What Materials Are Used in Hydraulic Press Tooling?

Hydraulic press tooling can be made out of several materials. Steel, cemented carbide and steel-bonded cemented carbide are three options.

Hydraulic presses are an efficient and versatile way to form metals. They offer several advantages, such as full tonnage throughout the stroke, customization options, flexibility and extended tool life.

C-Frame

C-frame material is widely used in hydraulic press tooling for various purposes. C-frame presses have three sides that are open, enabling them to handle a range of material shapes and sizes.

C-frame hydraulic presses are essential tools in many industries, helping operators fit, bend and assemble sheet metal components as well as bearings and equipment.

These presses can be equipped with various tooling for bending, punching, cutting and straightening applications. Some models feature servo-electric actuation to increase production efficiency and process repeatability.

Hydraulic presses use pressure generated by a pump to propel a steel cylinder or ram into material with an exact force. They're also commonly referred to as power presses.

H-Frame

H-Frame material is used in hydraulic press tooling to guarantee that presses will be strong and long-lasting. Usually made of stainless steel, H-Frame metal has excellent corrosion and abrasion resistance properties.

These frames are rigid and welded together, then connected by cross bracing that's welded onto each frame and secured with split pins. This reduces the number of joints in the press, making it ideal for heavy loads on scaffolding lifting frames.

These presses are quieter than other hydraulic press types and can deliver full power strokes from any point on the frame. This is particularly advantageous during drawing operations, since many other hydraulic presses can only supply force from below.

They can also be utilized for general assembly tasks, including straightening and testing workpieces as well as pressing bearings in and out. Available in manual, pneumatic and hydraulic styles, these presses can be combined with a die set to perform bending, forming or stamping operations.

Straight-Side

Straight-Side presses, also known as slab sided presses, feature uprights made of thick, solid steel slabs for superior rigidity and precision in even the toughest applications.

They're the go-to choice for progressive die operations due to their superior accuracy. Their high tonnage capacity also makes them suitable for forming, blanking, piercing, staking, punching, straightening assembly lines and press fits due to their superior strength.

These presses come in a range of tonnage capacities from 65 tons to 10,000 tons and boast superior frame construction. They're capable of millions of cycles annually, making them the ideal solution for heavy-duty applications that demand superior stability and parallelism.

Hydraulic presses are simpler to operate than mechanical models and offer greater versatility for a variety of tasks. The ram force, direction, speed, release of force and duration of pressure dwell can be adjusted according to the application requirements with ease.

Stretch Forming

Stretch Forming, commonly employed in aerospace applications, is a forming technique that produces curved parts from sheet metal or extrusions. It's an accurate and versatile process capable of creating various complex, high-quality parts.

This forming technique grips sheet metal along its edges with jaws attached to a carriage and then stretches it using hydraulic or pneumatic force.

This bending process uses less force than other techniques and produces a stronger, higher quality part. Additionally, it minimizes spring back, saves material costs, and can be more cost-effective than cold draw forming.

Another bending process commonly employed in the Aerospace Industry is contour roll forming, which applies curvature to aircraft stringers and frames. These multi-axis bending machines operate on three planes and can bend shapes up to theoretically infinite lengths.