How to make your own press. Making a hydraulic press with your own hands

The hydraulic press has a multi-purpose purpose. This apparatus serves mainly to compress objects of high and medium density while changing their shape or displacing the liquid that is included in the composition. In addition, the equipment can also be used to carry heavy objects, but there is no need to buy a hydraulic press, because you can do it yourself with a conventional jack.

Working principle of hydraulic press

Creating a press from a jack with your own hands does not affect its quality and technical performance. Characteristics are equal to the equipment that is produced in production. hydraulic press can be used at home for many purposes. These include:

stamping;
forging;
arching;
profile extrusion;
pressing various items.

In addition, pressing can be used to package various items made of wood, metal and plastic.

The hydraulic press is used in almost any industry, but it also finds its application in everyday life. The advantage of such equipment is in the law of hydrostatics, which, in turn, facilitates the pressing of objects with any density. The principle of operation is that the hydraulic press presses at one specific point and thereby increases efficiency, elsewhere on the subject. Thus, it is possible to perform a variety of actions from bending to pressing an object, applying minimal effort.

The whole design includes a small number of parts, but the main ones are two piston cylinders, which differ from each other in their diameter. Inside the pistons, there is ordinary water or oil. The fluid allows the law of hydrostatics to operate. This allows you to increase the efficiency and on the subject, a force of several tons will already act. The structure of the hydraulic press means work in two planes, but the vertical type of equipment is most often used, and less often the horizontal model.

Making a press with your own hands

To date, there are a fairly large number of drawings that allow you to make a hydraulic press using a jack with your own hands. A homemade press will not differ from real equipment produced at the enterprise. As a result, you can save money and get at your disposal high-quality equipment, which is also easy to improve and modify in the future.

In everyday life, a home-made press can be used to press various kinds of objects, including waste that remains after metal processing. Many masters especially often use a press for pipe deformations and bending of profiles. Since the hydraulic press is created for domestic purposes with your own hands, you can use an ordinary garage instead of a workshop.

Required Tools

Assembling a homemade press only with the help of your own strength is quite simple, but you need to prepare all the necessary tools in advance. It is imperative to prepare a welding machine and a large number of electrodes. If there are no skills in welding, you can ask specialists to help for a small fee. For metal processing of some parts, you will also need to find a grinding machine. As the main raw material in the creation of a hydraulic press metal profiles are used, which can be bought at any construction market. It does not make sense to buy a large quantity at once. It is better to buy everything as needed.

The first thing to remember is that the principle of operation in a hydraulic press is the pressure that can be obtained by manual action or a pump. Pressure can also be supplied to the working cylinder by installing a hydraulic jack, which has a built-in manual pump. Jacks can be very different, but it is better to choose a bottle-type model, since they have shown the longest service life for the entire time of use. At the beginning of the assembly of the hydraulic press, you need to pay attention to the fact that the jack is installed exclusively in a vertical position and the option is not allowed when the jack rod is pushed down.

To use a hydraulic press at home, a minimum load force is enough, which equals 10–20 tons. Large load force, used only when working in production. It is also important to pay attention to such characteristics as:

bed parameters;
working stroke of the pistons;
dimensions.

The pressure inside the cylinder is obtained using a manual or hydraulic pump. The second option simplifies the job, but the hand pump can be easily replaced.

Creating the basis for a homemade press from a jack

The beginning of work on creating a homemade press is based on creating a platform that will serve as a support and at the same time be able to withstand the load of the press. It must be taken into account that the force that will act during pressing must be proportional to the knots. In fact, the jack will try its best break the frame, so its strength is a guarantee of the quality of all equipment. It is necessary to make a frame that would withstand a load that exceeds the force acting during the operation of the hydraulic press.

The frame opening must correspond in size to the intended material that will be used during pressing, so it is important to determine the width of this part at the stage of its creation. Minimum dimensions widths have their limits, because it cannot be less than the total dimensions of the press. When determining the exact height of a hydraulic press, it is necessary to take into account the length of the jack, the free amplitude of the rod, the free space for processing materials and the dimensions of the working table.

The hydraulic jack is installed on the main press bed, while the parts will rest against the frame structure web. In this case, the entire force that will be transmitted from the rod to the processing or pressing of the material will depend on the operation of the movable desktop. It is installed on top of the structure jack. In this case, the movement will occur with the help of the frame up and down.

It is possible to obtain the necessary strength and rigidity of the structure by using several ribs at once. To do this, you need to buy profiles made of metal of an angular or square type. The ideal profile size should be 50 or 40 mm per side. If you simply do not have the necessary profiles at hand, they can be made from ordinary metal sheets that are bent into the shape of an angle. Then you just need to weld the two corners to each other in the upper and lower parts. Thus, it is possible to obtain a profile with several stiffeners, which significantly increase the maximum load limit of the structure.

In order to stabilize the hydraulic press, the plate must be welded to the fabricated steel structure. According to standard drawings, the metal plate should be 8–12 mm thick and a size of 200 by 250 mm. Next, you will need to install two springs on the equipment at the jack on both sides. On the one hand, the springs must be glued to the bed, and, on the other hand, mounted on the work table. The springs serve to return the jack to its original position, so they must have the appropriate stiffness and size.

Creating an abutment for a hydraulic press

When creating a press with your own hands, you need to additionally make an emphasis. For this, the metal material that was used to create the racks is suitable. The length of the workpiece should be equal to the width of the structure. Next, you need to weld the two parts together and connect to the supporting structure. Should weld two metal corners, which have 40 or 50 mm one side, to each other. The length is chosen arbitrary, but within 30–50 cm. After that, all blanks are welded together and installed in their proper place. The connection angle should be 90 degrees.

The angle must be observed during welding. To do this, it is necessary to use squares that will help maintain the required 90 degrees, and will not allow the structure to bend during welding.

The advantage of a removable thrust element

The removable thrust element is mainly installed in order to move it along the guide and thereby the direction to the component will be transmitted. To create it, you will need simple metal pieces. 10 mm thick. The length of the blanks should be slightly less than the distance between the two racks. The final stage is the welding of the stop to the two posts.

Conclusion

Making your own hydraulic press with a jack is very simple. To do this, you can use improvised means, all kinds of drawings that can be found on the Internet, as well as your own experience. The result is equipment that can be prepared at home at any time.

For some operations, a home master may require a press with a significant compression force, but the purchase of equipment of this class will be completely unjustified. Today we will tell you how to assemble a reliable press based on a hydraulic car jack in a few hours.

From what and how to assemble a frame for the press

The material for the frame, its structural strength and method of assembly must be determined by the pressure that the jack is capable of delivering. For an accurate calculation, it is important to understand in which direction the loads act during operation.

The basis of the press is a rectangular U-shaped frame made of a channel or a paired steel angle. The main acting force is the resistance to compression, expressed in concentrated load. The main force is concentrated in the centers of the horizontal bars. The forces that stretch the vertical legs of the press, and the phenomena of deformation in the compressible parts, can be completely neglected.

1 - upper thrust beam; 2 - bolts; 3 - jack 20 tons; 4 - return springs; 5 - movable beam; 6 - locking pin; 7 - adjustable support beam; 8 - transverse beam; 9 - legs from the corners

For installation with a compressive force of up to 5 tons for the manufacture of the frame, you can safely use:

Channel according to GOST 8240-89 size 8P.
A pair of hot-rolled corners according to GOST 8509-93, 50x5 mm in size, connected with 10 mm rods every 20-25 cm, or with a solid weld.

Let's make a reservation right away that we give approximate data on rolled metal for a frame in which the inner window is not wider than 100 cm. By analogy, when using a jack with a force of up to 10 tons, the frame should be made of:

Channel size 10P.
Twin angle steel 63x7 mm, solid seam connection with internal inserts of nominal section.

If the required compression force reaches 15 tons or more, then the frame should be made of:

Channel size 14P.
Paired corner 75x8 mm, the connection is similar to the previous one.

The above proposal for rolled metal implies a tenfold margin of safety, which completely eliminates the excess of the elastic deformation limit and is normal for installations of this kind. All frame joints must be welded with solid double-sided seams and butt cut. If the connection is not made by welding, assembly on bolts or cotter pins is allowed. In this case, it is imperative to take into account the maximum permissible load on the shear.

With a bolted connection, the main load becomes dispersed and the compression force of the press must be divided by the number of bolts or pins. The destructive shear force of bolts made of the most common ST-3 steel is:

M10 - about 2500-3000 kg.
M12 - 4000-4500 kg.
M14 - 5500-6000 kg.

To ensure the necessary margin of safety, each fastening element must experience a load five times less than the destructive one. For steel fingers, the force can be taken 10-15% higher than the indicated values. If the required number of fasteners cannot be placed in the corner assembly, the strength should be increased with gussets, for which it is preferable to use angle steel instead of sheet steel. The same applies to the welded frame construction, which also helps to avoid the use of unnecessarily massive rolled steel.

In addition to the loaded upper part of the frame, it includes two racks with legs that provide the press with sufficient stability, and a cross beam that can be moved when processing parts of different sizes. The cross section of the upper and lower beams must be equivalent, as well as the cross section of their fasteners. Everyone is free to implement the legs and support according to their own considerations, they do not experience work loads other than their own mass of the press. The only requirement is the presence of a lower crossbar, which gives the structure additional rigidity.

Which jack to use and how to modify it

The most affordable and suitable for making a home press will be a glass-type hydraulic car jack. As mentioned above, you have the right to choose the working force for your tasks; there are relatively inexpensive devices on sale that can squeeze up to 20 tons and even more.

The main problem with using such jacks is their inability to work upside down. It seems most logical to fix the jack permanently on the upper beam and use the lower one as a support for the part. However, this will require refinement of the hydraulic mechanism.

The first option for reworking the jack is to install an additional expansion tank with a capacity of about 300 ml. The tank is connected to the filler hole of the jack with a conventional silicone tube. For its tight fit, you can use threaded fittings for an oxygen hose, which are in stock at any auto parts store.

Another option for alteration will require disassembly of the jack. It is necessary to completely drain the oil and pump the plunger, then twist the upper clamping nut, holding it in a vise. After that, the outer glass is loosened with a rubber mallet, it should come out of the landing ring at the base of the jack. Immediately near the plunger lever there is a hole for the intake of the working fluid. The whole problem lies here: the glass is not completely filled and therefore, in an inverted state, the hole does not come into contact with oil. To eliminate this, you need to tightly press the tube into it, almost the entire height of the glass.

If you do not remake the jack, you will have to implement a more complex mechanism with an additional third beam. It should slide along the side rails and have a tight enough fit so that when the pressure is pumped up, the jack does not budge. In our case, the jack is simply attached upside down to the center of the top beam. There is no need for massive bolts, it is enough to make a couple of holes in the base plate of the jack and ensure fixation with M10 or M8 bolts that can withstand the weight of the jack itself and a slight shear force at the initial stage of compression.

Manufacture of pressure pads

The jack rod is not very convenient to work with, usually an increased area of compressing headstocks is required to use a wide range of molds and work with large parts. In this case, the force should be distributed over the entire area of the compressible surfaces evenly, without causing deformation.

In the simplest case, short full-bodied ingots can act as clamping blocks. In them, it is quite simple to make blind holes with threads for fixing to the main structure of the press. But this kind of detail is not always available to the layman, so we offer the option of making our own headstock, which can withstand a significant compression force without harm.

The headstock must have the possibility of integral fastening with the jack rod, which excludes shifting during operation. Simply put, a non-through hole should be made in the headstock, into which the heel of the jack will enter with a minimum clearance. You will also need a pair of holes for attaching the springs of the return mechanism.

Both stocks can be made from two sections of a channel or four pieces of a corner, forming a parallelepiped with open side faces. The seams on the planes through which the axis of the main working force passes should be welded with a continuous seam from the inside, the rest - from the outside. One of the faces is muffled with a square insert, after which the inner cavity is filled with grade 500 sand concrete. After hardening, the headstock is welded on the other side, so two incompressible pads are obtained.

To land on a jack, it is enough to weld a piece of pipe of the appropriate diameter in the upper part of the headstock, which will act as a casing for the glass. For even greater reliability, a washer with a hole for the stem heel is attached to the bottom of the sleeve. The tailstock can simply be placed on the adjustable beam, but it is better to weld on a couple of corners or steel bars that limit the shift.

Adjustable support beam

As you already know, the lower beam should have a section no less than that of the upper one, but it differs in design. The support table is made of two channels with their ribs outward, which are applied on opposite sides of the racks and welded in the central part with inserts from a corner or thick reinforcement. There is free space along the center of the beam, which explains the need to make a lower support block. The latter must rest on at least half the width of each flange, the shear stops are welded in the center of the lower part.

The best option for fixing the beam on the racks is with the help of massive steel pins. To do this, in the vertical channels of the frame, a series of round notches should be made at different heights with a parallel arrangement. As you understand, the diameter of the fingers cannot be less than the total cross section of all the bolts used in fastening the upper part of the frame.

Return mechanism

The last part of the design of a homemade press is a spring mechanism that will fold the jack when the bypass valve is open. For this purpose, ordinary door springs are suitable, which can be purchased in unlimited quantities at any hardware store.

The task becomes more difficult when using the upper clamping headstock, the significant dead weight of which will not allow the springs to compress. As an option, you can increase the number of springs to four or six, or use more powerful tension springs for the gate.

In the absence of the upper block, it is necessary to fix the springs to the jack rod. To do this, you need a washer, the inner hole of which is larger than the stem adjusting screw, but smaller than the piston diameter. The spring is attached to it through two small holes along the edges and is fixed to the upper beam in the same way or on welded hooks. It is not necessary to position the spring strictly vertically; you can compensate for the excess length by tilting it.

When performing various work in a home workshop, it often becomes necessary to influence the workpieces by pressing. We will talk about how to make a hydraulic press with your own hands to perform such operations in this article.

The device and functions of the hydraulic press

A hydraulic press is an equipment that is specially designed for processing parts and workpieces by exposing them to high pressure. Such a press works due to the pressure of the liquid acting on the elements of its design.

The design of most hydraulic presses provides for a vertical arrangement of the working cylinder, but there are also models in which it is located horizontally. Various models of presses can create working forces in the range from several tens to several thousand tons.

The principle of operation of a hydraulic press is based on Pascal's law, known to us from a school physics course. The design of the press consists of two working chambers of different sizes or, as they are also called, cylinders. The principle of operation of a hydraulic press, if we describe it in a few words, is as follows.

In the smaller of its cylinders, a high pressure of the working fluid is created, which is fed through the connecting channel into the chamber of a larger diameter and acts on the piston connected to the working tool. The latter exerts pressure on the workpiece, which is located on a rigid support to prevent it from moving under its action. All hydraulic presses use special oils as the working fluid.

Hydraulic presses are most widely used when performing such operations on metal parts as stamping, forging, straightening, bending, extrusion of pipes and other profiles. In addition, with the help of such presses, briquetting, packaging and pressing of various materials are performed (as a rule, a mini-press is used for these purposes).

The device of the hydraulic press allows its active use both in enterprises for the production of rubber, plastic and wood products, as well as in other areas. A variety of functions and applications of this equipment determine the existence of its various modifications. For example, on sale you can find a hydraulic desktop press, a mini-press, a hydraulic floor press, a manual hydraulic press, presses with and without a pressure gauge.

Use cases at home

The use of a hydraulic press in a garage or home workshop is quite common. It is possible to use such a press, which is small in size, both when repairing a car, and for performing work of a different nature.

In particular, with the help of such compact equipment, it is possible to press out bearings or silent blocks, as well as to press new parts in their place. In addition to automotive repair, a hydraulic press can be used for bending metal parts, creating the required pressure when gluing surfaces, briquetting waste, and for squeezing out oil and liquid. Factory equipment for this purpose (even a manual hydraulic press) costs a lot of money, and not everyone can purchase it. Meanwhile, you can make such a press with your own hands, spending money only on the purchase of the necessary materials.

Remarkably, the design of a hydraulic press made at home can immediately be adapted to solve a specific task with a specific part or workpiece. A do-it-yourself press will not take up much space; it will be enough to allocate a little space in the workshop or garage to accommodate it. Detailed instructions on how to make a hydraulic press are given below. There is also a video on this topic at the end of the article.

home press design

Do-it-yourself hydraulic presses should not have too outstanding technical characteristics, it is enough that they develop a force of 10–20 tons. This parameter of a homemade hydraulic press depends on what actions you are going to perform with it.

One of the most common and simple options for a homemade press

There are a number of other parameters that correspond not only to industrial, but also home-made household hydraulic presses:

dimensions;
weight of equipment;
piston stroke;
the presence of a pressure gauge in the design of the press;
characteristics of the machine used.

In self-made presses, the pressure in the working cylinder is usually created using a manual hydraulic pump, which can be either built into the design of such a device or located separately from it. Such a design feature depends only on what equipment you choose for the manufacture of such a device. It is very easy to make a hydraulic press with your own hands, if you take a bottle-type jack as the basis for its design. Such a jack, which is convenient, already has a built-in hand pump in the design.

Bottle type hydraulic jack is great for use in DIY hydraulic press

Before you decide to purchase a suitable jack for making a home hydraulic tool, it is important to decide what tasks you will solve with it. Both the design scheme of the manual hydraulic press and the force that it will develop depend on this. The next step is to develop a drawing of a hydraulic press, which you are going to make with your own hands. You can, of course, find such a drawing on the Internet and even see photos and videos of the process of making a press from a hydraulic jack with your own hands. But in this case, you will be faced with the need to customize the devices you have for someone else's homemade press.

The development of a drawing of your future home-made press begins with the question of how it will work. There are only two options here.

The jack will be located at the bottom of the press - on its frame - and will push up.
The jack is fixed in the upper part of the press structure and presses, respectively, down.

However, when choosing a scheme for the operation of a home-made press, one should take into account the fact that for the main part of the jacks produced by modern industry, the only correct position is the pressing rod up, and it is simply not allowed to place them differently. That is why the first hydraulic press scheme is most often taken as a basis. The second option is used only in cases where it is required to make hydraulic equipment for pressing out bearings or bushings from individual units and mechanisms with your own hands.

Version of the press with the lower location of the jack

What to consider when developing a drawing of a homemade press

The supporting element of any press, including a home-made one, is a bed, the development of a drawing of which should be approached as responsibly as possible. Structurally, the frame is a frame, inside of which there is a jack with a working tool that puts pressure on a part or workpiece.

The type of bed can vary significantly depending on the purpose of the press.

The frame of a do-it-yourself hydraulic press must have high strength, as it will experience loads in two directions at once. The jack, which creates a certain force, will simultaneously put pressure on the upper and lower parts of the frame, trying to break it, as it were. That is why, when calculating the frame and choosing materials for its manufacture, its strength is provided with a margin.

The lower part of the frame - its base - is developed taking into account the fact that it must ensure high stability of the entire structure. When calculating the width of the internal opening of the frame of a homemade press, they take into account both the dimensions of the parts and workpieces that will be processed on it, and the total dimensions of all the constituent elements of the future press.

Another version of the bed with the simplest base design for stability

When calculating the height of the internal opening of the frame, the following parameters are summed up: the height of the jack, the desired free play of its rod, the thickness of the working body and the part to be processed. If a home-made press is made according to the first scheme, then its design is as follows: the jack is installed on the lower base, and the part is in the upper part of the frame; the force from the jack to the part is transmitted through its rod and a movable working platform moving along the guides in the side elements of the frame.

In order to ensure the return of the rod to its original state, two springs are used, the lower part of which is attached to the base, and the upper part to the movable working platform. If you decide to make a press from a jack with your own hands, then it is very important to correctly calculate the stiffness of the springs so that they effectively perform all the functions assigned to them.

When implementing the second scheme, a part is placed on the lower base, and the jack is installed on a movable platform, to which springs are also attached, connecting it to the upper crossbar of the frame. Both in the first and in the second case, at the point of contact of the rod with the movable platform or the upper crossbar of the frame, a so-called nest is made, which can be used as a pipe segment of the appropriate diameter.

The inability to adjust the height of the working area simplifies the design, but significantly limits the use of the press

A do-it-yourself hydraulic press will be much more convenient to use if you provide for the possibility of adjusting the free jack rod, which also affects the allowable height of the workpiece. To do this, you can do the following.

An additional plate is located in the upper part of the inner contour of the frame, which can move along the guides due to a screw drive with a steering wheel. Thus, it is possible to change the clearance within a fairly wide range for the location of parts inside the frame.
You can make a removable stop, which is most often used as a mobile removable platform. It is possible to fix the position of such an emphasis inside the frame using bolted connections, for which holes are drilled in the frame with a certain step. In this case, the height spacing of such holes should not exceed the value of the free play of the jack rod.
From a solid piece of metal or a metal profile, several interchangeable inserts-gaskets of different thicknesses can be made.
You can also use several of the above methods at the same time.

If you are making a drawing according to which you will make a press with your own hands, be sure to indicate not only the dimensions of the main elements of such a device and the workpiece, but also other rolled metal from which the frame will be made.

Tools and materials

If you are going to make a hydraulic press with your own hands, then you will need the following tools, supplies and equipment:

welding equipment;
electrodes;
hacksaw or grinder (angle grinder).

In addition, you will need the following elements that your future garage press will consist of: a hydraulic jack, two springs that will pull the movable platform back to its original state. If you find an old bridge fungus left over from a repair in your garage, you can use it as an element of a pull-back device for homemade presses with a lower jack. In this case, the fungus is put on the jack rod, the upper part of the springs is attached directly to it, and the lower part is fixed on the frame.

The type and amount of materials needed to build a press depends heavily on the chosen design option.

In order to make a press from a jack, you will need the following rolled metal:

channels (not less than 8 numbers), (with dimensions not less than 40x40), corners with a shelf width of not less than 50 mm;
steel sheet with a thickness of at least 8 mm, which will be used as a reliable foundation for the entire structure;
a piece of steel strip 10 mm thick - for the manufacture of guides and stiffeners, if necessary;
a piece of pipe - for making nests for the head of the jack rod.

Manufacturing process

When the drawing of your future hydraulic press is ready, and all the necessary materials, tools, equipment and components are available, they go directly to manufacturing. The first thing to do is to cut all the metal, guided by the dimensions indicated in the drawing.

Now you should make the base of the press, for which prepared square pipes are welded together, and a steel plate is welded onto the rectangle formed from them. Then the side and upper parts of the frame are welded together, carefully making sure that the resulting U-shaped structure is even and has strictly right angles in the joints. Now the resulting structure should be welded to the base and we can assume that the frame for your hydraulic press is ready.

The next element that you will need to make for the press is a movable platform. For its manufacture, you can use a channel, square or rectangular pipe. A piece of pipe is welded in the central part of the platform, which will serve as a socket for the head of the jack rod. For the manufacture of guides for the working platform, you will need two steel strips, the length of which should correspond to the width of the press frame along its outer contour.

Production is unthinkable without pressing operations, and modern production is even more so: the processing of metals and materials in general by cutting produces waste, which ultimately has a strong impact on the environment and the economy. In a home workshop, in a garage, it is also difficult for an IP individual working on metal to do without stamping, forging, straightening, bending, forming (flattening), pressing and pressing blanks and parts, but the choice of presses for individual use is by no means wide, but the prices are scary. No less necessary is a press and just on the farm - for squeezing juice, oil, baling hay. Extra virgin juice/oil can only be obtained from a special press (see below); especially carefully and with skill you need to press the grapes on the wine. And with the choice of the finished press and the prices for them, the situation is similar to the previous one. Finally, rising energy prices are forcing many homeowners to think about transferring autonomous heating to waste (alternative) fuel, or at least how to make fuel pellets or briquettes from existing household waste (straw, husks, husks, sawdust, shavings); this also requires a special press. Here's how to make a press with your own hands for these and some other purposes (also see below), and this publication is devoted to.

When to buy

But in no case should you do the press yourself, so this is when you are engaged in precision mechanics, optics, jewelry work. All home-made presses do not differ in particular accuracy: you cannot make them better at home and / or artisanal conditions. And an inaccurate mini-press can break or irreparably ruin a tiny irreplaceable part, split a lens, a gem, etc. In these cases, it is still better to purchase a desktop mini-press; of these, manual mechanical rack and pinion (see the figure on the right) are widely available and their prices are acceptable.

Beat go press?

Pressing operations are carried out mainly by pressure and impact. Impact pressing is very economical: from the impact, an elastic wave occurs in the metal of the workpiece, which makes the metal flow better and resists deformation less. In the practice of amateurs and individual craftsmen, impact pressing is widely used for cold forging of metals, especially artistic ones. Impact presses are most often performed by impact-inertial: energy is accumulated in a mechanical storage device (flywheel, falling weight). Then the accumulator is engaged with the press punch, which hits the workpiece. Impact-inertial presses are very compact: such a press weighs 1 t and has dimensions in terms of approx. 1x1 m is capable of creating an instantaneous force of more than 1000 tf. But impact pressing is one of the most accidental and traumatic operations, therefore, only one version of an impact press suitable for use in a home workshop will be considered below.

What to do?

Pressing by pressure allows you to perform almost all the pressing operations necessary in everyday life. Self-made presses are most often performed energy-autonomous, i.e. without a separate drive, reservoirs of the working fluid, pumping stations, etc. The choice of one or another design scheme of the press is ultimately determined by its purpose and working force.

It is easiest to use a car jack as a power block built into the press - it develops a force of up to 100 tf, and jacks of 10 tf are commonly used. The only operation that the press from the jack cannot handle is the molding (flattening) of the ends of the rods during artistic cold forging.

The jack used most often is a hydraulic bottle jack (but see also below). In this case, a hydraulic press can be made according to one of the following. frame structural schemes (see Fig.):

Pos. A - the jack is turned upside down, tightly fixed on a fixed upper traverse, and a punch is attached to the head of the working rod of the jack. This is the simplest and at the same time reliable and vibration-resistant design (see below about the role of vibrations in the operation of the press). Disadvantages - if the jack is needed for its intended purpose, it is quite difficult and long to dismantle it, and swinging the jack arm hanging upside down is not very handy.
Pos. B - scheme with a movable table. Structurally more complicated, because a movable traverse is added - a table. They pump the jack as always, it’s easy to remove it, because. it may not be attached at all. Disadvantages - the worst vibration resistance; in addition, the technology of most pressing operations is designed for the fact that the punch presses on the workpiece or part from above, and if vice versa, it is difficult and may not work at all. But for repair and / or mechanical assembly work, this is the best option: if you need to squeeze out a shaft that has tightly rusted to it from a pulley or bearing or, conversely, press them onto the shaft, then its (shaft) length is limited only by the height of the ceiling in the workshop. In general, a hydraulic press with a movable jack table is the best option for a garage or service station.
Pos. B - with a power unit on a movable traverse. Structurally the most complex, but vibration-resistant, strong and durable, tk. the load on the weakest link - the movable traverse - is not a point, but actually dispersed. The jack may also be loose, but if it twists and crashes, the consequences will be worse than if it falls off the base plate. The disadvantage is that it is not very convenient to swing the jack, which is slowly creeping down.

Note: the base plate is a heavy, bulky, material-intensive thing. It is not always possible to place a press on a stove in a workshop or garage. Therefore, the frame of home-made presses is most often placed not on a plate, but on a lower fixed traverse, structurally similar to the upper one (see below). The vibration resistance of the press is reduced by approx. twice, but for amateur conditions it is acceptable.

A manual screw press (pos. D) allows you to create a force of up to a maximum of 1.5-2.5 tf. In working with metal, it is used when this is enough, in the next. cases (see also video):

When a pressing force less than the specified values is sufficient:

Video: manual screw press for the workshop

Requires a large stroke:

Video: screw press 2/2

As a small or mini-press for small, not very important jobs:

Video: small screw press

How to puller:

Video: homemade press for removing bearings, pulleys

Note: a structurally simple frameless lever hand press, pos. D in fig. But it finds greater application in everyday life and households (see below), because. with its help, you can develop a force of no more than 300-400 kgf.

Is it just hydraulics?

A homemade press from a jack can be not only hydraulic. Many passenger cars are sold with a rhombic screw jack. It gives no more than 2-2.5 tf force, but it is cheap (“new, good” can be purchased for 1300 rubles). A small effort is not only a disadvantage: the frame of the press with a screw jack can be made of a wooden bar from 150x150, and it is also possible to adapt an electric drill as a drive, see Fig.:

If the maximum that you need is to bend rods up to 8-10 mm, such a press is enough for this. And a curious fact: about 10 years ago, the author of the article happened to accidentally meet a figure who, working for 3-4 hours on the first 2-3 days of the week, earned 20-25 thousand rubles. per month At that time, the amount was considerable. How? I bought empty metal cans for half the purchase price of scrap metal, flattened it and sold it at a normal price. Beer cans were brought in most of all, they are aluminum, and it is expensive. He complained, however, that the work was dirty - the homeless brought the bulk of the raw materials.

Pressing and vibration

Vibrations of metal stretching during pressing are the scourge of large industry, and giant presses, like the one that NKMZ delivered from the USSR to the French Forzhal, because of this, are the most complex units. But entrepreneurs and amateurs should also pay the most serious attention to the vibration resistance of the press. A bully on a hardened shaft or axle shaft neck is an irreparable marriage.

Jack Press: Critical Links

Vibrations during the operation of the press often give themselves out as a creak and groan of metal. Mechanical stresses in the elements of its construction are inaudible and invisible, but they can quickly negate the efforts and costs of its creator, and a broken traverse can cause injury and damage. Therefore, the choice of structural materials for the press and its technical execution of the structure as a whole must be taken no less seriously.

An erroneous decision would be a welded frame made of corrugated pipes (item 1 in the figure below): it practically does not dampen vibrations, welds are prone to cracking due to the forces arising from pressing. The professional pipe is quite massive, very elastic and therefore is a good energy accumulator. That is, if a crack creeps along one of the seams, a heavy, sharp-angled traverse can instantly break off and fly off to the side.

The frame of a homemade press must be made of channels, single or paired. An I-beam fits worse: at the slightest asymmetry of the clamping force relative to the vertical axis of the frame, significant transverse stresses arise in the I-beam shelf, which is contraindicated for this type of profile. In addition, the I-beam is not designed to receive concentrated loads.

A frame welded from a single channel with reinforcing braces (pos. 2 in the figure) will be sufficiently reliable and stable under a load of approx. up to 5 tf; The 10 ton jack is too strong for this press. Press traverses for clamping force up to 12-15 tf must be made from twin channels with shelves outward, pos. 3. This is again the best option for a garage or service station: there is no need to make holes in the traverses for the passage of shafts, which unacceptably weaken the frame. If the press is designed to work at maximum effort (stamping, forming, bending), then the best option is a powerful single channel (see below) and a bolted frame, pos. 4; tack welding in this case is technological, facilitating frame assembly. Bolts, firstly, will exclude the sudden destruction of the frame. Secondly, they will be good vibration absorbers.

What channel to take?

The dimensions of the channel for the frame of the hydraulic press from the jack are selected as follows. way (it is assumed that the profile is made of ordinary structural steel St44 or similar, and the traverses are solid):

For a force of up to 2 tf - single from 80x40x4 mm; paired from 60x30x4 mm.
For a force of 2-5 tf - single from 100x50x6 mm; paired from 80x40x4 mm.
For a force of 5-10 tf - single from 160x80x8 mm; paired from 120x60x6 mm.
For a force of 10-15 tf - single from 220x110x12 mm; paired from 150x75x8 mm.
For a force of up to 25 tf - single from 280x140x15 mm; paired from 180x90x9 mm.

What are the columns made of?

The columns of the press frame do not work in bending, like traverses, but in tension, to which the metal resists much better. However, the design of the columns mainly determines the vibration resistance of the press. The channel in this respect is not ideal, it does not dampen vibrations. For a test, tap with a hammer on the segments of the channel and the square professional pipe - they ring almost the same. The sound from a solid steel bar will be much more muffled. In addition, the round columns of the press take up side loads well, especially if the columns are paired. In this case, the press turns out to be as compact and light as possible (see the figure on the right), which significantly or completely compensates for its increased labor intensity.

Note: if the press is designed for small efforts (mechanical assembly and repair work), then the round columns of its frame can be made of pipes, see the video:

Video: jack press

Design examples

Vibration and mechanical stability of the press is very important in the repair and maintenance of vehicles; especially cars. Scuffing and misalignment of the fit of mating parts is not everything, the appearance of the machine is also important. That is, the press used when straightening and / or tuning a car should be as smooth as possible and be as accurate as possible. This is achieved by increased material and labor intensity of the structure: the columns are made of turned steel, and the table and traverses are made of solid metal plates.

Drawings of a hydraulic press from a jack of increased accuracy and stability are given in the figure:

Without prejudice to the performance of the press, in the geometric center of its upper fixed traverse (det. 1), it is possible to drill a hole with a diameter of up to 40 mm for the shaft / axle to pass when pressing mating parts onto it or, conversely, pressing it out of them. The maximum short-term (10 min / 1.5 hour break) working force is approx. 10 ts.

On the trail. rice. drawings of a press of a similar design and technical execution, but already for production and technological purposes, are given.

The maximum force is already regular long-term: up to 50% of the working time, therefore the design of this product is much more complicated. The peculiarity of this press is a double combined frame. Its undercarriage is on round turned columns, and the support is welded from channels. Such a frame dampens vibrations of almost any fashion very well. The fact is that the mechanical quality factor of a square pipe, butt-welded from channels with shelves, is very low: the elastic waves that have fallen into it, figuratively speaking, become entangled in the metal of uneven thickness and are additionally extinguished in the welds. For more on the experience of amateur manufacturing of hydraulic presses from jacks, see the video:

Video: press with an inverted jack and a frame made of professional pipes

Video: Sliding Table Hydraulic Press

Video: press with a movable traverse

Note: just in case - in Fig. drawings of the bed of a hydraulic press from a jack for a force of up to 100 tf.

press hammer

To put an end to repair and process presses, let's remember the promise: how is impact pressing applicable in a home workshop or at an IP individual? In the form of a pedal press hammer; it can be used as forging, riveting and stamping.

Presses of this type are also called lever hammers. Their progenitor is a blacksmith's hammer driven by a water wheel. The impact force of the press hammer is far from a record, only a few tf. But due to the above-described features of the behavior of metal under impact, lever hammers are quite effective, especially since the force and speed of impact can be adjusted accordingly. character by pressing the pedal.

The kinematic diagram of the lever hammer is shown in pos. a) Fig., and in pos. b) - a device of its traditional type. At pos. c) - the device of an improved lever hammer: a parallelogram suspension of the upper striker (as the punch is called in this case) on a pair of earrings (swinging levers) provides a direct blow, and by moving the yoke of the thrust (carrier) along the lower earring, as shown by the arrows, the impact force is precisely regulated . A pair of springs (lower - adjustable) allows you to achieve mechanical indifference of the striker: within the working stroke, it remains in any position where it is placed by hand; this makes it possible, without changing the weight of the striker, to precisely regulate the kinetic energy stored in it. Such lever hammers are used even by jewelers and yachtsmen - for installing powerful eyelets in sails and assembling efficient things to tightness.

Note: in maritime terminology, sensible things are items of supply that are immovable relative to the hull of the vessel, manufactured on the shore in production conditions - bollards, ducks, rollers, etc.

Screw presses

The first business that requires a press is the extraction of juice and oil from juicy fruits. The latter, however, is irrelevant in the Russian Federation: olives do not grow in our country, and you cannot squeeze oil from seeds by pressure, it is beaten out by impact pressing on oil churns. Juicer presses are often made on the model of industrial and technological jacks in a wooden frame, because. the pressing force is required no more than 1-1.5 tf, see, for example. video:

Video: press for apples, berries and fruits

But the correct press juicer is necessarily a manual screw press with a wooden basket, see pic.:

The screw gives the hands the ability to sensitively adjust the pressing force, and only the press with a wooden basket produces the highest quality juice / oil. If we are talking about grape juice for elite wine, but all parts of the press in contact with it are also made of wood; the best breeds for this are oak and mulberry (mulberry) aged for at least 3 years.

About winemaking and wine presses

The variety of grapes and the conditions for its cultivation is not all that is needed to make a good wine. For example, many excellent varieties of grapes grow in the Northern Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov: the climate is suitable, there is an abundance of shelly calcareous soils. But during the perestroika struggle for sobriety, an article flashed in Science and Life about the content of fusel oils in home-made alcohol. It was the northern Azov homemade wines that took the first place: 3700 mg / l (!!!). The second was taken by Sumy potato moonshine, 1900 mg/l; the rest of the "self-propelled gun" went by a wide margin. The holidaymakers, who at that time dared to try the local “varyokha” from one glass, excuse me, “planed further than they saw.”

Winemaking in general is a delicate matter, and squeezing juice for wine is its most important stage. Juice for wine from elite varieties of grapes is squeezed out as follows: for wines of the Pinot class (pigno), berries of a certain degree of ripeness are selected by hand directly from the bunches on the vines. Selected berries are pressed lightly in 3-5 doses, so that only pure juice is released without the admixture of mucous pulp, and the bones and skin do not have time to release tannins. The rest of the harvest is added to the squeezes from Pinot and crushed in the usual way; in this way, juice is obtained for wine of the same variety of the category Mosto (mosto). Real Mosto is also a very good wine, but Pinot… you know, hand-picked by the berry by experienced highly paid workers and completely hand-pressed “with bated breath”. Therefore, the prefix "Pino" to the names of cheap draft wines (by the way, very often very decent ones) is nothing more than an unscrupulous scam. Unfortunately, it is now legalized in most countries with developed winemaking.

Drawings of a manual screw press for extracting fruit juices of the highest quality are given in the figure:

In addition to these, it has two more significant features. The first is a steering wheel of a relatively small diameter instead of a gate. Turning the gate is ideally evenly difficult, it transfers the pressing force into the hand weakly and it is easy to transfer the load of raw materials. The second is a rectangular thread of the screw-nut running pair. Better, but technologically more difficult - trapezoidal; threads of the same profile are used wherever smooth, precise clamping is required, e.g. in a locksmith's vice.

It is difficult to machine at least a rectangular thread, and it is expensive to order, so if you make such a press, look for unusable water or gas main shut-off valves (valves, valves) in the scrap metal. Their running pairs are just with a rectangular thread, which, if cleaned of rust, is most often in order - the shutters become unusable first.

Note: for more information on making a juicer press with a wooden basket, see the video:

Video: juice press

Lever presses

Lever presses are also quite common in everyday life and households. For example, in the sewing business for installing eyelets, buttons, fasteners, dress rivets, jeans buttons. The device of the "tailor" desktop hand press is shown in fig. on right. For precise centering of the clamp, its rod slides in the holder, as in a lever press with a sliding stop, see above fig. with press types. But the kinematic scheme is different: in this case, a pair of pressure lever - earring is used. In such a press, the clamping force increases quite smoothly along the rod, which is exactly what is needed for high-quality flaring of the sides of metal sewing accessories. At the lower end of the rod there is a blind threaded hole (socket), into which shaped punches for various types of fittings are screwed.

The next pressing operation, which is often required by owners of personal subsidiary plots and agrarians-partialists who keep livestock, is hay baling. Moderately compacted hay not only requires less storage space and crumbles less in the process, but is also much less damaged by pests.

To press hay for storage, mechanized balers are produced and sold, but these are expensive and rather complex units. Justifying themselves only in a fairly extensive profitable economy. It is better for the owner of a private household plot or a small individual agrarian, at least at first, to get by with a scythe, a rake and a manual baler lever for hay, the device of which is shown on the next. rice.:

This is a basket with an opening gate, a simple, without any kinematic tricks, a lever with a shoulder ratio of 1:6 - 1:10, and a pressure (punch) from a wooden shield. Hay is loaded into a basket with a closed gate - crushed, loaded - crushed until a bale of the desired size is formed; it is taken out by opening the gate.

Finally, let's recall the independent procurement of alternative solid fuels. Fuel pellets, which give the lowest ash content during combustion, are molded in screw thermoforming plants of a rather complex device, see fig. on right. Their disadvantage from the point of view of the host-part is also in significant energy consumption, which can negate the savings on the purchase of standard fuel for a furnace or boiler.

It is much easier to build a wall-mounted manual lever press for manual pressing of fuel briquettes from dry combustible agricultural waste, see next. rice.:

For more information about its manufacture, see the video in 2 parts:

Video: press for fuel briquettes

" Apples

Apple trees periodically give amateur gardeners such a large-scale harvest that the excess fruit has nowhere to go. In addition to jam and compotes, there is another option for processing fruits - juice. But many do not associate with this type of blanks due to the high labor intensity of the process. Ordinary household juicers simply cannot cope with a large amount of raw materials, and not everyone is ready to buy a professional device for the season. But there is a great option - to quickly and efficiently squeeze juice from apples on a do-it-yourself press.

To make a standard press yourself does not require special skills and drawings. Anyone can measure, saw off a rail, hammer a nail or screw a nut if desired. It is not necessary to own a welding machine, any design can be reproduced in a wooden version with common garden tools .

To make a home press from tools, you will need a hacksaw for wood and metal (or a grinder), a welding machine, screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer. As for the materials, the following are mainly used:

metal channel;
wooden bars, slats, boards;
self-tapping screws, bolts and nuts;
tank or barrel, stainless steel sheet;
bench screw and nut, valve, threaded rod or jack - depending on the chosen design;
durable fabric with good drainage properties for bags for apples: coarse calico, cotton, jute burlap, linen.

It is better to make wooden elements from oak, birch or beech, since materials from biologically active tree species (spruce, pine) can change the taste of juice. Under no circumstances should drainage grates be made from chipboard: fine dust impregnated with phenol-formaldehyde glue will get into the product.

Types of structures: schemes and drawings

The main thing in the press is a solid foundation and a working mechanism.

The principle of operation of the device:

layer by layer through the drainage gratings the prepared raw material is placed for pressing(chopped apples) in cloth bags;
by means of a mechanism oppression descends from above and squeezes juice.

A good press squeezes out 65-70% of the juice, leaving an almost dry pulp. It is quite possible to make one with your own hands.

The designs of a homemade press differ according to the principle of operation of the main mechanism:

Screw.
Based on the jack: mechanical and hydraulic.
Combined.

In the bulk of structures, the pressure is from above, but in the combined version, compression goes in two directions: using a screw mechanism on top and a hydraulic jack on the bottom.

Juice press consists of the following parts:

sustainable bed;
square or cylindrical frame, inside which sacks of chopped apples are stacked;
wooden lattices, with which the bags are shifted so that they do not spread;
piston-gne t, directly exerting pressure on the cake;
thrust bearing for a jack;
working mechanism: screw with handle, mechanical or hydraulic jack;
bowl-tray.

The main body can be:

single perforated: juice through the holes will flow down the walls and through the bottom into the pan;

double: a solid casing with a slightly larger diameter is put on a perforated metal cylinder;
in the form of a solid metal body with one drain hole at the bottom;
assembled from wooden slats connected by hoops, − barrel. The walls at the same time perform the functions of a drainage grate.

Corps may not exist at all.- just a pyramid of wooden lattice frames in a tray with a mouth at the bottom, under which a container for juice is substituted.

This design is easy and quick to install. For the bottom plate, you can take a piece of countertop, for example.

Worm mechanism or hydraulic jack: what to choose?

The screw (worm) mechanism in the press is implemented in the form of a large screw (threaded axle) with a nut or a mechanical jack. The latter option is much simpler - you can buy it in a spare parts store or get it out of the trunk of a car, you don’t need to look for anything, adjust, grind and weld.

Structures based on a hydraulic jack are much more productive(force from 1t) than mechanical ones, and require a minimum of labor costs on the part of a person. Bottle hydraulic jacks make it possible to squeeze juice quickly and in large volumes. They fit comfortably into any design.

You can design a press with a removable mechanism, then you don’t have to specially buy a jack, but you can use the attendant in the trunk. After all, the harvest of apples is not good every year.

Making a press with your own hands

The press needs a stable strong support - a bed. The simplest is to assemble it from wooden blocks with screws. For the manufacture of a metal bed, you will need a welding machine and a channel.

The dimensions of the frame depend on the diameter of the working body or the parameters of the drainage gratings. Therefore, if a hull structure is planned, then you need to prepare the container in advance.

The simplest frame press with a worm mechanism

Welded stable construction. A hole for the screw nut is cut in the center of the upper channel (you can use an old bench or order from turners). The nut is welded into the frame.

Then assembled wooden drainage grate, which is two layers of slats stuffed perpendicular to each other. The thickness of the rails is not less than 20 mm. It is also necessary to install a stand from the bars. A retainer for the pressing part of the screw is attached to the top board - any metal part that is suitable in shape (can be put on epoxy glue).

The tray is made from stainless steel sheet., in front of the spout-drain is bent. It remains to substitute a pan or other container. The result is a press.

The bed for a hydraulic press is assembled according to the same principle as for a screw press. As a case, it is easiest to take a ready-made metal or wooden barrel. A hole is cut out at the very bottom and equipped with a drain spout.

If the wooden barrel is not completely airtight - even good. The juice will merge in several directions at once, in the end it will still end up in the pan. It is better to put on a plastic casing with a larger diameter on top of such a design so that there is no splashing.

You can make a wooden case yourself:

It will take: several planks of equal size (parquet can be used), two stainless steel strips and self-tapping screws with an anti-corrosion coating.
Boards from above and below are screwed with self-tapping screws to stripes at a distance of approximately 10 mm.
Strips with boards are bent in the form of a circle, the ends of the strips are fastened with bolts.
A plastic bowl of a suitable diameter can be used as a pallet with a drain for juice cut out at the bottom.

Another important element is the jack stop.. It is usually made of wood: you need to knock down the slats and cut out a circle slightly smaller than the diameter of the working body from the resulting canvas. You can use a grinder to cut a support out of a stainless steel sheet.

Drainage pads are made in the same way as in the description for the screw press, but they are given a round shape.

As a result, the design should be something like in the photo.

Raw material preparation

The principle of pressing apple juice simple - the finer the raw material is chopped, the more product will be the output. It is best to use a special chopper (crusher), since it is theoretically possible to finely chop several buckets of apples by hand, but in fact it is difficult to implement. An electric meat grinder for large volumes is also not an option: it roars, howls, heats up, and as a result, it may burn out. A suitable crusher can also be made independently.

The simplest design of a homemade crusher

From moisture resistant plywood or sheet stainless steel, a deep bunker is mounted slightly on the cone. Two bars are attached to it for stability from below. A wooden roller (preferably made of beech) with self-tapping screws wound in a spiral cuts into the lower part of the container. As a drum, you can use an ordinary kitchen rolling pin. The axis of rotation of the roller goes out, a drill is inserted into it and the process begins.

Some simply crush apples in a bucket with a construction mixer.

The process of squeezing juice from apples at home

After the raw material is prepared, it laid out in cloth bags or wrapped in pieces of fabric according to the principle of an envelope. Next, the bundles are placed in a container, basket, or simply at the bottom of the structure in layers through drainage grates. Fits about 3-4 bags. Oppression descends from above, the juice flows into the pan. When the push-up process is completed, the pulp is taken out, the next batch is loaded.

The remaining cake after quality pressure is usually delivered dry and pressed into "tablets" (photo 16).

The pomace is best disposed of in the compost heap. Worms reproduce very well on such material, creating valuable fertilizer for the garden.

The resulting juice can not only be drunk fresh, but also prepared for the winter:

pasteurized rolled juice;
apple wine several types;
apple cider.

Apples are a very valuable product for health. It is extremely imprudent and wasteful to bury and give the neighboring pigs the surplus of the crop. Having built a couple of simple devices, you can quickly and easily process all the fruits. And in winter it will be so nice to get healthy and tasty amber drinks from the cellar or refrigerator!