Design, Simulation and Production of Hydraulic Briquette Press for Metal Chips

Removal of metal chips is involved in several industrial production processes that machine from casted parts by various operations such as turning, milling and drilling. In addition to the fact that the chips represent a treat to the environment, their storage requires a large surface area. The objective of the project reported in this article is to improve the current layout of a machining workshop aimed at minimizing the material handling cost, increasing operator safety, improving flexibility for operation, minimizing the overall cost and utilizing the available area. The research project focused on the compaction of metal chips briquette for simplicity of storage as well as handling and transportation of metal chips for Hibret Manufacturing and Machine Building Industry (HMMBI) factory. The machining process on CNC lathe and milling machines in this company produces 1500–2000 kg chips/month. An effective design of hydraulic briquette press is carried out by using a solid modelling tool and simulating the hydraulic circuit. The result of the designed machine was observed to address the stated problems of the company.