Sideplate Hydraulic Press | 20 to 2,000 Ton Straight Side Systems
The sideplate press, also called a slab side press or a straight side press, carries load through two heavy steel side members rather than columns or a fabricated frame. That construction keeps deflection low, which matters when the part has to leave the mold at a finished dimension. It also puts high tonnage into a compact floor plan.
French builds sideplate presses for composite molding, rubber molding, and specialty forming and molding processes. Machines built in Piqua, Ohio are in service in plants around the world.
Engineered to Your Process
Every French sideplate press is designed around the application. Presses are built in up-acting and down-acting configurations and can be configured as a transfer molding press, a composite molding press, or a compression molding press. Tonnage commonly ranges from 20 to 2,000 tons, with platen size, daylight, stroke, heating, and controls specified to the part being produced. Higher tonnage designs are available.
French does not sell presses from stock. Each project starts with a review of your part, your cycle, and your plant conditions, and the design follows from there.
Low Deflection, Up-Acting or Down-Acting
French temperature-compensated, gib-guided sideplate presses use a taper key design that forms a pre-stressed, rigid joint between the sideplates and the headblock and cylinder. The joint stays tight under load, which limits the small movements and the wear that come with a looser connection.
Headblock, ram caps, sideplates, and hotplates are machined from solid slabs of quality steel. Because these members are solid rather than fabricated and cored, flexing under load stays minimal. The steel is rolled or forged rather than cast, which reduces the chance of hidden internal defects.
The ram cap and intermediate heated platens are guided on the beveled corners of the sideplates by hardened guide shoes. Clearance between the guide shoe and the guiding surface is adjustable, so the guides can be reset to compensate for wear over the life of the press.
Typical Applications
- Composite part molding, including aerospace and defense structures
- Rubber compression and transfer molding
- Specialty forming and molding where finished-dimension tolerance is required
- Processes that need high tonnage in a limited footprint
Press information by capacity: under 100 ton, 200 to 275 ton, 600 to 975 ton, 1,000 to 1,975 ton, over 2,000 ton.
FAQs
Support for the Life of the Press
French has supported hydraulic presses since 1900. OEM parts, repairs, rebuilds, retrofits, and field service are handled from Piqua by the same organization that builds the machines. French is ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Service & Support
Hydraulic Press Support Since 1900 | OEM Parts, Repairs, Rebuilds, Retrofits, and Field Service
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