How does the lawn puncher work?

Punching refers to a intertillage method in which many holes are punched on the lawn with a punching machine. After the lawn was used for a period of time, the lawn bed was compacted and hardened due to repression, watering and trampling. In this case, the lawn bed is not well drained, the grass roots are seriously deprived of oxygen, and the vitality of lawn grass is low. The main purpose of lawn punching is to enlarge the surface area of soil and increase the contact area between lawn soil and atmosphere; Promote gas exchange, improve soil ventilation, water absorption and water permeability; Conducive to the growth of microorganisms and reduce harmful substances in the soil; Promote the growth of roots and upper branches in caves; Can improve soil properties; The breaking of solid soil bed can accelerate the decomposition of lawn grass layer and organic residue; Improving the response of turf bed to fertilizer is beneficial to soil and water conservation.

Punching holes will also bring some adverse effects to the lawn, such as temporarily destroying the integrity of the lawn surface; Leading to dehydration of the exposed part of turf soil; Aggravated the harm of pests such as cutworms; When the conditions are suitable for the germination of weed seeds, a large number of weeds are often produced.

(2) Lawn punching method

Punching is carried out by a punching machine. Lawn punch is a kind of machine that can punch holes with the same depth and size on the turf evenly, and the diameter of the hole is 1 ~ 2.5 cm. There are two basic types of lawn puncher: manual puncher and electric puncher.

① Manual punching machine. The manual punching machine is on the metal frame, with two handles at the upper end and 4 ~ 5 punching cones (hollow and solid) at the lower end. When working, try to keep the puncher vertical, press the metal frame with your feet to make the puncher pierce the lawn, and then pull the puncher out in the original direction (Figure 5- 1). This kind of punching machine is mainly used in small lawns and places where general power punching machines are not easy to operate, such as near the roots of trees, around flower beds, around the edges of lawns, around the doorposts of sports fields, etc.

Figure 5- 1 Punching operation of manual punching machine

② Power punching machine. Power puncher includes small hand-held self-propelled puncher and large tractor-driven puncher. Small hand-held punching machine is suitable for all kinds of lawn punching operations, and high-power punching machine is suitable for large-area lawn punching operations.

Power drilling tools can be divided into the following two types: one is rotary, with hollow sharp teeth, which has the advantage of high working efficiency, but deep tillage and great damage to lawn surface, and is often used in lawns with high frequency of use, such as sports fields and playgrounds. The other is a vertically moving punch with hollow sharp teeth. Because it has both horizontal and vertical movements, it works slowly, but has a deep ploughing depth, and is often used for lawns with low mowing, such as greens.

In addition, the sharp teeth of the punching machine are divided into two types: one is a solid cone, which squeezes the soil through the cone tip to produce small holes. The other is a hollow cone, which digs out the core from the soil, causing little damage to the lawn surface, and the depth of intertillage reaches 8cm.

According to the different requirements of punching ventilation, the cutters of punching machines are different, generally divided into four types, as shown in Figure 5-2.

Figure 5-2 Punch Tool

Flat deep bayonet. Mainly used for ventilation of deep soil.

Hollow pipe cutting machine. Mainly used for lawn punching and ventilation. The hollow pipe cutter can take out the original soil, so that new soil can be added, and the soil can be updated without destroying the original soil structure, which is beneficial for fertilizer to enter the grassroots and accelerate the infiltration and diffusion of water.

Tapered solid knife. Mainly used for lawns with stagnant water, allowing water to flow into holes and drying lawns.

Flat root cutter. It is mainly used to cut off the roots of lawn grass, realize ventilation and promote the growth of lawn grass.

There are many punches, and the hollow pipe cutter and the conical solid cutter are interchangeable.

(3) lawn water injection puncher

Lawn water jet puncher is the latest type of all kinds of lawn puncher, and it is an important innovation to traditional puncher. Water injection drilling is to inject high-pressure water column into the root layer of lawn, which will not destroy the ground structure, splash soil on the ground and have no adverse effects on the lawn surface. Because of these characteristics, it is very efficient and can save more time when used in golf courses with busy competitions and tight business operation time. The depth of water injection drilling can reach 10 ~ 20 cm, which can effectively reduce the compactness of lawn surface and improve the permeability of soil moisture. The drilling depth depends on the diameter of the high-pressure water gun, which can be more than 50cm if necessary, but the grass base is required to have good drainage function.

Generally, 550L of water can flush 650m2, and water pipes can be connected to the water supply system nearby during operation. The drilling interval is 3 ~ 15 cm, which can be adjusted. Because water injection drilling does not directly insert the metal pipe into the soil layer, there is no phenomenon such as broken rod and falling rod that often occurs in other types of drilling machines. Lawn water jet puncher is shown in Figure 5-3.

Figure 5-3 lawn water jet puncher

(4) Rolling punch

Rolling punches are small self-propelled and tractor-drawn or suspended. The working principle of stamping is to install the stamping tool on a rolling round roller or disc, as shown in Figure 5-4. When the round roller or disc rolls on the lawn, the punching tool presses in and pulls out the lawn in turn for punching operation.

Figure 5-4 Punching Tool of Rolling Puncher

① Small hand-held lawn puncher. The small engine transmits power to the cutter roller or cutter head (some transmit power to the traveling wheel) through the reduction transmission mechanism and clutch, so that the cutter roller or cutter head rolls forward. During the rolling process, the pipe cutter installed on the cutter roller or cutter head continuously pushes in and pulls out the lawn for punching and ventilation. This small lawn punch (Figure 5-5) can be used for punching and ventilation of various lawns.

Figure 5-5 Small Walking Lawn Puncher

(2) hang boxing. Generally, small or large tractors are used as traction power, and the puncher is towed or suspended by tractors. When working, it moves forward with the tractor, and the cutter roller or cutter head rolls on the lawn, so that the cutters mounted on it are continuously pressed into and pulled out of the lawn in turn, and air holes are punched on the lawn.

This machine consists of a frame and a stamping device. The stamping working device is a shaft with many polygonal cutter heads, which pass through the bearing.

Mounted on a rack. The cutter head is equipped with a pipe cutter, and the discs are separated by spacers, and both ends are pressed by springs, and the pressing force of the springs is adjustable. The frame is used to install the punching device and connect with the tractor (Figure 5-6). When working, the tractor moves forward and the working device of the traction puncher rolls forward. Under the action of gravity, while the cutter head rolls, the hollow tube cutter installed on the cutter head pierces the lawn soil for punching operation. Because the cutter shaft is connected with the machine frame through the bearing, the shaft rotates when the cutter head rolls, and the cutter head and the cutter shaft are installed in a loose fit, which is only pressed by the pressure of the springs at both ends. When the radial resistance of the pipe cutter on one cutter head is large, the cutter head will rotate at an angle relative to the shaft, so that the pipe cutter will not pick up soil and damage the lawn when punching. This lawn puncher has simple structure and high punching efficiency. This lawn punch is suitable for punching, ventilation and maintenance of large area green space.

Figure 5-6 Hanging Punching Machine

(5) Vertical punch

During the drilling operation, the cutter moves vertically up and down, so that the drilling exhaust hole is vertical to the ground, and the soil is not scraped, thus improving the drilling operation quality. When the lawn mower works, the engine drives the walking wheels to move forward, and at the same time, the lawn mower moves vertically through the crank-connecting rod mechanism. In order to compensate that the cutter does not advance with the advance of the machine after penetrating into the soil, there is a compensation device where the cutter is installed. After the tool is inserted into the ground, the compensation device pushes the tool to move in the direction opposite to the machine's forward direction, and its moving speed is just the machine's forward speed, so that the tool remains relatively static with the ground during the stamping process. When the cutter is pulled out of the lawn, the compensation device makes the cutter return quickly to prepare for the second punching operation. The lawn puncher (Figure 5-7) is mainly used for punching and ventilating lawn with high quality requirements, such as the lawn in the hole area of golf course. This lawn puncher has complex structure, high energy consumption and high cost.

Figure 5-7 Vertical Punching Machine

Vertical punching machine can change different forms of punching tools according to needs and soil conditions. Solid perforated pipes are only used for lawns with loose soil and high soil moisture, and solid perforated rods form holes by squeezing the soil. The front end of the hollow porous pipe is provided with an annular cutting edge, which is convenient for burying. There is a rectangular hole in the middle of the pipe. When the hollow pipe is punched, the core pipe enters the soil, and the soil also enters the pipe. When the hollow tube is lifted out of the soil and enters the soil layer again, the soil newly entering the hollow tube squeezes out the previously entered soil from the rectangular hole on the side and scatters it on the lawn surface. The hollow tube can be perforated with a diameter of 20cm and a depth of 7 ~ 15 cm. Compared with the solid rod, it will not squeeze the soil around the hole.