Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
(OP)
Hi guys
For the past couple of years we have been drilling a 4mm hole on one side and a 6mm hole on the other side of an ABS plastic box which is 4mm thick.
Worth noting also, is that after this i plan on making one which will stamp out 1mm thick aluminium sheet.
I am looking into making a press to make both holes simultaneously but i am unsure as to what i should be using for this. I have read up on hydraulic rams which i see can provide tonnes of pressure, but then on the other hand there are pneumatic cylinders which are more appealing to me as i would like to run this off our compressor, and they're quicker!.
If anyone is experianced with these and you could share your knowledge with me it would be greatly appreciated. no doubt by reading the above, you can tell ive walked into a brick wall :)
Kind Regards
Brad
For the past couple of years we have been drilling a 4mm hole on one side and a 6mm hole on the other side of an ABS plastic box which is 4mm thick.
Worth noting also, is that after this i plan on making one which will stamp out 1mm thick aluminium sheet.
I am looking into making a press to make both holes simultaneously but i am unsure as to what i should be using for this. I have read up on hydraulic rams which i see can provide tonnes of pressure, but then on the other hand there are pneumatic cylinders which are more appealing to me as i would like to run this off our compressor, and they're quicker!.
If anyone is experianced with these and you could share your knowledge with me it would be greatly appreciated. no doubt by reading the above, you can tell ive walked into a brick wall :)
Kind Regards
Brad





RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
I guess you're talking about 4mm wall thickness?
The box's planes will most likely deform too much in order to have a clear punch-through.
However if you could work around this, punching the holes is a doable idea.
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
I do own a lathe and a mill and quite a bit of tool steel at my disposal, and i have a good understanding of machining the two end die. Granted the cost of the pneumatic parts may be close to what i could have picked up a cheap hydraulic press but that does defeat the object when you enjoy creating the products from scratch
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
Yes i intend on making a jig which the boxes slot over to provide the back support on both sides.
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
Pages 26-31 show some options but there are many different companies make cam units or you could even design your own.
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
Occupant, the problem i am having is working out how much force i would need in order to punch the plastic boxes. I have seen some 1/12" cylinders which would generate the equivalent of 63KGF, but that doesnt sound like enough. the bigger cylinders with a 200mm bore, seem extremely expensive in the region of £800.00
If you could shine any light from your past experiance of using air, it would be greatly appreciated
Kind Regards
Brad
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
You could investigate 'drill cylinders', basically half a drill press.
... or just physically disassemble a couple of Chinese drill presses and put air cylinders on the feed.
Or use air cylinders and slides to advance a couple of big soldering irons with hollow tips. The resulting holes will be ugly, but stress-free.
Or go ahead and tool up to punch and bend the box from metal.
Or pay a small-lot manufacturer to do so; if you can buy 500 or so this becomes attractive.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
The short answer would be to take up injection moulding and mould the boxes as we so require. However that i feel will be one to contemplate in the future!
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
I can't believe it takes a great deal of force to punch a 6mm hole in 4mm of plastic. A hand operated punch should do the job.
Regards,
Mike
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
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RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
But thanks to everyone for their input. its certainly given me plenty of food for thought
RE: Help with pneumatic or hydraulic presses
If changing the drill bit is a problem, just set up a second drill press alongside the first, have them both running and move from one to the other.
Or if you do not like moving around, invest in a Burgmaster Turret Drill.
B.E.
The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor