Enerpac ram material?

[6ply]

I've just dismantled a scrapped enerpac hydraulic ram. I'm curious to know what material the ram is made from. It looks a bit like phosphor bronze but that appears to be a coating (?) as when cut and turned it looks more like steel. It turns very easily with lots of little blue chips flying everywhere.

Is it something that could be welded? If so, I may be able to modify the ram and make use of it.

 

[Kram]

My guess is copper plating over steel

 

[Brad93]

It's a propriety bronze coating Enerpac use on their rams for longevity. Gold coat or something i think it's called.

They don't do it as much anymore.

Ram material will be Alloy steel. EN19/EN24/4130 etc

 

[6ply]

My guess is copper plating over steel

Thanks, that sounds about right.

 

[6ply]

It's a propriety bronze coating Enerpac use on their rams for longevity. Gold coat or something i think it's called.

They don't do it as much anymore.

Ram material will be Alloy steel. EN19/EN24/4130 etc

Thanks for that.

A quick Google search reminds me that EN19 can be welded but will need heat treatment. It doesn't owe me anything and will probably be binned.

 

[Brad93]

Thanks for that.

A quick Google search reminds me that EN19 can be welded but will need heat treatment. It doesn't owe me anything and will probably be binned.

It can be welded fine. It's welded every day.

You just need to slow the cooling time

 

[Kram]

It turns very easily with lots of little blue chips flying everywhere.

En19/24 etc steels take a nice finish but wouldnt call them easy, you notice the difference on a small lathe!
I remember chrome alloy steels dont like shallow cuts where as mild and en8 can be tickled with a fine cut.

 

[Agroshield]

...It looks a bit like phosphor bronze but that appears to be a coating (?) as when cut and turned it looks more like steel.

A magnet is a useful item to diagnose the possibility of non-ferrous.

 

[hotponyshoes]

Thanks for that.

A quick Google search reminds me that EN19 can be welded but will need heat treatment. It doesn't owe me anything and will probably be binned.

It needs heat treatment (and welding with the correct rods) to extract the maximum potential properties from the material.

If you just want to use it as the equivalent of a piece of mild steel weld away and it will be fine.
Generally, any steels that have special requirements won't be any weaker than regular mild steel if you don't follow those requirements.
Some don't like welding but you'll find that out as the weld cools...

If you are making something that could hurt you or someone else when it breaks then take the material requirements seriously.
Otherwise, it's just metal.

 

[6ply]

It needs heat treatment (and welding with the correct rods) to extract the maximum potential properties from the material.

If you just want to use it as the equivalent of a piece of mild steel weld away and it will be fine.
Generally, any steels that have special requirements won't be any weaker than regular mild steel if you don't follow those requirements.
Some don't like welding but you'll find that out as the weld cools...

If you are making something that could hurt you or someone else when it breaks then take the material requirements seriously.
Otherwise, it's just metal.

That's my point, it's a ram used for lifting and not something I would like to repair now (albeit for my own use) and then have someone inherit in a few years time and do someone an injury.

 

[6ply]

En19/24 etc steels take a nice finish but wouldnt call them easy, you notice the difference on a small lathe!
I remember chrome alloy steels dont like shallow cuts where as mild and en8 can be tickled with a fine cut.

Well, I was using cheap Chinese carbide on my m300 and it was lovely stuff to machine! Not like the stringy nasty stuff that usually comes out of my scrap box!

 

[hotponyshoes]

That's my point, it's a ram used for lifting and not something I would like to repair now (albeit for my own use) and then have someone inherit in a few years time and do someone an injury.

Sorry, when I read the first post I thought you had some metal from a broken ram and wanted to use that metal for something else..

I suppose it depends what sort of modifications you plan on doing and what exactly would happen if the weld cracked or failed?
Enerpac rams are expensive so I can see why you would want to repair one but cheap brands don't cost much used and may help you stop sweating every time you pressurise it

 

[6ply]

I cut off the damaged end...

Turned down the remainder. Ground out a crack along the remaining length and welded a repair.

That seemed to weld fine, so I welded another lump on the end and turned it down on the lathe. This was drilled out so the new lump had a considerably thicker wall section and what it replaced and in my opinion is most likely stronger too.

Turned down on the lathe...

I will mark the ram as repaired and for my own use but to be honest I think it is absolutely fine.

 

[6ply]

In case anyone is wondering, here's the welder. The rods were a 20 year old pack of trualloy.