What is China's first 10000 ton free forging hydraulic press used for

What is China's first 10000 ton free forging hydraulic press used for

In May 1958, at the Second Session of the Eighth National Congress of the CPC, Shen Hong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Coal Industry, sent a letter to Chairman 

Mao Zedong, proposing to manufacture 10000 tons of hydraulic presses. This proposal was supported by Chairman Mao, and the letter was immediately approved 

to General Secretary Deng Xiaoping: "Please print this document immediately and send it to all comrades for reading." Chairman Mao also personally took the letter 

and asked the representative of 

Shanghai: Can Shanghai do it? Would you like to do it? After consideration, the representative of Shanghai believes that it can be done. So, Shanghai immediately 

established a design team, with Shen Hong personally serving as the chief designer and leading the design and manufacturing work in Shanghai, Lin Zongtang as 

the deputy chief designer, and Xu Xiwen as the technical team leader. Mainly manufactured by Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard, dozens of factories including Shanghai 

Heavy Machinery Factory participated in the battle. The world's first 10000 ton free forging hydraulic press was made in 1893 and has never been manufactured in 

China. In order to obtain accurate technical data, the design team first manufactured a 1200 ton hydraulic press as a test prototype, and based on this, determined 

the overall design scheme of the 12000 ton hydraulic press. Scheme design: 

The 10000 ton hydraulic press consists of 13 extra large bodies, namely 6 working cylinders, 3 large crossbeams, and 4 large columns.In 1960, the national economy 

was temporarily facing difficulties, and the 10000 ton hydraulic press project was at a crossroads of success or failure. At this critical moment, Premier Zhou Enlai 

personally approved the continuation of the 10000 ton hydraulic press project. This saved the hydraulic press.

During the manufacturing process, workers overcame one difficulty after another and created one miracle after another. For example, a column with a diameter of nearly 

1 meter, a length of 17.69 meters, and a net weight of 80 tons was welded by electric welders using 8 sections of cast steel using electroslag welding. The 10000 ton 

hydraulic press manufactured by this all welding method is the only one in China in the world. Without large lifting equipment, workers used hundreds of sleepers and 

dozens of hydraulic jacks to lift a crossbeam weighing over 300 tons up to 6 meters high, and smoothly turned it over 360 degrees. It is under such difficult conditions 

that workers use the methods of "using small to make big" and "using rough to make fine" to process and manufacture key parts one by one. On December 13, 1961, 

the overall installation began. On June 22, 1962, the test drive was successful. After 4 years of hard work, China's first 10000 ton hydraulic press has finally been 

successfully born!

This 10000 ton hydraulic press is installed at Shanghai Heavy Machinery Factory in Minhang. Its characteristics: firstly, it is relatively light in weight. Generally, the weight 

of the main engine of a 10000 ton hydraulic press in the world is around 3000 tons, while in China it is only 2200 tons, which is almost one-third lighter; Secondly, the 

height is relatively low, 4 meters lower than that of foreign countries, saving a lot of investment; Thirdly, it has sufficient strength to withstand a pressure test of 16000 

tons, ensuring normal operation at full load; Fourthly, the work is relatively stable, and there is relatively little sway and vibration during forging. It belongs to the 

world-class level. Its success marks a new historical stage in the manufacturing of heavy machinery in China.