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Watch This Hydraulic Press Crush 15 Different Metals To Discover Which One Is the Strongest

By Emma Taggart on August 21, 2021

Hydraulic Press Crushes 15 Different Metals

We’re not sure what this tells us about the human psyche, but there’s something so satisfying about watching stuff being crushed under an industrial hydraulic press. People love it so much that there’s even a popular YouTube channel aptly called Hydraulic Press Channel, which pulverizes all sorts of objects—from candy and toys to bullets and cellphones. For one of the channel’s latest experiments, the team filmed 15 different metals being crushed, in a bid to find out which one is the strongest.

One by one, the 150-ton hydraulic press crushed individual metal cubes of pure titanium, aluminum, copper, iron, tin, tungsten, magnesium, bismuth, gold, silver, steel, brass, and more. To test how many tons each one can take, the industrial machine slowly lowers down and presses a controlled amount of force onto the cube (the machine has a max of 150 tons of force). Once the metal starts to lose its original shape, the Hydraulic Press Channel team records the numbers.

Soft metals such as aluminum and tin flatten just like a pancake, or as the commenter in the video says, “like Play-Doh.” Watching these elements cream under pressure is gratifying to the eye, and it also shows just how strong the hydraulic press really is. However, this particular machine is no match for tungsten, which—under around 149 tons of pressure—barely changes shape and actually sinks into the metal base below.

This might look like a fun experiment, but the Hydraulic Press Channel stresses: “Don’t try this at home.” They say, “We are professional and all people were behind a really strong blast shield and had personal protection equipment.”

Watch the full video below and find more from the Hydraulic Press Channel on YouTube.