A RAM press (or ram press) is a machine, invented in the USA in the mid-1940s, that is used to press clay into

mould A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of spores containing fungal secondary metabolites. The spores are the dispersal units of the fungi. No ...

ed shapes, such as plates and bowls. In operation a slice of de-aired clay body is placed in between two shaped porous moulds, and vertical movement of the moulds presses the body into the required shape.

History

The patented RAM Process was devised around 1945 by the ceramics engineers Reif Blackburn and Richard Steele. The first RAM Press was made by Harold Dawson in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Blackburn and Steele sold their company to the Wallace Murray Corp. RAM Products Inc. of Columbus, Ohio was set up in 1979 and now manufactures the RAM press, as do other companies.Pelleriti, Richard (July 1998
"History of the RAM Process"
Ceramic Industry magazine.

Other uses

The phrase ''ram press'' (in lower case) commonly means the same thing; it is simply used for machines that press items by a mechanical ram, such as with a plunger,

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

, force pump, or hydraulic ram.

References

External links

Ram Press Manufacturer Site
{{Pottery Pottery American inventions