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  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
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    Geelong, Australia
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    57
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    2,651

    Default Powered workshop press build

    A little bit more progress tonight.
    Turned some 40mm hydraulic rod down to 32mm for the pins. Ended up slightly shorter than I would have liked, but will get me going for now and I'll grab some more material and make longer ones later.

    Cut and welded in the cross pieces between the feet. Designed so that I can pick it up with a pallet jack from either the sides or the front.




    Cut the table beams to length, and sat them in position, knocked up a quick drill bush and pilot drilled for the secondary pin holes through the webs. Will drill the the holes in the mill with the same annular cutter I used for the uprights.







    Started scratching around for steel to use for webs between the beams, and found enough 150 channel for 2 pieces, along with some shorts of 4" and 6" pipe. There was enough of the 250 channel left over from the beams to get one length, so not sure how I'll make use of that but will weld it in somewhere (possibly split in half to make 2 pieces of angle).
    My thoughts at the moment are to use a piece of the 6" pipe at the outer ends of the beam, and the 150 channel at the top in the center to form a square box between the beams for the main working area.




    Steve

  2. #17
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    Nov 2017
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    Picked up some 120x60 solid from the scrappie today to use for the working supports between the table. I’ll clean them up in the mill before using them as one side is very hot rolled curved.




    The plan to use the pallet jack underneath worked well, and I used the swing gantry I built a few months back to get the table beams up onto the mill to drill the pin holes through the webs.






    I was trying to avoid taking the vice off the mill, and found that a couple of bits of channel as parallels actually let me use the vice to clamp the table channel by opening the jaws inside the channel. Worked a treat.




    Steve

  3. #18
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    Nov 2017
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    Geelong, Australia
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    Finished the main welding of the table. Just have some doublers to put around the pin holes left to do.




    Steve

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Hi Steve,

    With the amount of weight that you have got there you need some mechanism to keep it square as you lift or lower the table. Could I suggest a cable sling at each end and a winch. A friend of mine has a 30 ton press and regularly complains that its a pig to move the table without assistance. His is one of those that uses a chain through the hole connected to the ram.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  5. #20
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    Nov 2017
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    Default Powered workshop press build

    Thanks for the suggestion John, but I'm really trying to avoid using a manual winch if at all possible.
    I have a bit of a hate for them - they are messy, cables fray and stretch, strap style are bulky, you need space to swing the winch handle and unless its a braked drum style you need generally need 2 hands to operate them for lowering.

    I've been lifting it up and down a bit with a lever block attached to the top frame and slings around the table spacers - it moves pretty freely and doesn't jam doing it like that - so my plan is to use 2 chains to the ram to hopefully achieve a similar balanced lift.
    Not sure if your friend's one has just a single chain but I could definitely see that giving issues.

    One of the reasons I used the round pipe as the outer spacing member is that if the table does cock slightly as its lifted its not going to just jam and lock up like a flat face would. With the round section as soon as it cocks its got more clearance.
    I've also left about 20mm gap between the pipe and the uprights, with the idea that if I want to fit some sort of low friction plastic guide block or even a roller I've got room. At this stage it doesn't seem like its going to need it, but will see when its actually in use.

    Got the doublers for the through-web pins made up and welded on tonight.




    Steve

  6. #21
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    Nov 2017
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    Default Powered workshop press build

    I've been scratching my head a bit as to how I'm going to mount the ram, and tied up with that was that one of my original requirements was to mount the power pack on the top of the press to get it up off the floor and out of the way. That gave a few constraints in regards to ram mount options.
    With the power pack that I picked up of ebay, I've decided its really too big to mount up top. Here's the photo for those who didn't see it in my other thread.




    At 450x450 and 800ish high it fits on the press nicely front-back but would mean the top would be almost 3m off the ground - and I'm not loving that. I've now decided it will stay as a separate power pack on casters so it can be moved around, which also makes it a bit more flexible in where I can use it.
    I'll run it off a VFD so I'll only need a single phase power supply which also helps.

    With the power pack out of the picture up top I'm completely free in how I mount the ram, and also have the option to allow it to travel along the beam rather than having to be fixed in the center.
    I've seen a few shop built presses online that have the traveling ram, but was thinking that it was probably more use on a smaller frame press where you haven't got much width to work with - ie moving the ram effectively gives you a larger ram-upright dimension on one side.
    On a large frame press you've hopefully already got that dimension to a fixed ram.

    Anyone used a press with a moveable ram? Is it a useful feature or not worth the hassle?

    Steve

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
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    Hi Steve,

    Yes my friend also "John" puts a trolley jack and wood blocks under the press table to lift it or lower it. Usually when the part he is pressing out won't clear the ram. But I have noted that for some jobs he has put a piece of bar under the ram to get more reach.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  8. #23
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    Nov 2017
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    Here's what I've come up with so far for the load bearing structure of the cylinder mount.
    - 20mm plate running front-back that will sit under the frame upper beams. Hole to suit the outer diameter of the cylinder.
    - 250 PFC welded on top of that sitting in side the beams, with slightly larger hole than the cylinder to allow it to be welded around the inside of the hole
    - 120x12 flat for the verticals
    - 100x20 flat as the pin plates
    - 50mm pin to suit the existing cylinder eye end

    I'm going to make it able to be moved along the beam. Not sure if I'll need the capability, but easy to do and with the ram and mount being a separate assembly and not welded permanently to the beams it means if I ever want to modify it then its a lot easier.
    Likely I'll never need to, but there's always the possibility of needing more than 30T (ie a different cylinder), or finding that the working height of the ram doesn't suit me and wanting to bring it down lower.

    Ram mount.JPG

    Any comments or suggestions welcome!

    Steve

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Perth, Western Australia
    Age
    67
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    362

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    Looking good Steve.
    Glad you decided not to put the pump on top. Would have been a lot of mass up high.

    Tony

  10. #25
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    Nov 2017
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    Default Powered workshop press build

    Thanks Tony. I agree.
    I still think it would have been a good option if I was starting from scratch and making a custom tank with separate motor. Could have done tank on one side of the ram and the pump on the other and it would have only added minimal height. Pointless starting from scratch though when I have the complete pack already.

    Have ordered some 3/8" flat face couplings which should arrive this week, so that's a start on the plumbing side.

    Made a start on the ram mount, got the PFC cut to length, hacked a hole out of the middle with the plasma cutter and bored it out so it doesn't look like it was chewed on by a pack of rabid rats.




    Steve

  11. #26
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    Nov 2017
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    Default Powered workshop press build

    Just another boring post
    This time the upper mount plates for the ram. Tacked them together and bored them higher than center so the lower edge will actually sit on the top of the ram end plate (there was clearance if I just centered the holes vertically).
    The pin will effectively only take the weight of the ram in normal use, and the press load will be taken on the plates themselves.
    The pin will only carry real load when I use the ram to pull - eg lifting the table.
    I'll need to take a couple of mm off the lower edge of the plate to get a good fit, but figured that was going to be easier once I had 2 plates to work with than trying to accurately measure from the loose fitting spherical bearing to the ram end.






    Steve

  12. #27
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    Nov 2017
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    Default Powered workshop press build

    Got the new ram machined up out of some old rod I picked up that was in decent condition.

    The piston is threaded, and retained by a single 10mm grub screw to stop it unscrewing.




    On the working end I threaded it internally M24x3 and made up a screw in piece for the actual pressing face.




    Just need to pick up a couple of new seals and give the cylinder a clean and it will be ready to go back together.

    Steve

  13. #28
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    Apr 2012
    Location
    Healesville
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    Quote Originally Posted by OxxAndBert View Post

    I'm going to make it able to be moved along the beam.

    Ram mount.JPG

    Any comments or suggestions welcome!

    Steve
    G/day Steve, I think you might be asking a bit too much from that channel, normally the cylinder mounting would be welded or bolted to the front and rear support beams and act as a brace to join them and stop them from twisting or splaying outwards.

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by shedhappens View Post
    G/day Steve, I think you might be asking a bit too much from that channel, normally the cylinder mounting would be welded or bolted to the front and rear support beams and act as a brace to join them and stop them from twisting or splaying outwards.
    I'm sort of modeling the movable head on these commercial "Power Team" presses.
    55T version: https://www.pjmindustrial.com.au/pow...-tonne-h-frame
    100T version: https://www.pjmindustrial.com.au/pow...-tonne-h-frame

    Being much higher rated presses the beams on those are deeper than my 10" ones but similar flange size.
    Neither of those commercial presses have any ties between the upper beams - so I'm thinking I'll be OK.

    I hear what you're saying though, so in the interests of not looking like an adult gosling later if I'm wrong - I have a backup plan
    It should be as simple as extending the 20mm lower plate of the cylinder mount out to the edge of the beam flange and having some form of retainer on the end to prevent the beam moving outwards.
    Probably doesn't even need to be all that strong, since its mainly only if the beams START to spread that the outwards load on them really starts to increase. Prevent that initial movement so they stay square and vertical then the load stays vertical.
    At least that's how it looks to me....

    I've also realised that I need to allow for downwards force on the ram when lifting the table, so I'm thinking there will need to be some sort of fore/aft support on the top of the beam. It will have the rollers mounted on it to allow the head to move, as well as some form of lock to hold it in position when you don't want it to move.
    The design will depend on what's left in my scrap pile. I'm thinking there's still some 150UB that might be a candidate somehow....

    Steve

  15. #30
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    Apr 2012
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    Healesville
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    I use the suck it n' see design method also, the good thing about steel is that you can always add more

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