My home made 50 ton forge press (pics and videos)

nateman_doo

nateman_doo

Joined
Sep 16, 2015
Messages
157
Starts off with the heart of it all, the 50 ton cylinder:



Then comes the frame:

Using 1x2x3 blocks to ensure alignment.


Built a cart for it to roll around on. 24x24:


Milled this pocket out of the 1" thick steel for the cylinder to sit in:


Also here is what is under the cylinder plate. Several 1x2" thick steel ribs:


Everything starting to come together:


Here is the hydraulic unit that powers the cylinder:

All self enclosed and protected in sheet metal.


Here is the unit fully assembled:




A view from the back:


Removable panels to service anything:


12" of travel:


the front and rear guards are reenforced with steel angle, so I can use them as short working tables:


PSI guage off to the side:

10,000 PSI @ 50 Tons.

Some of the dies:


And of course, the poorly edited videos:
[video=youtube_share;P-lF13Y-yUM]http://youtu.be/P-lF13Y-yUM[/video]

[video=youtube_share;-jyLZ9S2uNs]http://youtu.be/-jyLZ9S2uNs[/video]

[video=youtube_share;CGRL5gYseT8]http://youtu.be/CGRL5gYseT8[/video]
 
Cool. I wonder how hard it would be to speed things up?

Also, I bet you could bet some guide blocks on the sides of the dies that would limit the travel. That would make sure that things would compress to the same thickness all the way down the billet. But then again I very well could be talking out my a** and you already have all bases covered. :D
 
Interesting that it's a 10,000 psi system. I assume all of the hoses and fittings must be rated for that. I am curious why you went with these hydraulics, did you find a deal or something?

Mainly it's that I'd rather have 25 tons and much faster ram speed, than 50 tons and very slow. I'd say put a higher GPM pump on there, but it looks like whatever you use would have to be Hydrafore stuff to work, unless you completely replaced the HPU.

Also, the electric solenoid foot switch is different- I'm used to the pump running, and having a spoolvalve direct the fluid.

Not trying to knock it, I like your build a lot.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
Cool. I wonder how hard it would be to speed things up?

Also, I bet you could bet some guide blocks on the sides of the dies that would limit the travel. That would make sure that things would compress to the same thickness all the way down the billet. But then again I very well could be talking out my a** and you already have all bases covered. :D
Click to expand...

When I get closer to the desired size thats exactly what I do. I draw billets to 1" wide for stacking, and down to 3/16 when im ready for stock removal, or just general shaping.

I wish I could speed it up myself, but it is what it is at the moment.
 
Salem Straub said:
Interesting that it's a 10,000 psi system. I assume all of the hoses and fittings must be rated for that. I am curious why you went with these hydraulics, did you find a deal or something?

Mainly it's that I'd rather have 25 tons and much faster ram speed, than 50 tons and very slow. I'd say put a higher GPM pump on there, but it looks like whatever you use would have to be Hydrafore stuff to work, unless you completely replaced the HPU.

Also, the electric solenoid foot switch is different- I'm used to the pump running, and having a spoolvalve direct the fluid.

Not trying to knock it, I like your build a lot.
Click to expand...

Glad you like it! I built it based on limited hydraulic knowledge. I don't know enough about how they work to build a system. I didn't want anything exploding in my face.

The reason I did this specific system is because I wanted several things. Ease of installation, foot control, and limited impact on my shop.

As for the ease of installation, you just screw the hoses into the cylinder and its done. Cant beat that with a stick.

Foot control allows 2 free hands to manipulate the billet, or even bust out my camera and film work, take pictures, scratch my behind.. whatever I need to do can be done. As for the limited impact on the shop, this thing plugs directly into 115VAC. I dont need to run a 220 line, and low amperage (as in less then 15A) and the other HUGE benefit... its not loud at all. The wife would likely complain (as she watches TV directly above where I forge) if the noise was too loud. She would complain when I used the air-over-hydraulic 20 ton press as a forge press. That thing was loud, and constantly on.

Also everything fits in a footprint less then 24x24. I only made it 24x24 so it wouldn't tip over, and I could wheel it around. If you didn't want to move it, then it would take up almost no room. So it suits my needs at the moment. Believe you me...I would LOVE to have it faster, but until I figure out how to make that happen (and I make some extra money) then I am open to suggestions.
 
It sounds like you've done a great job finding a solution, given some very real constraints. Happy forging to you!
 
*UPDATE*

Went with a separate cart with 16 GPM log splitter pump, 10HP motor, and log splitter valve. Even at 3000 PSI its INFINITELY more useful then the slower

Here is a quick video of the difference in speed...
[video=youtube;vo55SDYxPMQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo55SDYxPMQ[/video]
 
after a few days of forging with it, it really is a night and day difference. it absolutely manhandles hot steel. I will take some more pictures of the improvements when I remember.
 
Awesome job! Good thing you factored in the wife too. Happy wife, happy life.
 
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