This picture was taken in 1978 at the Manor Engineering factory in Stoke-On-Trent, England. The two 2m × 1.5m filter presses (3 presses total) shown are for the city of Ypsilanti, Michigan sewerage plant. You will note that the cylinder end (headstands) and pressure pieces (followers) are “castings” rather than fabricated steel. These “castings” as well as the cast iron filter plates were actually cast in sand pits at the rear of the factory. To actually see the molten iron poured into the molds in the sand was an “eye opening” sight for a 28 year old from the deep south USA where farming and fishing were the main industries. The raw castings were allowed to cool and were then moved to the next building bay for machining. It must also be noted that it was common for a 9:45 am, 12:00 noon, and 2:45 pm break for a trip to the local pub for a “pint”.
The Presses worked great too.
These two 1000mm presses are overhead beam design for 300 psi operation. The presses were sold for clay filtration in the pottery industry. The filter plates are of cast iron as is the press headstand and follower. The hydraulic power packs for the filter presses were probably manufactured by the William Boulton Group also in Stoke On Trent.
This sidebar 1300mm press was sold to the city of Clarksville, Tennessee for their sewage plant.