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Manufacturer of Hydraulic Presses
Lauri Vuohensilta, a competitive power lifter and small business owner in Finland, squashes stuff in a 100-ton hydraulic press at his family’s workshop. For fun.
From a pineapple to a bowling ball, from a Lego part to a Barbie doll, he’s crushed them all. Asked why, the 29-year-old Vuohensilta answered, “I like crush things for fun and I am also quite curious to see what happens to different things under the press.”
He is the founder and star of the Hydraulic Press Channel on YouTube. He is proud of the fact that it is the eighth most watched channel in all of Finland.
His videos have an international following, not just among hydraulic press owners and operators. People seem mesmerized by what he flattens and the panache with which he does it. They have watched him crush mobile phones, golf balls and hockey pucks.
He has over a half-million fans around the globe, who eagerly await his videos. The plot is straightforward: he puts an object on the press, states what it is, then pulverizes it. Sometimes they flatten, sometimes they explode.
His audience, many of whom talk about him on Reddit, is also enchanted by his laugh and his wife’s occasional comments in the background.
Vuohensilta sometimes takes requests from fans, but usually goes with his own gut instinct, finding things laying around his house.
Vuohensilta uses a 100-ton hydraulic press, part of the equipment in his family’s business that makes parts for hydropower plants. The machine was getting used just two or three times a month. So he decided to put it to some extra use.
Vuohensilta dreams of building a 1000-ton hydraulic press outdoors, where it couldn’t set the building on fire if one of his crushables should explode. Followers are urging him to use the press on a lithium ion battery, but he isn’t sure it’s safe.
As he points out, a press with 100 tons of pressure could do real damage to an iPhone. He could crush it to “one-tenth of its original bigness,” much smaller than his current 100-ton press did.
The bigger press would let him keep up with technology. As he said, “Today’s mobile phones are so thin and dense, that 100 tons wouldn’t crush them properly.”
A press with 100 tons of pressure, however, would make them “go very flat.” It’s clear that like the best hydraulic press operators, Vuohensilta is a perfectionist.
Vuohensilta’s dreams of a bigger press are in the distant future. But if you need better workflow at your machine shop and a hydraulic press that can up your game today, check with RK Machinery. We’re experts at bigger and better hydraulic presses, whatever you need to crush.
We have been making high quality hydraulic presses since 1980. We are proud of our reputation for excellent performance, operator safety, durability and reliability. We are the go-to experts for all types of customized presses, made to fit the exact needs in your shop.
Contact our team of professionals today. We are happy to answer your questions and give you a free, no-obligation quote.
