What does this press need

[Hammerfall]

What would it take to make this press a functional press for forging. My understands is that more speed is needed.

The price is right and it comes with a small metal brake.

 

[the iron dwarf]

I would add limit switches to control travel but to use them you would need a power pack with solenoid valves and a proper double acting cylinder.

the cylinder on that will want to return all the way each time taking valuable time each stroke

 

[Hammerfall]

What would I be looking at cost wise to retrofit it with a new cylinder and parts? Is it heavy enough frame wise to work if I altered it? 

I don't have much experience with hydraulic presses, but really want one to do some thicker billets.

[the iron dwarf]

I dont know in the US, here I can buy a new cylinder to take 250 bar for about 50 uk pounds

[timgunn1962]

You'll need more speed. Much more speed.

The hydraulics look to be the 10,000 PSI/ 700 Bar stuff that gets used for jacks and small workshop presses where small size, light weight and general portability are needed: occasional tool use only.

You'll need a pump, cylinder, control system, tank and plumbing that will provide the force and speed required for forging and that are suitable for continuous use: the sort of stuff that runs 24/7/52 in in industry. Max pressure of this will most likely be in the 140-300 Bar range (2000-4500 PSI), so the cylinder will be much bigger than the one currently on the press. 

There's a world of difference between a tool that cycles to full pressure a few times a day at most and one that cycles to full pressure a few times a minute.

The frame of a forge press will usually be much heavier and much more rigid. Welded joints seem to be the norm, probably because bolted joints under cyclic loading tend to start moving quite quickly.

Welding brings all sorts of new and interesting variables into the design and the pragmatic approach is usually to make things as big and heavy as possible to try to compensate for the (usual) builders inability to do all the design calculations and stuff that would be done by a full industrial design team prior to going into production. 

You can be pretty confident that the workshop press has been designed, with stress calculations, to have the absolute minimum weight consistent with not failing in the anticipated (workshop) use. The minimum weight because steel costs money and shipping weight costs money. Not failing in use is important because killing or maiming users also costs money, lots of it. 

The upshot is that it's probably best to view the press as essentially unmodifiable.

[Frosty]

If you wanted to retrofit that into a good forging press you'd be doing about the same amount of work as making one from scratch.some parts would cross over to a faster stronger heavier press but not many. I'd sell that one and build another with the money before modifying that one.

Stronger frame, at LEAST 50% stronger. Faster stronger pump. Larger cylinder. Re plumb it. Limit switches. Selective valving so you can control pressure and speed. Adequate electricity. . . Uh I'm sure there's more but I'm about tapped for now. 

Making a press stronger and faster is NOT a trivial thing it can be harder than purpose building one.

Frosty The Lucky.

[notownkid]

On ‎4‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 4:01 PM, Hammerfall said:

Is it heavy enough frame wise to work if I altered it? 

Not from my experiences with these presses.  they were made for a slow movement steady pressure use not a pound pound use.  Look at the pins holding the table not hard to bend them in my book.  You can sink a lot of money in this and still have nothing.  Just me.

[Hammerfall]

Thank you all for the input. I've decided to pass on this one. Building one from scratch is above my skillset for the time being. I'll keep thinking it into being and one day one will pop up. It's happened with my anvil quest. I started a couple of years ago and am now over 10 in the collection.

[BeaverNZ]

If you are going to build a frame for your press make it as ridgid as you possibly can, a press frame that flexes can be thought of as a bow or catapult and will store the energy like a bow to throw any item out of the press with a great deal of force. Using members that are wider in the direction of the load or make it like a latice so you get more ridgity for your steel brought my workshop press is very ridgid and weighs about 3 1/2 tons but its very big and has a lot of power keep the width as narrow as you can as well its not that hard just do your research first Cheers Beaver