WIP - Hydraulic Press Build

Looks very nice. it makes me want to sell my little mini press i made and build one like yours. is your motor 3ph, if so how do you power it? i have 3ph at the shop i'm at right now but in the future i doubt it.
 
JTknives said:
Looks very nice. it makes me want to sell my little mini press i made and build one like yours. is your motor 3ph, if so how do you power it? i have 3ph at the shop i'm at right now but in the future i doubt it.
Click to expand...

Thanks JT. Yes it is a 3ph motor. Here is the spec:

7.5 HP 230/460 VAC 3 PH. MOTOR C-Face 1700 RPM
Item# 10-2341 from www.surpluscenter.com $195

I had the option to go single phase for the same size motor but I had already acquired a 7.5 HP rotorary phase converter for $100 :D. Found a local guy that had three of them in his granite slab cutting shop. He only needed two and wanted to dump one. That was a great score!

I'll have to get a complete parts list posted soon.

Eric
 
One posible safty concern, if the pin that conects the hydrolic cylinder to the dia holder were to shear it'd come at you like a bullet. Proably never get enough pressure to even flex it, but it is something to keep in mind. I just noticed it, I turned mine sideways for that reason.

Good clean work, wish I'd had the tools I got now when I built mine.
 
Will52100 said:
One posible safty concern, if the pin that conects the hydrolic cylinder to the dia holder were to shear it'd come at you like a bullet. Proably never get enough pressure to even flex it, but it is something to keep in mind. I just noticed it, I turned mine sideways for that reason.

Good clean work, wish I'd had the tools I got now when I built mine.
Click to expand...
Indian George has blown a couple on Bertha, so far nobody hurt that I know of. When I /build one one plan I have is catch plates that bolt over the clevis pins in case of popping

-Page
 
Hello Will and Page,

Great thoughts... Thank you for pointing that out. I think I'll definitely build catch plates based on your feedback.

Eric
 
Here's the latest...

Welded on mounting plate for hydraulic solenoid base plate. Added some new plumbing once the base plate was bolted down.

PressBuild025.jpg


Close up of hydraulic solenoid base and filter mounted on the return line to the tank.

PressBuild026.jpg


Side view of press.

PressBuild027.jpg


Front view with new additions.

PressBuild028.jpg


These are the foot switches that will be wired to operate the ram of the press. Purchased both foot switches off ebay for $10. :thumbup:

PressBuild029.jpg


Eric
 
cool, would love to have added foot plates to mine, may do so in the future, though I'd cut the safty cap crap off the top, always hated that about industrial foot controls. Of course a size 13 steel toe boot may have something to do with that.
 
I've got a question for folks that have H frame presses. I built the die slides to be 4" wide by 8" deep. I'm thinking of cutting these guides off and moving them out to handle 8" X 8" die plates. It seems this would give more versatility with die configurations. With the current 4" wide die plates (3.5" space for dies after clearing slide overhang) it seems it would be hard to have dies that handle both drawing and flattening at the same time. It also would be very difficult to create squaring dies for larger sizes. Let me know what you think before I cut my current slides apart and re-fab for larger die plates.

Thanks, Eric
 
Basicly I'm using 4" square dies, one day I might make 4"x6", because of getting 1084 and 15n20 in 6" lengths, but haven't had any trouble welding it with the 4" dies. I'd stick to around 4" wide and make the flat dies 6-7" for welding.
 
Well, I ended up cutting off the die holder from prior pics and replacing with die holders that take 8" X 8" die plates. This mod provides many more die options. Also added a protection plate in front of the clevis pin to make sure it cannot shoot towards me in the event it breaks. Thanks Will for making this suggestion. :thumbup:

Eric

PressBuild030.jpg
 
No problem, the only concern I would have with the wide dies is that unless your centered under the cylinder you'll get off set torque, maybe enough to warp your guid frame, certainly enough to get one edge of your billet a little thicker or thinner than the other edge.
 
Hello Will,

My understanding is that offset dies are OK with H frame presses as long as you keep your material within 2" either side of center. I'm very interested in hearing more if what you mention above applies to working within these parameters. Thanks, Eric
 
No real data, just like keeping everything in line. I'd say give it a try and see if you have any flexing issues. Let us know how it works.
 
I'll let you know Will. Are there any other H frame press owners out there that have had issues with combination dies with slightly off center pressing (within 2" of center)? If so, please let me know your experiences.

Thanks,

Eric
 
I'm sure you have considered the fact that this press is setting on casters. Wouldn't the press be better suited to mounting to a concrete slab ? This leads me to question how long they & axels will hold up during repeated use --- there is a shearing factor occuring here from the get go. Otherwise, that is a superbly built piece of work. You are obviously an extremely educated man --- if not , you sure got a lot going on :)
 
Hello Ken,

Thanks for the kind words. :) Regarding shear forces on the wheel axles... that is a very good point. I've planned to add screw jacks on each leg at the end of the press build to cover the following issues:

1. My shop is in a garage that has a typical slope to force any fluids out the front of the garage door. The screw jacks will level out this slight slope.

2. Even if my wheel axles could handle the shear force, I really want the press to have zero motion when in operation.

3. I do not want to have any bad dreams of a runaway press shooting down my driveway. :eek::eek::eek:

:D

Eric
 
Eric

having your dies off set will make the top die want to tilt when force is applied and the billet is not directly under the cylinder. In the perfect world, all your work would be done directly under the cylinder but we do not live in the perfect world. The tall slides and heavy steel between them should be able to withstand this tilting force.

I think you should be OK with your combo dies.

Also, on your wheels--There is no shearing force generated at the axles when the press is in operation. All forces are between the top and bottom dies. The wheels see no more load with the press in operation as it sees setting idle.

Thanks for showing your press. It looks like a very srtong design :)

Brian
 
Brian, I would like to respectfully disagree with you. Any and all actions create an equal reaction. IE; The inertia created by a propelled object (like a drop hammer) will carry thru the knife and into the lower die, which in turn transmits it to the caster axels and into the floor. There is a mathmatical formular for this but it has been to many years since college & I can't remember it now. Best regards, ken
 
Hello Brian,

Thanks for the good info regarding your experience with off-center dies. My press is a little different than most presses in that it will be using a single stage pump and have a timed reciprocating ram. A two stage pump will slow the ram speed down as it meets resistance of the steel. My single stage pump will keep the same ram speed all the way through the stroke. This will create a bit of translated energy through the entire structure. It will be important to have firm footing for the press. I agree that there is little energy translated with most two stage pumps (although there is some), this setup is a bit different than most.

I really appreciate all the feedback and welcome any and all. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Eric
 
I am with Ken on this. There are forces on axles of the wheels. How much I am not sure.
Longtime since I took physics. I would 86 the casters.
 
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