Stay current with new technologies and trends used in the large part machining and hydraulic press repair industries in the United States. Stay current with technologies used for hydraulic cylinder manufacturing. Find out what is going on with machine shops and machine tools. The engineers at Kiefer Tool (Tom Kiefer Jr., John Kiefer Jr., Jim Kiefer and Tom Kiefer Sr.) are experts at large part machining, hydraulic press repair and custom hydraulic cylinder manufacturing. Their understanding of the machine tool and machine shop industry is legendary. Periodically, the engineers at Kiefer Tool post news articles in this ‘magazine’. Articles written by other talented and experienced machining industry insiders are also featured in this journal.aluminum die casting

In manufacturing, large part production has historically been costly and time-consuming, but the growth of metal 3D printing (if you’ll pardon the pun) is changing that paradigm. While metal 3D printing can be broken down into various sub-types—powder bed fusion (PBF), selective laser melting (SLM), electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM), etc.—not all of these are suitable for (or even capable of) making large parts. Read More >

The first step in fixing a hydraulic press that simply won’t work, or one that is not performing optimally, is to refer to the hydraulic press maintenance manual or maintenance checklist. To maximize your hydraulic press’ uptime and reliability, it is important to take care of your company’s press by performing preventative maintenance work. To avoid hydraulic press problems and ensure optimal press functionality, be sure to follow the preventive-maintenance (PM) schedule provided by the hydraulic-press manufacturer, if this document is available. When manufacturing companies relay on hydraulic presses to stamp the products they sell, they rely on their operators to keep their presses running. Simple tasks such as replacing the oil/fluid or cleaning a radiator will fix minor hydraulic press efficiency problems. If your hydraulic press operator notices that it is leaking hydraulic fluid, check the hydraulic lines and fittings.

When a hydraulic press cylinder or ram does not retract or is slow to return, you have a problem. When a hydraulic press simply stops working, the problem may be an electrical issue. If a piston is jerky, you may need to bleed the hydraulic system. If your manufacturing facility is having problems with double acting hydraulic cylinders, your maintenance crew will need to do some troubleshooting. If you factory’s hydraulic press won’t hold pressure, your firm’s mechanic may need to adjust the pump and valves.

If your firm operates a press manufactured by Dake, and it is not working right, try to diagnose the symptoms in order to determine the cause of the problem so that you can execute the solution. Dake has published a table online that lists the most common problems hydraulic press operators face, their inherent causes and possible solutions.