Knowlton Machine Engineering, Gorham, Maine 04038, Machine Shop, Fabrication Shop, Automation House

HIGH PRECISION HYDRAULIC PRESSES ..........
Goal:
To produce a unique hydraulic press which could not be otherwise found in the marketplace because of its unique requirements.
Challenge:
To design and build a thirty ton press with forty square foot top and bottom platens wherein both could actuate independently while maintaining 0.002” parallelism regardless of where the total of the reaction forces were located within the platen area.
Solution:
The in-house KME engineering team designed a hydraulic system using proportional valves, servo valves, and other control components which would minimize the force differential between the two, twenty ton hydraulic cylinders which actuated each platen, and then also designed a mechanical rack and pinion system which transferred all forces equally around the entire perimeter of each platen.
Result:
A fast-acting hydraulic press which can maintain the required tolerances even if all of the reactive force is placed at the extremities of the platen system, and all at a cost which could not be matched had it been produced by any hydraulic press manufacturer.