The right hydraulic press can boost your bottom line and make life easier for your workers and for you as the owner of a machine shop. Presses produced by a quality manufacturer like RK Machinery use cutting-edge design and superior components. The result is a press that is reliable, versatile and cost-effective.
Here is a look at why you should consider buying your first hydraulic press or upgrading your current one, and 5 tips to ensure the press you choose fits your needs.
Modern Hydraulic Presses Are a Good Investment
Modern presses have fewer moving parts, so less can go wrong. Compared to mechanical presses, they are relatively uncomplicated. The pressurized oil lubricates parts effectively, ensuring a long lifespan.
Presses made in North America, like those produced by Press Master, use off-the-shelf parts available locally. That reduces downtime if you need to replace or repair a component.
Maintenance and repair are straightforward, which helps keep your ongoing cost of ownership low. Because upkeep can be handled in-house, downtime is reduced.
These presses are versatile and real workhorses. Newer hydraulic presses make it simple to adjust tonnage, with more control throughout the stroke. The result is a single press can do a range of jobs.
5 Tips for Choosing the Best Hydraulic Press for Your Shop
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Do Your Research
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Experts say the best way to get the right press is invest time before investing money. Research is your friend when it comes to buying a hydraulic press.
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Decide on a budget. Figure out what applications you want the press to perform. Decide what types of customers you want and what types of work they will request.
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Check out websites and product lines. Ask other shop owners about the pros and cons of their current presses. Find out what manufacturers they respect. Choose a press maker with experience, known for quality products and innovative design. Look for a company that is expert in customizing a press to meet precise specifications.
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Hydraulic presses last for many years. You want to partner with a manufacturer that you can rely on. When you select a press manufacturer known for excellent support, you make life easier. Choose one that gets back to you quickly with an informed answer to your questions and concerns.
Select the Proper Tonnage
Are you upgrading from a mechanical press to a hydraulic model? You’ll be happy to know that tonnage requirements are the same. You are safe using the same method for calculating tonnage, and in most cases tooling is interchangeable. Another similarity is that shear in the dies lowers blanking tonnage for both hydraulic and for mechanical presses.
Another benefit from switching is better results for a wide range of jobs. In deep drawing, the hydraulic press has a full power stroke that will give you higher quality outcomes, compared to a mechanical press, in most cases.
The big advantage you’ll discover when you upgrade to hydraulic is versatility. You can easily regulate the tonnage, adjusting it up or down for each job.
Match the Press to Your Applications
Look at the type of jobs you do on a regular basis and those you want to attract to your shop. Consider:
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Shape: open-gap presses give you access from 3 sides; straight-side presses are good for off-center loading for progressive die applications; 4-column presses distribute pressure evenly.
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High-end jobs that require precise tolerances: you need a press with higher reserve tonnage capacity
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Quality: heavy duty presses are best for general purpose metalworking jobs; light duty machines work for “spanking” the job briefly and reversing.
You also have a wide range of options to choose from. The most popular include:
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Die cushions
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Touch screen controls
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Dwell timers
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Switches for distance reversal limit and pressure reversal
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Servo system feedback to give the operator repeatable stroke control, ensuring precision and consistency
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Ejection cylinders or knockouts
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Continuous cycling
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Electronic light curtains
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Rotary index tables and sliding bolsters
Know How to Compare Presses
These six construction elements can help you choose the right hydraulic press for the job:
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Horsepower: compare ratings. Horsepower includes length of the pressing stroke, speed and duration.
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Speed: how fast will each press work
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Frame: check differences in rigidity, thickness of the bolster and dimensional capacity
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Cylinder: look at the diameter, how it is constructed, the manufacturer and ease of maintenance and repair
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Maximum system pressure: figure out psi at full tonnage. For most presses doing industrial work, the range is 1000 to 3800 psi.
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Watch Out for Trouble Spots
Look at these 4 areas when researching hydraulic presses:
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Is speed your most important requirement? Does the job need a fairly short material feed stroke? Then you might be better with a mechanical press. The fastest mechanical press beats the speed of a hydraulic press.
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Do you need absolute stroke depth accuracy? Then you will probably need “kiss” blocks in the tooling.
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Do you need automatic feeding? The feeder on most hydraulic presses needs its own power and must be fully incorporated with the control system in the press. Be aware that you need some type of external power to effectively feed the stock.
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Does the press have an anti-shock component? Hydraulic presses require this because the shock can negatively impact fittings and lines.
Partner with the Quality Hydraulic Press Manufacturer
Press Master has been making superior hydraulic presses in North America for over 40 years. We are proud of our reputation for competitive pricing, quality components and excellent customer service.
We can customize a press to meet your exact needs.
Call Press Master today to find out more about the best hydraulic press for your machine shop.
