ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hydraulic press

A hydraulic press is like a really big, super strong machine that can squish things really flat.

It works like this: there's a big pump that pushes oil through a pipe and into a cylinder. The cylinder has a piston in it, which is like a big long stick that can move up and down. When the oil goes into the cylinder, it pushes the piston up, and that pushes down on whatever we put in the press.

So if we put something like a car or a big piece of metal in the press, the piston will start pushing down on it really hard. It can be so strong that it can squish the car or metal down into a flat pancake!

People use hydraulic presses for all kinds of things. They can be used to make car parts, to shape metal into tools, or even to crush things like soda cans or watermelons just for fun (but make sure to do that safely with adult supervision!).

Overall, a hydraulic press is a big machine that's really good at squishing things flat by using oil to push a piston down onto them.
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