DIY vibrating table for paving slabs: step by step instructions

Recommendation points

• Nuances in preparation for work
• We select the engine
• What material to choose for the countertop
• Base shape
• Springs or rubber pads
• Two motors or one with eccentric regulation
• Tools and materials for the manufacture of vibration table
• Step-by-step instructions for assembling the vibrating table
• Common manufacturing errors

For high-quality do-it-yourself manufacturing of paving slabs or sections of a concrete fence, you need a vibrating table, which can be purchased, or you can do it yourself. Making it is easy and economically viable. Most of the materials for it are in any workshop or garage..

Studying the prices for paving slabs and concrete fences, many decide to make them on their own. Firstly, it is profitable, and secondly, you can make good money on subsequent manufacturing, especially if you live in an area with a large number of new buildings and empty lots. To implement the idea, it is enough to choose the forms and make a vibrating table.

Nuances in preparation for work

Despite the fact that all methods of making a vibrating table are in many ways similar, there are nuances that need to be clarified at the stage of creating a drawing. In order not to have to redo everything after launching into operation, we will analyze the main ones..

We select the engine

A special vibration motor can be purchased at the store, but it is not cheap. Most people prefer to purchase washing machine engines from friends or find a suitable option in the garage. In general, you can rely on the following indicators: for large tables weighing 200-250 kg and a tabletop length from one meter to two – the engine from 0.75 to 1.1 kW. For small vibration tables up to two hundred kilograms and 1×1 meter or less – with a power of 0.23 kW.

Do not forget that low-power motors are not intended for mass production and can withstand about 30 cycles, after which you have to change bearings, and the axle may also loosen.

What material to choose for the countertop

Most often, metal is used, since it is easier to clean it from the solution, but in our example, an option with an OSB board will be shown. The material was not chosen by chance, the main goal was to facilitate the construction. The plate does not bear a structural load, but only serves to protect the engine and vibration mechanism from the ingress of solution on them, so there is no need to make it out of metal.

When choosing a metal, pay attention not only to the dimensions, but also to the weight of the plate. If the engine is powerful, and the tabletop is made of thin metal, it can rip or bend. If thick metal and a washing machine motor are selected, its power will not be enough to create the desired vibration.

Base shape

Factory tables rest on four legs, in our example we will show an H-shaped base. In terms of strength and stability, it is not inferior to the classical form, but in this way it was possible to achieve a convenient approach from any point. When dragging a mortar or tile, a person does not cling to the partitions, and the cost of manufacturing is significantly reduced. In the classic version, you have to cook not only the frame, but also strengthen it with cross-shaped strips.

For the manufacture of sections of fences, you will have to make an oblong vibrating table, a little more than two meters long, and for tiles, a small one, up to 50×50 cm, is suitable.Everyone chooses the height according to his height.

Springs or rubber pads

For the manufacture of a vibrating table, rubber pads or springs are used. If the table is made for yourself and is powered by a low-power motor, you can put rubber cushions. Springs are needed for large tiles or fences.

With strong vibration, the plate collides with tight rubber. These impacts over time will destroy not only the pillow, but the tabletop itself. In addition, the blows are transmitted to the bed and if not welded onto the platform legs, they will break the floor or unevenly enter the ground.

Springs can be obtained free of charge by asking your friends. Others simply buy moped or car springs from the market and cut them in half. They should be from 8 to 12 cm in height. Soft springs create less noise, but they can be strongly compressed. Considering that they are selected empirically, it is better not to risk it.

To check whether the springs fit or not, load the platform in the assembled state with a weight twice the planned load. In this state, the tabletop should not come into contact with the glass under the springs..

Two motors or one with eccentric regulation

There is a situation when a person found two old motors from washing machines and decided to install them on a vibrating table. Such engines will work normally, provided that they are exactly the same. Otherwise, different frequencies will lead to “boiling” of concrete.

Some deliberately take this step, planning to regulate the strength of the vibration, including one or two motors at the same time. It is better to purchase one powerful one and regulate the force with eccentrics, this will reduce the percentage of rejects.

Tools and materials for the manufacture of vibration table

Since the vibration mode is very aggressive, the material for the future table must be chosen with a margin of safety.

To make a vibrating table you will need:

• 12 meters of a profile pipe measuring 100×80 mm;
• a quarter of a square meter of a metal sheet with a thickness of 12 mm;
• round bars with a diameter of 40 mm and a length of 400 mm;
• round bars with a diameter of 100 mm and a length of 150 mm;
• four bolts 20×100;
• self-tapping screws for metal;
• engine 2800 revolutions per 1 kW;
• machine;
• cable.

Necessary tools for work:

• Bulgarian;
• electric welding;
• a set of locksmith tools;
• square;
• ruler;
• electrodes;
• cutting wheels.

Step-by-step instructions for assembling the vibrating table

For the base, we cut off six pieces from a 100×80 pipe, 600 mm long and one two-meter piece. For the upper movable plate, we cut four pieces from a 100×80 profile pipe with a length of 440 mm and two pieces for 2200 mm. Cut a rectangular piece of 600 by 400 mm from a sheet with a thickness of 12 mm.

Now let’s start assembling. Let’s start with the base, which consists of two H-shaped supports, set to one side and rigidly connected to each other with a crossbar by welding, from pipe sections 600 mm long.

Screws 20×100 are installed on the lower horizontal of the supports for leveling the table. On the upper ones, 6 pipe sections are welded with a height of 1 cm and a diameter for springs.

Well suited for this are springs from the engine valves of a ZIL car or any other heavy vehicle. Sections of tubes are welded in three pieces for each support. Tubes act as spring cups.

The upper plate of the vibrating table is a rigidly welded rectangular frame, along the edges of which sections of a shaped pipe 2200 mm long are interconnected by parts of pipes 440 mm, at equal distances from each other.

A 12 mm sheet, 600×400 mm in size, is welded to the frame in the middle, on which a vibration motor is attached. On the edges of the frame, the same spring seats are welded as on the bottom of it. The sockets on both sides must be placed exactly opposite each other so that the springs inserted in them stand upright.

The peculiarity of this table is that vibration occurs in the horizontal plane, excluding the boiling of the mixture. That is why the vibration mechanism must be made independently, and not installed by the factory, in which the vibration is vertical.

The vibrator mechanism itself consists of a bearing cage and a hollow cylinder. Bearings are installed at both ends, and the cylinder itself is welded to the plate on the upper half of the vibration table.

1 – cylinder; 2 – cages for bearings; 3 – bearings; 4 – shaft; 5 – eccentrics; 6 – pulley; 7 – nut

A shaft is pressed into the bearings, onto which the pulley is put on, and already two eccentrics are installed on it, which are attached to the pulley with six bolts. Since the bolts are located in a circle at the same distance, this makes it possible to turn the eccentrics in relation to each other, thereby adjusting the vibration force. All this is secured with a nut screwed onto the thread in the upper part of the shaft..

On the opposite side of the plate, a flanged motor is attached with four bolts. A pulley is pressed onto the motor shaft. The rotation from the engine to the vibration mechanism is transmitted via a textropic belt. All this is covered with an OSB plate, cut to fit the table.

That’s basically it. The table has been checked quite well, about four hundred tons of concrete was vibrated on it in a year, there were no breakdowns or failures during this time.

Common manufacturing errors

Some do not put springs in glasses, but put them on steel fingers. When vibrated at the moment of pressure, they can walk slightly in different directions. This uneven load quickly wears out the springs..

The table top is framed at the edges so that the forms do not slide down to the floor, but one corner should be bent to drain. Then you don’t have to pick out the rest of the solution with a trowel..

To determine where to weld the glasses on the bed, you can grease the springs with grease and press the frame against them, then marks will remain on its surface.

Take your time and do everything efficiently, then the equipment can be sold and get much more money than was invested. Thus, you will not only save on tiles and fences, but also recoup some of the material spent on their manufacture..