Intensifiers are also used as part of machines such as hydraulic presses, where a higher pressure is required and a suitable supply is already available.
[2] At the time they were involved in the construction of bridges in India, which required hydraulic lifting, hoisting and riveting equipment.
As the existing transport infrastructure was poor, all plant used on site needed to be lightweight and easily portable.
Machines also needed to be connected to their hydraulic power source by flexible tubing, which limited their working pressure to around 500 psi.
This high-pressure equipment was smaller and lighter than the bulkier low-pressure variety, a desirable feature for this construction work.
A holding tank, called a hydraulic accumulator, is used to reduce pressure vibrations at the output end.
The more recently developed parallel hydraulic intensifier also uses oscillating pistons to compress water.
This feature minimize the pressure fluctuations that are common with inline designs, and eliminates the need for an accumulator.