How to Repair Hydraulic Presses

Your manufacturing business relies on hydraulic presses for shaping metal components, so any downtime or productivity loss must be kept to an absolute minimum. Preventive maintenance inspections can help ensure your hydraulic press runs at its optimum performance levels.

Here are three issues to look out for and how you can solve them.

1. Check the Pressure

Hydraulic presses can be an invaluable asset when applied with pressure; their versatility allows for numerous uses in many different situations. Unfortunately, however, sometimes they fail to function as intended due to any number of reasons; knowing how to check and repair this machine is therefore vitally important.

Before doing anything else, ensure that the hydraulic system is producing enough pressure. Too little pressure could impede its functions; therefore it's vitally important that this is checked on frequently.

Too much pressure can damage a hydraulic system and cause it to overheat, so to reduce risks it is crucial that temperatures in this system stay as low as possible.

Piston oil seal leaks are another common occurrence and can be caused by any number of issues such as an overfilled reservoir, contaminated check balls or worn piston packing. Preventative measures should include regularly inspecting and cleaning or replacing these components to maintain peak performance.

2. Check the Oil

As with any piece of machinery, hydraulic presses require regular oil replacement. Otherwise, their properties could deteriorate over time and render them inoperable - potentially jeopardizing performance and increasing cost for users.

Check if the piston oil seal is leaking; this could be caused by an overfilled oil reservoir, contaminated check ball, worn packing material or simply excessive wear-and-tear damage. In many instances, this problem can be addressed by taking steps such as removing and cleaning/replacing piston packing before installing new ones.

Lubricate guided platens regularly. Graphite or grease should be used, depending on the press manual's specific lubrication requirements for your particular model, to prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your hydraulic press, which in turn helps extend its service life and save on costly repairs in the future. A small investment will keep it working well!

3. Check the Electrical Connection

If your hydraulic press is leaking hydraulic fluid, this could indicate issues with its seals. Make sure all seals are intact and unclogged with debris.

Oil leaks not only create an unsightly mess, but they also pose a fire hazard. Press oil is highly pressurized and extremely hot; should it hit an open flame or other source of heat it could ignite.

Over time, a hydraulic press's ram may become damaged from wear-and-tear due to abrasion or general wear and tear, leading to cracks or leaks from its cylinder rod or bushings.

MPPS can design and manufacture new bushes, seals and gland systems to restore these presses to like-new condition, including removing the rams for remachining and fitting the new parts. We can also assist you in setting up a preventative maintenance inspection program for both manual and automatic models of presses.

4. Check the Cylinders

Hydraulic press cylinders are integral to productivity, so when they malfunction it's crucial that they're repaired promptly and correctly. Unfortunately, the repair process can be complex due to many parts that must be tightened properly or replaced altogether - this requires great care in fixing these hydraulic cylinders correctly, so professional assistance may be best used in performing this service.

Damaged seals on cylinders can have a dramatic impact on how they operate, so it's vital to conduct regular checks of both rod and piston for signs of wear, seals themselves, as well as their interior surfaces for scratches or any signs of damage.

After disassembling a cylinder, it is critical to thoroughly clean its rod and piston by wiping away any dirt or grease build-up, then reassemble. Be sure to fasten any removed guards back in their proper places as soon as you reassemble your new hydraulic cylinder and bleed its hydraulic system (if it features test couplings). Finally, test its new condition between home and work positions until its movement is smooth without any air entering its chambers.