Automotive presses

What matters when choosing a press?

Deep Drawing Press

• Adjustable speed and blank holder forceDrawing speed and counter-holding force are set to suit the part in order to keep wrinkling under control. As the sheet gains depth, material builds up at the edge; the blank holder holds it down and eliminates wrinkling.
• Blank holder pressure is decisiveIf the pressure is too low the sheet wrinkles, if it is too high the flow is choked and the part tears; the window between them is narrow.
• Seamless vessels and bodies, multi-stage drawing

Hydraulic Forming Press

• Single-acting · no blank holderThere is no counter-holding; the form is not deep and there is little or no wrinkling — a blank holder is not needed.
• Shallow forming, bending, embossing, coiningAs long as the depth of the shape stays shallow the job is finished with a single action and no cushion setting is required.
• A frame that does not deflect is decisiveIf the frame deflects the embossing does not come out fully, and the die gets the blame.
• Standard sizes and tonnages

SMC & BMC Press

• Glass-reinforced thermoset sheetSMC comes as sheet and BMC as bulk; both take shape by curing under heat and pressure.
• Cycle speed is decisiveOnce the material is inside the mould it can start to crystallise; if the press does not close quickly the part is spoiled before it fills.
• A standard frame suited to asymmetric loadsMost products are not symmetrical; the standard design covers most of them without a special construction.
• Ram parallelism systemFour counter-holding points bring the ram down parallel; corner-to-corner thickness variation and material waste fall.

Silicone Curing Press

• Solid silicone compound workIt is the machine for production from solid compound; injected liquid silicone is a different route.
• The same hot press family as the melamine and rubber presses

Brake Lining Curing Press

• Degassing cycleGas forms during curing; if it is not vented the part blisters and the friction surface stays porous.
• Zoned mould heatingA temperature difference across the mould shifts the friction coefficient from part to part.
• Top-acting, bottom-acting and multi-daylight frame arrangements

Hydraulic Transfer Press

• One finished part per press strokeAll the steps are pressed in the same cycle; the part is passed automatically between stations.
• No press, operator or die per stepOne machine gathers work spread over separate presses; intermediate handling and work in progress disappear.
• Not just a press, an automation lineThe trimming, cutting and piercing needed between the steps are applied on the same line.
• With sheet cutting or blank feeding, loading and transfer units

Composite Press

• Composite is a broad headingKevlar, glass and carbon fibre, ballistic composite and newer materials such as PEEK all sit under the same roof.
• Heating and cooling togetherHot oil, electric heating, water or air cooling; the cycle is built around the material's recipe.
• Fibre orientation is preservedThe semi-finished material does not flow in the mould but consolidates where it lies; the calculated strength stays in the part.
• A pressure–temperature–time cycle managed by recipe

Hydraulic Cutting Press

• Cutting is the real purposeBending and flange trimming are done on the same press too; but the machine is built for cutting.
• The counter-pressure cylinders take the shock, not the frameAt the end of the cut the counter-pressure cylinders come in and absorb the sudden release of load.
• The compact alternative to a mechanical pressAt high tonnage the frame of a mechanical (eccentric) press grows and becomes expensive; a hydraulic press does the same job in a smaller package.
• Longer die life, cleaner cut edgeThe counter-pressure cylinders also help parallelism, and the impact does not pass into the die.

Powder Compacting Press

• Dry powder, compacted in the dieThe powder fills the die cavity and interlocks under pressure; the part comes out hard enough to be handled.
• Even density at every pointA difference in density changes shrinkage in the kiln locally; distortion and cracking arise from this.
• Staged pressure, ramped releaseTrapped air that is not vented raises blisters; if the pressure is released suddenly the green body cracks.
• The same principle, different automationSalt cores, zirconia blocks and glass mosaics are the same compaction; what changes is the die and the feeding.

Rubber Curing Press

• Vulcanisation under pressureThe material that enters the mould as a dough leaves it as an elastic part.
• Metal and rubber togetherThe metal insert is placed in the mould and the rubber is cured onto it; the bond needs no separate station.
• Large-area plate, bearing and profile work