Meaning & use
mechanical press
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A factory machine in which a motor-driven flywheel and crank move a ram up and down to stamp, cut or bend sheet metal.
Grammar: Has a plural: the plant runs ten mechanical presses.
Patterns
- a mechanical press for something
The workshop uses a mechanical press to stamp car door panels.
A mechanical press can make hundreds of identical parts every hour.
The operator checked the guard on the mechanical press before starting it.
nouncountable
A simple machine for squeezing or flattening things using levers or screws instead of power, such as for juice or books.
Grammar: Less common sense; it often refers to older hand-operated devices.
The museum has an old mechanical press once used for binding books.
They crushed the grapes with a mechanical press at the farm.
Word forms
| plural | mechanical presses |
|---|
Common combinations
- operate a mechanical press
- Only trained staff may operate a mechanical press.
- mechanical press brake
- The mechanical press brake bends steel sheet along straight lines.
- flywheel of a mechanical press
- The flywheel of a mechanical press stores energy for each stroke.
- high-speed mechanical press
- A high-speed mechanical press produces coins at great speed.
- stamping on a mechanical press
- Stamping on a mechanical press needs accurate timing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stamping press
- A stamping press names the job of shaping metal, whereas mechanical press names how the force is made.
- hydraulic press
- A hydraulic press uses fluid pressure instead of a flywheel, so it is slower but can hold steady force.
- punch press
- A punch press is a type of press used to cut holes, so it is narrower than mechanical press.
Word family
- mechanically adverb
- by using a machine or physical force
- mechanism noun
- the parts of a machine working together
- mechanize verb
- to equip with machines
- mechanization noun
- the use of machines to do work once done by hand
Commonly confused: mechanical press or hydraulic press?
mechanical press vs hydraulic press
A hydraulic press gets its force from pressurized fluid, while a mechanical press gets it from a flywheel and crankshaft.
Practice
What drives the ram of a mechanical press?
Choose one answer.
A mechanical press stores energy in a flywheel and moves its ram with a crankshaft. Pressurized oil is the feature of a hydraulic press.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mechanical press”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.