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Modern Safety Standards
Continuous brake and stopping-performance monitoring, light curtain integration, safety PLCs, and comprehensive die protection. OSHA compliance built into the platform, not added on after.
Between 75,000 and 100,000 mechanical presses are running across North America right now, and thousands of their controls go obsolete every year. If your press is one of them, you have more options than you think. A full controls upgrade can deliver modern safety, Industry 4.0 connectivity, and real-time diagnostics at a fraction of the cost of a new machine. The iron is almost certainly still good. The question is what is running it.
The frame, the drivetrain, the slide and gibs on a well-built mechanical press can run reliably for decades. What ages out is the controls layer. Relay-based panels, obsolete PLCs, and legacy safety boxes become harder to source parts for, harder for maintenance teams to troubleshoot, and increasingly out of step with OSHA expectations. At a certain point, the press is not the problem. The controls are — and that is a problem with a straightforward solution at a fraction of the cost of buying new iron.
If you have looked at press controls upgrades before, you have probably encountered Helm, Link Electric, Wintriss, and Cieco. They are established names in the retrofit market. What has changed is what is now possible. A modern controls platform does considerably more than what those systems were designed to deliver.
Most plants already run Allen-Bradley PLCs somewhere in their facility. Maintenance teams know the platform, integrators know the code, and parts are on the shelf. I-PRESS is built on Rockwell architecture from the ground up — not adapted to it, not interfaced with it. When something needs attention, the person troubleshooting it is working in a system they already understand.
Both levels run the same I-PRESS operating platform, so a plant can start with the Mini and grow into full automation without changing systems.
The complete connected platform. 4-point tonnage with signature analysis, servo-feed and automation integration, data acquisition and OEE reporting, remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and Industry 4.0 dashboards. The right choice for plants that want everything addressed in one project and a press that connects to the rest of the facility.
The fast, high-value way to replace obsolete controls. Core press control, OSHA brake and stopping-performance monitoring, programmable cams, die protection, 2-point tonnage, counters, and job recipes. Modern and safe, without the full automation scope. The right choice when the priority is getting the press current quickly and within a defined budget.
The same control platform running on press floors worldwide is open to explore right now. Navigate the screens, tonnage monitoring, multi-stage profiles, fault diagnostics, and the job recipe library. No login required. Before you spec a retrofit, try the control.
"Before you replace that press, find out what a controls upgrade would actually cost."
A controls retrofit is not a workaround. Done right, it is a genuine transformation of what the press can do. A mechanical press with modern I-PRESS controls is safer, more productive, and more supportable than it was the day it was installed. The press your team knows how to run becomes the press your data system can see.
Continuous brake and stopping-performance monitoring, light curtain integration, safety PLCs, and comprehensive die protection. OSHA compliance built into the platform, not added on after.
Job recipe management, automated setup functions, and real-time diagnostics cut changeover time and take the guesswork out of troubleshooting. Problems show up as clear, actionable prompts rather than hunts through relay panels.
English and Spanish HMI built in as standard — not an add-on, not a separate configuration. One system for U.S. and Mexico operations with the same operator experience on both sides of the border.
Gap frame, straight-side, transfer, servo hydraulic, or forging press — I-PRESS runs the same interface on all of them. One training standard, one maintenance protocol, one platform across the entire facility.
The AB Plus platform captures production data, flags conditions before they cause failures, and allows remote support without waiting for an on-site visit. Downtime that used to cost a shift can now be caught a week early.
A new press can cost $500,000 or more. A full I-PRESS retrofit starts at $50,000. If the frame is sound, the math is straightforward. Longer press life, lower capital outlay, and a machine that can run the work you need it to run.
If your press controls were installed before your youngest maintenance technician started working, it is worth finding out what your options look like now. The press itself may have decades left in it. The question is whether the controls do.
Talk to the I-PRESS Retrofit Division about your press, your controls, and what a fixed-price retrofit proposal would look like for your specific application and budget.
Between 75,000 and 100,000 mechanical presses are running across North America right now, and thousands of their controls go obsolete every year. If your press is one of them, you have more options than you think. A full controls upgrade can deliver modern safety, Industry 4.0 connectivity, and real-time diagnostics at a fraction of the cost of a new machine. The iron is almost certainly still good. The question is what is running it.
The frame, the drivetrain, the slide and gibs on a well-built mechanical press can run reliably for decades. What ages out is the controls layer. Relay-based panels, obsolete PLCs, and legacy safety boxes become harder to source parts for, harder for maintenance teams to troubleshoot, and increasingly out of step with OSHA expectations. At a certain point, the press is not the problem. The controls are — and that is a problem with a straightforward solution at a fraction of the cost of buying new iron.
If you have looked at press controls upgrades before, you have probably encountered Helm, Link Electric, Wintriss, and Cieco. They are established names in the retrofit market. What has changed is what is now possible. A modern controls platform does considerably more than what those systems were designed to deliver.
Most plants already run Allen-Bradley PLCs somewhere in their facility. Maintenance teams know the platform, integrators know the code, and parts are on the shelf. I-PRESS is built on Rockwell architecture from the ground up — not adapted to it, not interfaced with it. When something needs attention, the person troubleshooting it is working in a system they already understand.
Both levels run the same I-PRESS operating platform, so a plant can start with the Mini and grow into full automation without changing systems.
The complete connected platform. 4-point tonnage with signature analysis, servo-feed and automation integration, data acquisition and OEE reporting, remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and Industry 4.0 dashboards. The right choice for plants that want everything addressed in one project and a press that connects to the rest of the facility.
The fast, high-value way to replace obsolete controls. Core press control, OSHA brake and stopping-performance monitoring, programmable cams, die protection, 2-point tonnage, counters, and job recipes. Modern and safe, without the full automation scope. The right choice when the priority is getting the press current quickly and within a defined budget.
The same control platform running on press floors worldwide is open to explore right now. Navigate the screens, tonnage monitoring, multi-stage profiles, fault diagnostics, and the job recipe library. No login required. Before you spec a retrofit, try the control.
"Before you replace that press, find out what a controls upgrade would actually cost."
A controls retrofit is not a workaround. Done right, it is a genuine transformation of what the press can do. A mechanical press with modern I-PRESS controls is safer, more productive, and more supportable than it was the day it was installed. The press your team knows how to run becomes the press your data system can see.
Continuous brake and stopping-performance monitoring, light curtain integration, safety PLCs, and comprehensive die protection. OSHA compliance built into the platform, not added on after.
Job recipe management, automated setup functions, and real-time diagnostics cut changeover time and take the guesswork out of troubleshooting. Problems show up as clear, actionable prompts rather than hunts through relay panels.
English and Spanish HMI built in as standard — not an add-on, not a separate configuration. One system for U.S. and Mexico operations with the same operator experience on both sides of the border.
Gap frame, straight-side, transfer, servo hydraulic, or forging press — I-PRESS runs the same interface on all of them. One training standard, one maintenance protocol, one platform across the entire facility.
The AB Plus platform captures production data, flags conditions before they cause failures, and allows remote support without waiting for an on-site visit. Downtime that used to cost a shift can now be caught a week early.
A new press can cost $500,000 or more. A full I-PRESS retrofit starts at $50,000. If the frame is sound, the math is straightforward. Longer press life, lower capital outlay, and a machine that can run the work you need it to run.
If your press controls were installed before your youngest maintenance technician started working, it is worth finding out what your options look like now. The press itself may have decades left in it. The question is whether the controls do.
Talk to the I-PRESS Retrofit Division about your press, your controls, and what a fixed-price retrofit proposal would look like for your specific application and budget.
