Simple hydraulic press

[Blaf]

This is something I made a few months ago and I presume you're all more or less familiar with its construction. It's simple hydraulic press (posted elsewhere on the Mighty Net) which uses two fixed plates (base and top) and one working plate, powered by 5 Ton car hydraulic jack. The jack itself stands on bottom plate just below working one.


Fixed plates are fastened by means of four threaded rods, bolts and washers included of course, while working plate glides between them. I bought two10mm rods of 1m in lenght and cut them in half so that I got four pieces of 50cm each. These threaded rods are rough and working plate could not glide over them smoothly, so I slid 45cm long pieces of aluminium tubes of 10mm inner dia and 12mm outer dia over them. Working plate has holes of 13mm dia drilled in each corner so that it can freely glide up and down those aluminium sleeves. All of three plates are symetrically cut of iron plate 8mm thick, measuring L=16cm / W=13cm. Paint used is greenish-blue protective paint that you can see on heavy machinery...it should be tough and fireproof. That's in general.


Why hydraulic press? The main reason is pressing BP cakes so that later they could be corned into particles of different size. And I might say, it works well for me. Do I hear something? I know, safety freaks would yell now – What happened to protective shield? Well, I have none yet. There should also be two or four coil springs forcing the working plate downwards but I just rushed to assemble it as soon as I could.

Compliments are welcome...

Blaf

[the antverpian pirate]

That's looking nicely Blaf :wink:
Im planning on building something like that in the future but what is exactly that you use to put the bp in and what do you use as piston?
Because on the net I found a couple of sites wich explain the theory of the press but I haven't found real info about the cylinder and piston, about which materials should be used and what are good sizes for the cylinder and piston?
The bigger the diameter is of the cylinder and piston the more force should be on it to get the same result I guess.
I'm sorry, you can forget this question I just read your other topic too :oops:

And do you have plans to put on a safety shield and springs on your press or are you going to leave it as it is?

Regards Pirate

[Blaf]

Springs will be attached sooner or later because each time I release the main valve the working plate should be pushed down hard and it's annoying job to do, believe me.
As for the protective shield, yes, it should be mounted as well but still can't find suitable piece of plexi...

Blaf

[the antverpian pirate]

Ok that's good to know that the springs are really important, then I have to make sure I also fit them when I build my own press.
And for the shield shouldn't it be possible to take the plexi from an old passenger train and just put two or three windows behind each other. Of course, you first give them the right dimensions and then bolt them on the press.
Or do you really need a piece of plexi that's made out of one piece?

Pirate

[Blaf]

You're right, It could be Securite kind of stuff...you know that specially sandwiched glasss for windshield that shatter into small pieces when broken. A friend of mine used interesting replacement instead of coil springs to pull the plate down - he used elastic silicone rubber bands that are usually seen on spear-guns. He's a car-mechanic and sometimes need to push stubborn and rusty bearings from their nests. His press is much stronger and has those rubber hoses which do their job exceptionally well. So maybe, just maybe...who kows.

Blaf

[Ananas]

'Extends list: things to do for the vacation - hydraulic press'

It looks really, really nice. How much did you pay for all the materials?
Have you already used the jack at maximum force?

I like the color. :D

[Exhile]

Someone has been active lately ,

Springs aren't necessary if you drill your holes on the right place,
if you didn't drill them correct you can allways increase the hole diameter by drilling a larger diameter through it.

[Blaf]

Ananas you're heading the right direction, just keep on going.
Exhile, tnx for keeping an eye on me. But you see, holes are not real problem here. They're of good size...guide bushings could be added to improve ballance of the working plate, though. But the real problem is how to slide it back after pressing, where springs come handy.

Blaf

[Blaf]

We were talking about springs, right? Well, I attached a pair of them to my press and it works fine. It even looks nice too! I took those two springs from an old clip-clap sofa and they proved to be of just about right dimensions for my press. Springs are attached to right and left sides of working and bottom plates, no centering or adjusting was needed. Working plate now glides perfectly...it even retains its balance. Not to mention, I don't have to apply force to get the piston back any more! I simply open the valve on my jack and it slides down in a few seconds. Image will follow soon!

Blaf

[Blaf]

I promised an image of my press with springs attached. See below...



It works really good with these two coils. They only produce strange "sprong" sound when they expand...but I like it!

Blaf

[mr.stijntje]

Ahh, it's nice Blaf!
Looks very professional! And about that sound, it IS a nice sound.

Hey, make some quality BP with it! And fire some stars!
I always like stars :D

[deadman]

I just finished the main part of my press. Here is the catch: it is made of wood. I will have pictures by wednesday. Unfortunatley it is made with American sized tools. I used 2x6's. Which are actually 1.5" x 5.5" so (3.8cm x 14cm) I used a total of 12 hex bolts. I am using a 6 ton bottle jack, much like Blaf's except orange. Oops American vs. what makes sense again. That is 6 standard tons, not SI. So it is 12000 pounds, so in metric tons I believe it is identical to Blaf's. There is no working plate at this time, but maybe by the time I get the pictures up. All in all it cost me under 12 US Dollars to make, 6 pounds or 9 euros. This does not include the jack, which I was so lucky to have my wonderful girlfriend give me for christmas.

Updates follow.

[Blackwolf]

For your shield, I would recommend you use polycarbonate (lexan) instead of plexiglass, it stands up much better and doesn't tend to shatter at all.

Phil Blackwolf