Machine presses are used extensively in the manufacturing industry. They live up to their namesake by applying pressure to a workpiece. Some of them can apply as much as 30 tons of pressure, in fact, whereas others are designed to apply less pressure. There are different types of machine presses, however, one of which is a toggle press.
What Is a Toggle Press?
A toggle press is a type of manually operated machine press that leverages a pair of levers to apply force to a workpiece. After positioning a workpiece, you can pull the hand lever. Pulling the hand lever will drop a secondary, smaller lever onto the workpiece.
Most toggle presses are bench mounted. Before using a toggle press, you’ll need to mount it to a bench. Mounting typically requires the use of fasteners, such as bolts. You can drive fasteners through the bottom of the toggle press and into the top of the bench. Once mounted, the toggle press will remain stationary.
How Toggle Presses Work
Toggle presses work by applying pressure to a workpiece. They are known as “toggle presses” because of their toggle-like pressing action. They use a toggle-like pressing action to apply a pressing force to workpieces.
As previously mentioned, toggle presses have a pair of levers. One of these levers is the hand lever, which you’ll need to pull to engage the toggle press. This hand lever, however, is connected to a smaller, secondary lever. The secondary lever is connected to the toggle press’s ram or piston.
When you pull the hand lever, the secondary lever will become shorter. Releasing the hand lever means that the secondary lever will revert back to its original length. All toggle presses use a toggle-like pressing action such as this.
Toggle presses amplify the pressing action from the hand lever. Pulling the hand lever, of course, requires manual force. The actual amount of pressing force applied to the workpiece, though, is greater. Toggle presses essentially amplify the pressing action by engaging the secondary lever with the hand lever.
In Conclusion
Toggle presses are machine presses that feature a toggle-like pressing action. They feature a hand lever and a secondary lever. The hand lever is connected to the secondary lever, and when you pull the former, the latter will become shorter. If you’re looking for a simple yet powerful mechanical press, you may want to choose a toggle press.