The Modern Direct-Hydraulic System
The first hydraulic press invented by Joseph Bramah in 1795 employed the direct-hydraulic system; i.e. hydraulic pressure was directly supplied to the press cylinder by a hydraulic pump and, therefore, the pressure exerted by the press ram was directly proportional to the pressure supplied by the pump, and the speed of the press ram was directly proportional to the delivery of the pump. Later developments in the use of hydraulic power resulted in the invention of the hydraulic accumulator to store liquid under pressure. With the accumulator system the speed and pressure exerted by the press ram are not controlled by the pump, and in fact they cannot be controlled with any precision; also there is considerable wastage of power when the press ram is operating at less than full pressure. The advent of the high-speed reciprocating ram pump has produced the modern direct-hydraulic system in which the press and pump form one self-contained unit. The power to drive the pump is in direct proportion to the work done by the press, and the speed and pressure exerted by the press ram can be precisely controlled. The author considers that a saving of at least 75 per cent in electric power can be made by conversion from the accumulator system to the direct-hydraulic system. Indicator diagrams are reproduced in the paper to show the saving in power which can be achieved by the direct-hydraulic system, and a comparison is made between the power consumption, in kilowatt-hours, of a direct-hydraulic cartridge-drawing press and a mechanical double-rack press doing the same operation. The paper includes a number of illustrations of direct-hydraulic presses, ranging from those of Bramah to present-day types.