A hydraulic press is a device used to produce high pressure. Most often it is used to give different forms to various kinds of materials, to lift or carry heavy loads, compress some substances, displace a large amount of liquids, and so on.
The design and operation of the hydraulic press
A do-it- yourself press made just like an industrial one has been widely used in the field of metal processing for stamping, forging, bending, extrusion of profiles and pipes, pressing, briquetting of raw materials, packaging of various kinds of materials, industrial production of plastic products, rubber and wood shavings.
Today, hydraulic presses are used in any industrial enterprise, but they are also widely used in everyday life. The principle of its operation is based on the application of several laws of hydrostatics. The practical use of this teaching allows, with little effort in one place, to obtain great efficiency in another.
The design of the device is based on two interconnected cylinders with pistons that differ diametrically. Inside these cylinders is water, oil, or another liquid that allows you to use the power of the laws of hydrostatics in action. Today, with a do-it-yourself press, the working cylinder is most often installed in a vertical, less often in a horizontal position. For different applications and types of tasks performed, the device can cope with loads from several tens to several thousand tons.
How to make a press out of a jack
Thanks to the skillful hands of our self-taught people, today we have a large number of different inventions that allow us to perform complex tasks. One of such devices is a hydraulic press made of a jack, which is quite possible to make on one’s own forces, without wasting money on the purchase of a finished device.
You can use it to solve various problems, for example, such as waste compaction after metal processing. Using this device, you can deform various kinds of workpieces, make holes in the necessary places. Since the hydraulic press is self-made, a garage is quite suitable as a workshop.
Necessary tools
Making a homemade press from a jack is quite simple. To do this, you only need a welding machine with welding electrodes, as well as a metal grinder. In addition, you will need a metal profile in sufficient quantity, which will be used as the main raw material for creating the press.
To obtain the necessary pressure supplied to the working cylinder, it is necessary to use a hydraulic or manual pump. The most suitable option in this case is a bottle- type hydraulic jack with an integrated manual pump. Also pay attention to the fact that the correct position for the manufactured jacks provided by the developers is exclusively vertical. Using the device with a retractable stem down is not allowed.
For use at home, you will need a home-made jack press that can withstand loads of 10-20 tons. Next, pay attention to other equally important characteristics, such as its dimensions, weight, piston stroke and bed parameters. To obtain the required pressure inside the cylinder, usually use a hydraulic or manual pump.
Homemade Jack Press: Base
The base will be a support platform that can withstand the necessary load. The base must be made as strong as possible, since the pressure is applied in proportion to the working units. Calculate the necessary strength so that the bed is able to withstand the load that is placed on it with a margin, since a working homemade press will tend to break the frame structure.
Select the width of the frame opening depending on the size of the materials prepared for processing. Consider the fact that this indicator cannot be less than the total dimensions of the components of your press equipment. The height is calculated based on the dimensions of the used jack, the required value of the free amplitude of the rod, the height of the working table and the expected height of the objects intended for processing.
The jack must be installed on the base, while the top of the frame structure itself will be used as a stop for the parts. The force applied by the rod to the workpiece must be transmitted from the movable working table. It is mounted on top of the frame structure of the jack. The bed should be provided with its free movement up and down.
You can get the necessary strength by making several stiffeners. Take a square or rectangular profile 50x40 / 50x50mm. If you do not have a product of the required size, cut a large sheet in accordance with the required parameters. It is necessary to attach the profiles to one another with the side parts and weld their seams at the top and bottom. This will provide the necessary rigidity of the base.
To make the hydraulic homemade press from the jack stable, you must weld a steel plate with a thickness of 8 to 12 mm and a size of 200x250 mm to the already made structure. On each side of the jack, two pulling springs are installed - one end to the desktop, and the other to the base of the bed. They are mounted specifically to compress the jack to its original position. Springs must be sized and stiff.
Making a stop for a hydraulic device
A do-it-yourself press made of a jack should have an emphasis, for the manufacture of which the same material is used that was used when welding the racks. In length, make the workpiece the same as the width of the supporting structure. The finished products are welded together and welded to the supporting structure. During the performance of all work, use tools that allow you to observe the perpendicularity of the welded workpieces. Weld one to another two metal corners measuring 40x40 mm of arbitrary length (30-50 cm) at 90 degrees. Further, the welded workpieces are folded together and fixed using a welding machine.
So, we managed to comply with the required connection angle. You can add clamping devices to the resulting square, which will prevent the welding angle from changing when exposed to temperature.
How and why to make a stop element removable
Another important element that a do-it-yourself press has is a removable stop that can move along the rails and transmit pressure to the component. To make it, you need to prepare metal pieces of approximately 10 millimeters in thickness. Along the length of the workpiece, make slightly less than the resulting distance between the two posts. We weld elements on both sides.
Quick stop replacement
To ensure the possibility of urgent replacement of this element when necessary and for its fastening when moving on the racks of the apparatus, two through holes must be made in the manufactured block.
Next, saw off two metal sheets 100 mm longer than the manufactured structure. In the plates you also need to drill a pair of through holes. In order to install the unit on the frame part of the jack, pick up two bolts together with nuts and washers, and connect the plates in such a way that they are on both sides of the racks.
Ways to control the working amplitude of the rod
To change the working amplitude of the rod, you can use the methods below:
- At the top of the frame, install a screw drive that will be responsible for the free movement of the stem.
- Consider the use of replaceable metal profile pads.
It is not so difficult to make a press out of a jack. Drawings of the device are presented below.
How to reduce the working amplitude of the piston
If you need to reduce the working amplitude of the piston, put separately an intermediate square metal profile. The blank must be the same width as the gap between the racks. Weld the profile at the required distance. This trick will reduce the working length.