What is the world's strongest hydraulic press? Unpacking the 80,000-Ton vs. 60,000-Ton Giants

The world's strongest hydraulic press is an 80,000-ton closed-die forging press located in Deyang, China. However, the title of the most powerful open-die forging press belongs to a 60,000-ton machine operated by Weber Metals in Paramount, California. This distinction between "closed-die" and "open-die" is critical, as they are designed for fundamentally different manufacturing purposes.

The question of the "strongest" press is more nuanced than a single number. The true measure of these machines lies not just in their maximum tonnage but in how that force is applied—either to stamp complex, identical parts (closed-die) or to meticulously shape massive, custom ingots (open-die) for the world's most demanding industries.

The Titans of Tonnage: A Global Comparison

The immense power of these machines is difficult to comprehend. A force of 60,000 tons is equivalent to the weight of an entire aircraft carrier concentrated on a single point. These presses are national assets, representing the pinnacle of industrial capability.

The 80,000-Ton Champion (Closed-Die)

China's 80,000-ton press, operated by China National Erzhong Group, holds the record for sheer force. It is a closed-die press, meaning it functions like an enormous, high-precision mold.

Heated metal is placed inside a die, and the press squeezes it into a final, complex shape. This method is ideal for producing large quantities of identical, mission-critical components for aerospace and energy.

The 60,000-Ton Contender (Open-Die)

The 60,000-ton press at Weber Metals in California is the world's most powerful open-die forging press. This process is more akin to a blacksmith using a hammer and anvil, but on a colossal scale.

Instead of a mold, the press uses simple, flat or shaped dies to progressively squeeze and manipulate a metal ingot. This technique provides the flexibility to create enormous, custom-shaped parts, such as massive aluminum and titanium rings and beams for aircraft.

The Historical Context: The U.S. Heavy Press Program

Many of the largest presses in the United States, including the famous 50,000-ton press at Alcoa's Cleveland facility, were born from the U.S. Air Force's "Heavy Press Program" after World War II.

The program's goal was to build manufacturing capabilities that could forge large, single-piece aircraft components, reducing weight and increasing strength compared to assembling smaller parts. These machines remain vital to national defense and aerospace manufacturing today.

Understanding the Trade-offs: Process Defines Power

The choice between a closed-die and an open-die press is driven entirely by the final product's requirements. The "strongest" press is useless if it's the wrong type for the job.

Closed-Die: Precision and Repetition

Closed-die forging excels at creating complex, near-net-shape parts with high dimensional accuracy. Think of it as industrial-scale stamping.

The primary advantage is repeatability for high-volume production. Its limitation is the high upfront cost of creating the custom dies and the inflexibility of the process once the dies are made.

Open-Die: Flexibility and Scale

Open-die forging is the go-to method for creating very large, often unique components from massive ingots weighing many tons.

Its strength is its flexibility; it doesn't require part-specific dies, making it cost-effective for smaller production runs or enormous single parts. The trade-off is that it relies heavily on operator skill and often requires more secondary machining to achieve the final shape.

Why Do We Need Such Immense Force?

The demand for these machines comes from industries where component failure is not an option. Forging metal under extreme pressure fundamentally changes its internal structure, creating parts that are far superior to those made by other methods.

The Power of Forging

When a press squeezes a metal ingot, it refines the material's grain structure. This process aligns the grains and eliminates internal voids and defects.

The result is a component with exceptional strength, fatigue resistance, and structural integrity. This is why forged parts are essential for applications like jet engine turbine disks, aircraft landing gear, and spacecraft structural bulkheads.

Creating "Unobtainable" Geometries

Many modern aircraft, like the F-35 fighter jet, rely on large, single-piece forged bulkheads. Forging these as one component eliminates the need for numerous smaller parts joined by fasteners.

This monolithic design reduces weight, eliminates potential points of failure, and increases the overall strength and reliability of the airframe—a feat only possible with presses of this magnitude.

Making the Right Choice for Your Understanding

Your interest in the "strongest press" can be viewed through several lenses, each highlighting a different aspect of this engineering marvel.

• If your primary focus is raw power: The 80,000-ton press in China holds the title for the highest achievable forging force.
• If your primary focus is advanced manufacturing: The 60,000-ton open-die press represents the pinnacle of creating massive, custom components for the aerospace industry.
• If your primary focus is the underlying principle: These machines are all expressions of Pascal's Principle, where a small force applied to a fluid is multiplied into an immense force over a larger area.

Ultimately, these presses are powerful tools that translate raw hydraulic force into the precise, reliable components that enable modern technology.

Summary Table:

Press Type	Location	Maximum Force	Primary Use
Closed-Die	Deyang, China	80,000 tons	High-volume, complex parts (e.g., aerospace components)
Open-Die	Paramount, California, USA	60,000 tons	Large, custom parts (e.g., aircraft rings, beams)

Need robust lab equipment to support your material testing and research?

Just as these giant presses forge the strongest components for aerospace, KINTEK provides the precision lab equipment and consumables you need to achieve reliable results. Whether you're involved in material science, quality control, or R&D, our solutions help you analyze and understand materials at every stage.

Contact KINTEK today to discuss how our specialized lab equipment can enhance your laboratory's capabilities and drive your projects forward.