Apparatus and method of forming connectors brackets for irrigation laterals along an already made lay-flat pipe

An apparatus for forming connector brackets for irrigation laterals along a premanufactured lay-flat pipe, comprising:

• an opening formation apparatus configured to form an opening in a first wall of the lay-flat pipe, the opening having a circumferential edge;
• a positioning apparatus having an elongated nozzle sized to extend through the opening in the first wall of the lay-flat pipe and configured to position a separator inside the lay-flat pipe on a second wall of the pipe opposite the opening such that the separator is between the second wall and the first wall;
• an injection mold movable between an open state to receive the opening of the lay-flat pipe and a closed state, the mold comprising:
• at least two opposing surfaces configured to flatten the lay-flat pipe with the opening positioned opposite the separator when the mold is in the closed state;
• a core component comprising at least one passage configured for the pressured injection of a molten plastic material into a cavity formed when the mold is in the closed position, the core component positioned such that a first end of the core component is inside the opening in the first wall of the pipe when the mold is in the closed position;
• wherein the cavity is delineated by the separator, the mold, and a portion of the first wall proximate the opening such that the circumferential edge of the opening protrudes into the cavity, the cavity shaped to form a connector bracket upon injection of the molten plastic material, the bracket configured for coupling an irrigation lateral to the lay-flat pipe;
• and
• wherein the separator excludes the second wall of the lay-flat pipe from the cavity when the mold is in the closed position.