Until recently, the most common production press used in industry was the mechanical press, a force-delivering machine where power is derived from a rotated crankshaft. However, in 1991 shipments of hydraulic presses surpassed mechanical ones. Today the hydraulic press has become a major factor in the US market and is even more popular in Europe. The reason is that today's hydraulic presses are faster and more reliable than ever. A hydraulic press can do a wide variety of jobs within its tonnage range giving excellent versatility. Common jobs they produce are deep draws, shell reductions, urethane bulging, forming, blank and pierce, stake, punch, press fits, straightening, and assembly. They are also used for powdered-metal forming, abrasive-wheel forming, bonding, broaching, ball sizing, plastic and rubber compression, and transfer molding. In the last decade the technology has gone through constant change with improvements in seals, more efficient hydraulic pumps, and stronger hoses and couplings, which have virtually eliminated leaks and minimized maintenance. Also, programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and other electronically based controls have improved speed and flexibility. With new computer interfaces and monitoring, hydraulic presses are now widely used in advanced computer-integrated manufacturing systems.
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