Panel smoothing process and apparatus for forming a smooth continuous surface on fiber-reinforced structural cement panels

A continuous method for smoothing the top surface of a formed, but not yet set, fiber reinforced gypsum-cementitious structural panel comprising slurry and embedded loose chopped fibers, in a structural panel production line comprising the steps of:

• transporting the panel on a moving carrier having a direction of travel relative to a support frame,
• pivotally mounting a vibrating smoothing device, comprising a flexible sheet with a stiffening member and a vibrator, transversely to the direction of travel of the panel;
• contacting a downstream portion of a bottom surface of the sheet with a top surface of the panel while vibrating the sheet and spacing an upstream portion of the sheet from the top surface of the panel,
• wherein the smoothing device floats over the surface of the panel to smooth the surface and eliminate pock marks and grooves without scraping off excess slurry of the chopped fiber reinforced panel, and without scratching or tearing the surface of the chopped fiber reinforced panel,
• wherein an upstream end of the flexible sheet is pivotally mounted to be freely pivotal while the downstream portion of the flexible sheet simultaneously floats as the downstream portion of the flexible sheet contacts the panel as the panel is transported on the moving carrier.