a crawler tractor fitted with a side-mounted boom, used to lift sections of welded pipeline and lower them into an open trench. On a cross-country pipeline spread, a row of pipelayers works in unison: they cradle the welded string clear of the ground while the joint is coated and inspected, then walk forward and lower the line into the ditch together. The side-boom layout keeps the load beside the tracks, so the machine can travel along the trench edge carrying the pipe.

The machine is built on a Crawler Tractor Base crawler tractor carrying the Diesel Engine, two Track Undercarriage track frames, the Side Boom, and a Extendable Counterweight that swings out on the opposite side to balance the load.

How it works

The Diesel Engine drives both the tracks, through final-drive gearing in the Crawler Tractor Base, and the pumps of the Hydraulic System. Lifting is handled by the Side Boom, an A-frame boom pinned to the side of the tractor. It carries two independent drums: the Load Winch raises and lowers the pipe on the Hook Block, while the Boom Winch changes the boom angle. Each winch has a fail-safe Winch Brake that holds the load if hydraulic pressure is lost.

The load tries to tip the machine sideways, so the Extendable Counterweight extends hydraulically away from the boom on its Counterweight Arm; the operator winds it out as the load swings further from the tracks, keeping the machine within its stability limit. A load-moment indicator warns before the tipping point is reached.

The wide Track Undercarriage track shoes spread the heavy concentrated load over soft right-of-way ground. The operator sits in a Operator Cab with separate levers or joysticks for each winch and for boom angle, watching a display for load and boom data. A low-voltage Electrical System system supplies the controls, work lights, and the engine accessories.