To judge whether the performance of the concrete power trowel is stable, we can start from the following aspects
Power system
1. Motor (or engine) performance
- Power output stability: During the operation of the trowel, observe whether its power output is stable. For electric trowels, you can monitor by connecting power detection equipment (such as a power meter). If the power fluctuation range is small under normal working load (for example, the fluctuation range is within ±5% of the rated power), it means that the performance of the motor is relatively stable. For example, a trowel with a rated power of 3kW has an actual working power of 2.85-3.15kW, which is relatively stable.
- Heating condition: After the motor (or engine) has been working continuously for a period of time (such as 1-2 hours), check its heating level. Touch the motor housing with your hand (be careful to prevent burns). If it is just warm, it means that the heat dissipation is good and the performance is stable. If it feels very hot, there may be a heat dissipation problem or an internal motor fault, which will affect the performance stability. Generally speaking, the motor housing temperature does not exceed 70-80 degrees Celsius, which is the normal range.
2. Stability of power transmission
- Inspection of transmission components: Check the transmission belt, chain or transmission shaft of the trowel. If it is a belt drive, observe whether the belt slips during operation. A high-quality trowel belt has good friction and toughness, and will not show obvious relaxation or slippage during normal operation. For chain drive, check whether the chain can smoothly transmit power from the motor to the trowel disc, the chain tension is moderate, and there is no abnormal jump or chain derailment. The transmission shaft should be checked for firm connection and looseness or abnormal vibration during rotation.
Trowel working parts
1. Stability of trowel disc
- Rotation stability: Observe the rotation state of the trowel disc during operation. Under normal circumstances, the trowel disc should rotate at a uniform speed without obvious shaking or eccentricity. After the trowel is started, you can stand a little further away and observe the edge of the trowel disc to see if there is any swing up, down, left, or right. If the rotation accuracy of the trowel disc is high and the deviation is within a small range (for example, the edge of the trowel disc does not exceed 2-3 mm), it means that it has good stability and can ensure the uniformity of the trowel effect.
- Firmness of installation of the trowel disc: Check the installation of the trowel disc on the trowel disc. The trowel disc should be installed tightly and will not loosen or fall off during operation. You can initially check the firmness of its installation by gently shaking the trowel disc by hand. In addition, after the trowel machine has been running for a period of time, check again whether the trowel disc has shifted to ensure that it can stably participate in the trowel work.
2. Consistency of trowel quality
- Test the trowel effect multiple times: Perform trowel tests on different ground areas (such as areas with the same area, similar concrete materials and casting conditions). If the indicators such as ground flatness and glossiness after each troweling are close, it means that the performance of the trowel machine is stable. For example, if the gloss meter is used to measure the gloss of the floor after troweling, and the difference of multiple measurement results is within a small range (such as the gloss difference does not exceed 5-10 gloss units), it means that the trowel machine can output performance stably and achieve consistent troweling effect.
Overall structure and operation
1. Stability and vibration of the machine body
- Vibration amplitude during operation: During the operation of the trowel machine, observe the vibration of the machine body. You can put your hand on the outer shell of the machine body to feel the vibration. If the vibration is slight, it means that its structural design is reasonable and the parts are closely matched. Generally speaking, when a high-performance and stable trowel machine is working, the vibration amplitude of the machine body is small, and the vertical vibration displacement does not exceed 1-2 mm.
- Structural strength of the machine body: Check the frame structure of the trowel machine. The machine body of a high-quality trowel machine is made of solid metal materials (such as high-strength aluminum alloy or steel), and the frame is firmly connected without loose parts. When subjected to certain external forces (such as collisions during transportation or reaction forces during work), the machine body will not be deformed or damaged, thus ensuring the stability of its performance.
2. Comfort and convenience of operation
- Stability of handles and control components: Check whether the handle design of the trowel is reasonable, comfortable to hold, and will not loosen or shake during operation. The control buttons (such as start/stop buttons, speed adjustment buttons, etc.) are sensitive to operation and reasonably located, which is convenient for operators to operate during work. If the handles and control components can work stably during operation, without misoperation or inconvenience in operation, it also reflects the stability of the trowel performance from the side.
- Flexibility and stability of movement and steering: For walk-behind trowels, test their movement and steering performance. The trowel should be able to move flexibly on the ground, turn smoothly, and not get stuck or lose control. For example, when troweling corners or edge areas, the trowel can stably change direction and perform fine troweling operations, which indicates that its performance is stable and reliable during operation.