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hole punch for 20T press

3K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  jamscal 
#1 ·
Hey all. I have a 20T HF press. i just got the HD version of Swags' bender (works great BTW). Want this machine to be a little more useful .Is anyone using this to punch 3/8" steel? Specifically I'm looking to do 1/2" holes in up to 3/8" A36
 
#2 ·
It's been discussed a few times, safety / stability I recall were the biggest concerns along with width constraints. If you notice iron workers punches are rated by tonnage but also throat depth. With the press you are limited to the width, so there's a lot of limits, and safety issues, etc.

AFAIK I haven't seen anyone make one / adapt.
 
#3 ·
Well in my case width isn't an issue. These are mounting brackets for bumpers I make so the biggest bracket will only be 8" x6" with the holes being no more than 2" from each edge. I can see the stability issue though. According to Roper Whitney and other online sources I'd be looking at 18T to punch those holes so that bring the machine close to it's limit.
 
#4 ·
How many of these brackets do you make at a time??

Till you build a fixture to hold your brackets.That you can cycle in a short time..

Remember your bracket has to be supported every place but where the punch goes through your bracket other wise it will deform enough it might not attach where needed.

Machine something to attach a punch to the ram of your press Buy make your punch. Buy/ Make the part your punch will be entering as it goes through your bracket ..

It would be a lot easier to just drill the holes . You can very easily drill two plates at a time.

Now is this a fully electrical or Air hydraulic Press that you just step on the pedal if not then it will take forever to make one cycle

At least the way I look at this.

There is a lot more work involved in this than you think if your making a 100 plus brackets a day it might be a move to think about. But if one has that much work just get a iron worker.
 
#7 ·
How many of these brackets do you make at a time??

I build on a as needed basis. Maybe 5 bumpers a month, from and rear sets.

Why not laser, plasma or water jet them out?

No table just yet. Hand plasma cutting everything. Drilling works just slow and bits a re getting expensive. I have a guy that will punch them for 5 bucks a holes, but even then, that's expensive after 48 holes per set of bumpers.
 
#9 ·
I have my drill press set for 1100 rpm and I'm using ATF for coolant. I tried WD-40 aerosol but it just makes a mess. No one local has anything like Weasel piss or anything and I'm in the middle of this project so I really can't order anything and wait for it. I'm hoping for some more orders to come in to justify a table. Where I'm at now I really don't have room. We're building a new 3500 sq ft shop but that won't be ready till June.
 
#14 ·
I'm not an expert on these by any means but it seems that the thickness of the unit determines the thickness of the material you can punch...

2 1/2" wide is what's necessary to punch 1/4" plate.

If you look at enough of the ads some of them have specs listed.

Here's the specs on an 8A-2 1/2 LPD

Manufacturer: Unipunch
Model Number: 8A-2 1/2-LPD
C-Frame Punch Tool Base Unit
Catalog Number: 2401-LPD
Throat depth: 8"
Length A: 11"
Operating shut height: 8 3/8"
Minimum shut height: 8 3/16"
Unit open height: 9 1/8"
Die Height: 3 1/2"
Material Feed Clearance: 7/16"
Maximum Material Thickness (Medium Steel): 1/4"
Maximum Material Thickness (Stainless Steel): 3/32"
Minimum die clearance: .006"
Maximum Punch Diameter: 1.5000"
Minimum Punch Diameter: .2812"
Maximum Square: 1.060"
Minimum Shape Dimension: .1250"
 
#15 ·
The guy I rent shop space from has a ton of them with various punch shapes and sizes that he uses in an old school Rousselle punch press. I don't know much about them but I can pass along any specific questions you might have. I'm sure he will have some good info as he's been using them for 30 years or so.
 
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