It’s Going to “Hit You” Sooner Than Later, You Need a Used Punching Machine!
If history is any indication — and it usually is — all the available used punch presses will be gone in the next two years. Used punch presses fill up the used machinery warehouses right now because everyone has them and they are frequently involved in trade-in situations or just sold out right. So, all these punching machines proliferate in the warehouses until when? Oh, about the time of the next economic upturn. All of a sudden, customers start looking for that perfect machine to help get an operation automated, so they can produce more parts per hour. Having a universal punching machine in a maintenance depart isn’t the worst decision a company can make, regardless if the part needing punching is either a building repair or machinery repair, the time savings is considerable. Keep in mind the way a powered punching machine works — by the time you have heard the punch hit the material, the hole is already done.
What Kind of Used Punch Presses Are out There? What Can I Expect to Find?
Boy, what a hard question to answer. Since there is a possibility you could find literally any used machine that was ever invented in, say, the last 60 years, the assortment may be a bit overwhelming. Let’s see where to start. In an effort to help categorize these machines, let us start with the types of drive mechanisms they employ. In no particular order of preference, because all these different systems have their specific use in the metal fabrication industry, let us begin:
- First you have the mechanical press, which is a mechanical crankshaft design.
- Next comes the flywheel press, which has a large counter-weighted flywheel which is driven to top dead center and allowed to descend, creating the punching force.
- Thirdly, you have the hydraulic punch press, which is exactly what it sounds like, a press driven by an electric motor and a hydraulic pump.
- And next we have the servo-drive punch, which is a punching machine just simply driven by servo motors and ball screws.
- Lastly, we come to the CNC-controlled punch, which frequently has a moving table and is set-up by the machine's controller.
Are There Specialized Punches Designed for Certain Applications?
The short answer is yes. Here is one of the unique things about commercial punching machines that maybe doesn’t happen with many other machine tools. Because the machine's relatively simple design, complexity is not much of a concern, which means the price of the punch is less expensive. Because of the relatively low price you can afford to reduce the cost to make specific designs. Now you have a punch dedicated to doing only one operation, and boy does it do that one operation — BAM, done. Punches are used by metal fabricators for a variety of needs. They are manufactured from high grade stainless steel or tungsten carbide for longest wear. Certain punches may be specially coated with an alloy. The design of certain structures often requires sheet metal fabricated panels. To attach these panels to a frame, for example, the sheet metal needs to pass through an industrial punch to set the proper diameter hole in place through which screws and bolts can be inserted. A simple home storage shed is a good example of sheet metal where punches are inserted into the panels to attach screws and bolts.
Used Punches from Bud's Are the Ticket
Due to their usual high-volume of daily use, punches wear over time. Rather than purchase new punches, many metal fabricators choose good used punches to maintain their business budgets. In metalworking, a used punch can reduce the total cost of projects. Businesses rely on used equipment as a way to reduce lost time on metal working projects and to quickly replace malfunctioning punch equipment that cannot be repaired. At Bud's Machine Tools, we are often in possession of quite a few differing punching machines. At any given time, our inventory may include turret-style punching machines, straight punch presses, web punches, and Jensen “kick press” type punches. In our punching machine warehouse area we have had hydraulic punches, mechanical punches, and hand punches. We occasionally have had a porta-punch (which is as it sounds, a portable punch press that can be moved from work station to work station) and even power packs for punches. Where can you find all these assorted punch presses and more? At Bud's Machine Tools! We have have the experience in new and used metalworking machinery that you can count on, selling, installing and providing training on every kind of fabrication machine you can think of.
