The Iron Age 1900-02-15: Vol 65 Iss 7

‘THE IRON AGE. TuuRspay, Fresruary 15, 1900 The Most Perfect Machine Shop.*—VII. Building No. 16 of the Schenectady Works of the General Electric Company. BY Ss. D. V. BURR. The Bement, Miles & Co, Rotary Planer. The rotary planer built by Bement, Miles & Co. is shown in Figs. 42 and 42, the latter showing the arrange- ment of the drive in plan and elevation. The only dif- ference between the motor and the belt drive is that the motor is located in exactly the same position as the pulleys were, and the motor shaft operates the pinion cured to the front of the bed for receiving the work, as illustrated in Fig. 42. The cutter head has a lateral ad- justment of 3 inches for convenience in setting. The saddle carrying the spindle is 4 feet in length and has a traverse on the bed of 8 feet. The machine has eight changes of automatic feed and quick power adjustment in either direction. The Newton Portable Drilling Machine. A machine of special design built by the Newton Ma- chine Tool Works is shown in Figs. 44 to 46. This tool consists of a base plate carrying a round column upon which moves the cutter with its motor and all of the driving mechanism. The spindle is driven by a 5 horse- power motor, located as shown in the drawings, which Fig. 42 —Bement, Miles & Co.'s Rotary Planer. THE MOST PERFECT MACHINE SHOP. which drives the spur gear on the main shaft precisely as the pulleys did. On this machine, therefore, the change is a very simple one. The machine in general consists of a bed 1314 feet long, planed and fitted, on which traverses a saddle through a distance of 10 feet, carrying a rotating disk which is mounted with cutting tools upon a circle of 43 inches in diameter. The disk has a steel tire shrunk upon its outside, and in this tire are placed the set screws which hold the tools in position. The disk is ad- justable in and out by means of a heavy slide in which this spindle rotates; this provides the adjustment for setting the depth of cut. The saddle is traversed upon the bed by a heavy screw fitted with variable feed mo- tions, and also with quick traverse motion for rapidly moving the saddle upon the bed to different positions as required. The disk is driven by an internal gear and pinion actuated by a main shaft and intermediate gear- ing at the back of the bed. The main shaft is driven by a spur wheel upon its outer end which is actuated by a pinion on the motor shaft. A large work table is se- *See The Iron Age, January 4, 11, 18, 25 and February 1 and 8, 1900. H F is geared, to the worm..shaft. Change of speed is ob- tained by plingge gearing. The movement of the head on the coltimn, or the vertical adjustment, is obtained from the giétor placed on top. The next machine, Fig. 48, is also a portable drilling and boring tool built by Newton, which differs some- what from the one just mentioned. The head is gibbed between two uprights, and the driving of the feed and the quick movement are obtained from a 5 horse-power motor clamped on top of the housing. On the base of the machine is a saddle on which the main column swivels so that it can be set at any angle. The spindle is 4% inches in diameter and has a hand adjustment for convenience in setting the cutter. While the other ma- chine has an automatie feed of 30 inches, this has an automatic feed of 4 feet, also two changes of speed for milling and a quick power movement in either direction. Although this tool was intended particularly for milling the dovetailed grooves in the armature spiders, it is also largely employed for drilling and boring. The engraving, Fig. 47, represents a portable drilling and boring machine suspended from the crane, THE IRON AGE. February 15, 1900 Small Tools. viding the men with one or more tools to be held in re- The toolroom, as shown in Fig. 10, is centrally lo- serve not being held good policy in a works of this char- cated in the western side of the building. The usual acter employing from 6000 to 7000 hands. Neither is. the system is in vogue, each man depositing a check for ihe messenger method of obtaining tools considered advis- ' MOTOR ; ‘ —~ Ss a d = : , —T | _ © 6 — t as " ! = an | coe 2) . a 5 4 Samet e I | \ (| FL P e 2 sg Fig. 43.—Plan and Elevation Fig. 42. . Fig. 44.—Newton Portable Drilling Machine. THE MOST PERFECT MACHINE SHOP. tool he receives. When a new tool is required the man able in a shop of this size, as in most cases the tool himself goes to the toolroom and obtains it. But one would be idle anyhow for the time between the discard- tool of a kind is permitted to be out at the same time ing of the dull or broken tool and the obtaining of a by any one man, the custom sometimes followed of pro- new one. Where such a vast number of small tools are February 15, 1900 employed, all of which may be considered valuable, it becomes necessary to look after them carefully, and a duplicate plan, such as giving a man an extra tool, would result in the distribution throughout the entire plant of thousands of dollars’ worth of material. It is thought best, therefore, to conduct the toolroom in ac- <ordance with the above. Management of the Shop. Building No. 16 is in direct charge of Mr. Rohrer, electrical superintendent, and Mr. Riddell, mechanical superintendent. There are three departments, made up as follows: The machine shop proper, commutators and fittings, and the mica department. Over each is a fore- man who reports directly to the superintendent, and under whom there are assistant foremen responsible to him alone. Thus in the mechanical department there THE IRON AGE. _— MOTOR | Ta sive 1 > AW 8 ‘6 superior. There is no clashing and no unjust interfer- ence, the result being harmonious action throughout. Additions, Since preparing the above individual lockers have been placed in the washrooms. These are made of wire netting, and are formed with a little receptacle at the top to receive the lunch basket, the space immediately below being for clothing. As the floor of the washroom is cemented and pitches to a common point for drainage the entire room and its fittings can be washed down as often as may be necessary. Each locker is provided with a key. ; Outside of the buildings arrangements have been made for a gantry crane to traverse the southern half of the western side of the yard. This will cover the two shop tracks shown in Fig. 11, will have a span of 40 feet ocoe4 -----4 dg 4 Elevations of Fig. 44. THE MOST PERFECT MACHINE SHOP. are seven of these subforemen, in the commutator and fittings department six, while there is none in the mica department. These foremen have direct control of the men, the work being so apportioned that they do not interfere one with the other. The shifting of the portable tools is done under the direction of the foreman of the floor plate. There is one man whom long experience has made an expert in the matter of “ hitching on work,” who is familiar with the strength of rope and chain, who looks after the moving of work in the raw and partly finished condition. This position is an important one, owing to the peculiar shapes of some of the pieces, and, further, owing to the fact that an injury to a partly finished piece would mean a considerable loss. We thus see that the system is so ‘graduated that ‘every employee knows exactly for whom he is working and to whom he is responsible. What is most essential, he is further aware of the fact that he will not be inter- ferred with im any way from any one outside of his direct and ultimately a travel of 400 feet. This, in connection with the two derricks now in position, will provide for the handling of all heavy castings, their removal from the cars, storage until needed in the space covered by the gantry, and the final placing of them upon the shop ears. Our Indebtedness, We cannot close the above series of articles descrip- tive of Shop No. 16 of the General Electric Company, at Schenectady, without acknowledging our indebtedness to the officers of the company, who did everything in their power to further the matter. (THE END.) —_ a United States Consul-General Maxwell writes from Santo Domingo that near Cotui, 50 miles inland from Samana Bay, there is reported to be a valuable iron ore deposit. The distance from the town to the river is 15 miles, and the river is deep enough to float vessels of 15 to 20 feet draft. Local labor is said to be plentiful and cheap. ~~ Fig. 47.—Newton Portable Drilling Machine Suspended from Crane. * — THE IRON AGE. February 15, 1900 The Federal Industrial Commission. No General Recommendations Likely. Wasnuineton, D. C., Feburary 13, 1900.—It is an- nounced that the Federal Industrial Commission will transmit to Congress about Feburary 25 a preliminary report on tbe subject of trusts and combinations. This document will be a report in name only, however, for in spite of the thoroughness with which the subject has been investigated and the length of time given up to dis- cussion and deliberation, the Commission now finds itself wholly unable to unite upon any recommendations of importance looking to legislation, and there is every reason to believe that no conclusions or recommenda- tions of any consequence will accompany the data which are to be transmitted to Congress. This somewhat disappointing result of more than a year’s labors is especially significant when it is remem- bered that at least one-half of the time of the Commis- sion has been given to the special investigation of trusts and combinations, the inquiry into other fields of indus- trial activity having been but desultory. Much time has been given to examining into the various combina- tions of capital in the iron and steel trade, the Standard Oil Company and the so-called sugar trust, and the most important officials of all these combinations have will- ingly come to Washington and have devoted much time in complying with the requests of the Commission to furnish data concerning the organization of their com- binations and the operations of both the constituent companies and the combined corporations. Nothing that the Commission has sought to learn has been withheld and a large amount of information never before made public has been freely communicated to the Commis- sion, both at public hearings and in response to specially prepared interrogatories. In order to obtain all the light possible on the problems before it the Commission has. invited statements from individual producers in every line of trade in which combinations have been made and has even gone so far as to give hearings to discharged and disaffected employees of large corporations with a Fig. 48.— Newton Portable Drilling Machine. THE MOST PERFECT MACHINE SHOP. 4 February 15, 1900 view to vringing out criticisms from every possible quar- ter. Some of these wituesses have since been thoroughly discredited by testimony given in rebuttal concerning their relations with their past employers. In short, the Commission has exhausted every source of possible in- formation with regard to the methods of organization and operation of the leading combinations of capital throughout the country and their effect upon both inde- pendent manufacturers and the great mass of consumers. After all these efforts it seems remarkable that the Com- mission should now find itself in a position in which it cannot reconcile the antagonistic views of its members to such extent as to arrive at any conclusions of impor- tance concerning any of the main or collateral features of the great industrial operations which have been made the subject of so exhaustive an inquiry. Prior to the convening of Congress the Commission decided to make a preliminary report covering that branch of its investigations devoted to trusts. It was then decided to transmit all the testimony taken on this subject, embracing some 1300 printed pages, together with a synopsis of the testimony, a topical digest show- ing briefly the statments made by the principal witnesses concerning the chief points of the investigation, and a separate volume containing the laws of all the States enacted for the prohibition or control of trusts, combina- tions or monopolies. It was anticipated that the Com- mission would be able to make a strong report, in which Congress would be urged to enact stringent legislation for the contro] of combinations of capital and in which recommendations would be made to the Legislatures of the several States looking to the enactment of uniform laws to supplement the statutes of Congress, which are necessarily restricted by the limited authority of the Federal Government to control the affairs of the States. The power of Congress to control interstate commerce was regarded by the Commission as almost unlimited and as affording all necessary authority for the enact- ment of the proposed legislation. In this connection one of the suggestions which it was proposed to make pro- vided for the enactment of a law directing the Secretary of the Treasury to require all combinations of capital doing an interstate commerce business to make full re- ports at regular or irregular intervals, as required, show- ing the amount of capital, number of stockholders, trans- fers of stock, value of product, amount of interstate ship- ments, &c. This proposed feature of the report has come to be known as the “ publicity proposition,” and when discussed by members of the Commission, has received practically unanimous support. The constitutionality of the proposition has been submitted to a number of law- yers of more or less prominence and, it is asserted, has met with their unqualified approval from a strictly legal standpoint. In the expectation that a comprehensive report could be adopted the experts of the Commission some time ago drafted a document, which, while embracing a number of important recommendations, was yet so conservative in its tone that it was believed it would receive the ap- proval of at least a majority of the Commission. Copies of this report were prepared and members were given some time in which to examine it before any general dis- cussion’ was had. When the report was taken up for consideration, however, the fact was speedily developed that not only was it impossible to secure the unanimous vote of the Commission upon more than one or two points, but that even a majority could not be united upon any considerable portion of the report as drawn. Several of the most objectionable features of the report were eliminated in the hope of securing an agreement, but these modifications failed to bring the members of the Commission together. There are many points of difference between the mem- bers of the Commission and the divisions cannot be said to be along any general line. At the beginning of the investigation the Commission was divided into three parts so far as preconceived opinions were concerned, one part having strong prejudices against the combinations, another part holding convictions that they represent the necessary and legitimate development of industrial con- ditions, and the other part without any special views on the subject. It can be stated positively that the general drift of the investigation has been to confirm the views of those who have approved of combinations of capital and to add to this faction nearly all the members who started without preconceived prejudices. So far as find- ings are concerned the Commission would be almost a unit upon the proposition that the practical operation of com- binations of capital has been to increase wages in nearly every branch of industry. A majority of the Commis- sion is convinced that combinations have also reduced the cost of their products to the consumer. The evidence has convinced certain members of the Commission that the tendency of all combinations has been to drive indi- vidual manufacturers out of business and also to deprive many high class employees, including office clerks, com- ‘’THE IRON AGE. 5 mercial travelers, &¢c., of their means of employment. On the other hand, certain members have been con- vineced that, while individual manufacturers have been forced out of business, many of them have found lucra- tive positions in the new combinations, where their re- sponsibilities have been great, but where they have been relieved of many of the risks which attended the opera- tion of independent plants. The minority of the Commission, which entered upon the investigation with strong prejudices against combina- tions of all kinds, is even more rabidly opposed to them at this time than at the outset. This faction has stead- fastly opposed any report which did not include a whole- sale denunciation of trusts and combinations as inimical to the welfare of manufacturers, employees, consumers and the interests of the country at large. These mem- bers of the Commission have been much influenced by the prejudiced statements of disgruntled employees and unsuccessful individual producers, who have charged their failure exclusively to the influence of the combina- tions. In view of these diverse opinions it is not sur- prising that it should have been found impossible to bring the Commission together upon any important recommendations to Congress. Until quite recently it was the expectation that an agreement could be reached, at least upon the so-called “ publicity proposition,” but while a majority of the Commission favors this recom- mendation, a number of members are opposed to making a formal report embracing but a single suggestion and ignoring the chief features upon which Congress will naturally expect an expression of views. Those who are now opposed to making any report have represented to their colleagues with some force that the act authoriz- ing the Commission contains no requirements as to pre- liminary reports accompanying testimony, and that the evidence as to trusts may with propriety be transmitted with the synopsis and topical digest referred to without any conclusions. At the present time this view prevails with the Commission, and it is therefore expected that as soon as the work of indexing the testimony can be completed, which will be in ten days or two weeks, the matter will be sent to Congress without conclusions or recommendations. This decision of the Commission promises to result in two or more very diverse reports on the subject of trusts, which will be submitted hereafter. The majority report will take a eonservative view, though it will probably include the so-called “ publicity proposition.” One of the minority reports will probably be drawn by Repre- sentative Livingston and will be extreme in its hostility to combinations, and is not likely to receive the signa- tures of more than two or three members of the Com- mission. Ww. L. C. in ——— The Duty on Ferrochrome. The following letter has been addressed to the Col- lector of Customs of New York by O. L. Spaulding, as- sistant secretary, under date of February 3: The De- partment is in receipt of a report of the United States attorney for the southern district of New York, dated the 9th ult., in which he states that the appeal to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (suit 2550) of the United States vs. Dana & Co., was recently decided in that court adversely to the Government, the court affirming the decision of the United States Circuit Court below. The question involved was as to the dutiable classi- fication of certain “ferrochrome,” imported under the provisions of the tariff act of August 28, 1894. Duty had been assessed thereon at the rate of 20 per cent. ad valorem, under section 3 of the act of August 28, 1894, as a manufactured article not specially enumerated or provided for. The importers protested, claiming that the article should have been classified under paragraph 110, by similitude to “ ferromanganese,” at the rate of $4 per ton, which claim has been sustained by both the United States Circuit Court and the United States Cir- cuit Court of Appeals in this case. The Attorney-General having advised this Department that no further proceedings will be directed in the case, you are herby authorized to forward to the Department the usual certified statement for refund of the duties exacted in excess in settlement thereof. ee New corporations were chartered in January to the tune of $240,000,000 of aggregate capital stock, an in- crease of about $9,000,000 over December, 1899. An im- portant feature of January’s incorporations was the lack of industrial combinations included in them, December and January having been an unfavorable time for the financing of these companies. New Jersey, while still to the front, only incorporated $76,000,000 worth of com- panies, while West Virginia ran but $18,000,000 behind this sum, The Flow of Steel.* BY HENRIK V. LOSS. After a brief introduction the author states that it is quite safe to assert that the vast majority of heavy hydraulic machines hitherto built have been used in con- nection with processes the main characteristics of which involve the flow of metals, and it is in this field that I shall bring to your attention a series of experiments which I have carried on at intermittent periods for the last six to seven years. : : ln pressing steel the operation can be divided into three distinct systems, each one representing separate lines of resistance to the yielding of the material, namely: 1. When the material to be treated is absolutely free to flow in any direction, being nowise confined in any die chamber, as in shearing. THE IRON AGE. February 15, 1900 the moving dies and the indicator drum. The result is a card, the ordinates of which represent the hydraulic ressure in pounds per square inch to the extent of their engths in inches, multiplied by the product of the spring number and ratio of reduction in reducing cylinder. We shall now consider the resistances to the first mode of flow. Resistances to Flow. The experiments in this field cover an extended series of indicator cards of the shearing of hot as well as of cold material. The hot work represented dimensions varying from 4 x 4 inches to about 10 x 10 inches. The cold work extended over rectangular bars of widths from 4 to 8 inches, and thicknesses of from % to 2% inches. The latter also included angles of iron and steel of ordinary merchantable sizes. I desire to say in this place that in dealing with these different experiments I do not now have the time, nor is it the purpose of the present paper, No. 2. No. 3, Maximum ultimate pressure per square inch, No. 1, 9,000 ; No. 2, 10,400; No. 3, 11,000. pounds. Foot-pounds per square inch of bloom, No. 1, 800; No. 2,840; No. 3, 940. Fig. 1.—Typical Cards of the Shearing of a Hot Structural Steel Bar 6 x6 Inches. 8° bevel, iron 144" thick. 8° bevel, steel 44” thick. 4° bevel, steel 144" thick. Flat Knives, steel 1144” thick- Seale : Horizontal dimensions—full size and 1 inch vertical—350,000 pounds, Fig. 2.—Types of Cards of Bars. 6x 6 x %& iron. 6x 6x \ steel. Pressure diagram for Iron and steel angles. Fig. 3.—Types of Cards of Angles. THE FLOW 2. When the material to be treated is partly free and partly confined, as in punching. 38. Whben the material to be treated is wholly confined in dies, as when upsetting rounds and squares, or bridge eye bars; also as when flanging and riveting. In order to acquire the most possible complete informa- tion as to the strains and stresses existing during the different stages of the pressing process, a diagram show- ing graphically the rising or falling in resistance of the metal will naturally give the most general satisfaction. To rely upon gauges is placing a dangerous confidence when using high pressures, as the water hammer—which always exists to a greater or smaller degree—will quickly ruin them. Besides, a gauge would bave to be used in connection with some other additional instrument con- trolling the stroke of the press if a complete record is to be secured. Due to these conditions I have, therefore, adopted in all my experiments the application of a hydraulic reducing cylinder, the smal) area of which is connected as close as possible to the main operating ram, while to the greater area is connected an ordinary steam indicator. The larger area, as well as the indicator cylin- der, have, previous to each experiment, been filled with water and a connection has been accomplished between * Alstract of paper before the Franklin Institute. — 0 Om Om OOO, ae Maximum pressure to punch—35,000 Ibs. per square inch of material. Fig. 4.—Card Showing Punching \-Inch Steel with Six 15-16-Inch Holes.. OF STEEL. to give anything like a complete essay of all the detailed results derived, because the indicator cards on each field represent sach volumes of interesting information that separate papers can be written on the resistance charac-- teristic to each system. It is the purpose, however, to aw somewhat of a general view with reference to such gures and pressures that each system developed, and which might illustrate the duties of the pressing ma- chinery which the mechanical engineer in this special branch may be called upon to design. Fig. 1 represents typical cards of the shearing of a hot bar. It is seen how the resistances are gradually increasing, finally reaching &@ maximum at an early stage, and while afterward de- creasing are nevertheless existing throughout the entire stroke—that is, up to the time the knife has penetrated. the entire thickness of the bloom. Both knives were flat, with no back clearance. The maximum resistance increases as the temperature is lowered, as shown by the different hights and areas of each succeeding card, all having been taken one after the — from the same ingot, as it came from the blooming rolls. Results of First Test, The general results, as far as actual figures are con cerned, can be summed up as follows: February 15 1900 Resistance per square inch varies from about 5000 pounds for a 9 x 9 inch bloom to about 9000 pounds for a 6x6inch, and reaching about 11,000 pounds for a 4x 644 inch, which figures all represent steel of about 0.20 per cent. carbon, 70,000 pounds ultimate, and at such tem. peratures which the bloom generally possesses when first reaching the rolls, say about 2500 degrees F. As it passes through the mill the bloom gradually cools, and as the last billet is cut the temperature is decidedly decreased, say possibly down to about 1800 degrees, and is having its resistance correspondingly increased at a rate of about Maximum pressure to punch=712 pounds per square inch Fig.5.—Card Showing Punching Two Holes Hach 224% x5 Inches, and also 23 15-16-Inch Holes, all through 7-\6-Inch Steel. 50 per cent. for the larger bloom and 100 per cent. for the lesser one. The energy in foot-pounds at the first cuts varies from 540 for the 9x 9 inch bloom to 8V0 for the smaller one, which figures are increased with the decreasing tempera- ture at a rate of about 40 per cent. for the larger dimen- sions and 75 to 80 per cent. for the smaller ones. Cards were taken on spring steel with 1 per cent. car- bon, possessing an ultimate of 130,000 pounds per square inch. Its resistance and energy when compared to the 0 20 per cent. steel] were increased about 25 and 14 per cent. respectively. The local irregularities on these cards are due to the fact that the hydraulic shear upon which the experiments were made was driven directly by a duplex pump (with- out accumulator), and the want of uniformity in flow of water from a pump of this kind was naturally transmitted to the indicator needle in the manner as shown graphically. Typical Cards, Fig. 2 represents typical cards of the shearing of a cold bar, and the general outline of such a card will not ee a ee ee eee eee) oe ee 9 I Oe OO OO THE IRON AGE. _ 7 Necessary pressure per square inch of section to shear a cold bar made from 70,000 pounds steel, and with flat knives, equals about 48,000 pounds. For an angle of 4 degrees of knife blade the pressure per square inch increases from 36,000 pounds for bars of 1 inch thickness . up to 45,000 pounds for 2 inches of thickness. Within the same limits of thicknesses, with 8-degree blades, the power necessary would vary from about 22,000 to 82,000 pounds per square inch. Energy per square inch consumed in cntting rec- tangular steel bars is as follows: Fig. 6.—Section of Dies. VM LL Gann ie 4 1 ¥ nN | A | | ! * | | | ¥ om’ cm oeo pene eo CeCe Jaw pe ame me OOO SE OOOO %" rivet, 244” material, 67 tons on rivet, 24” stroke. Fig. 7.—Indicator Cards of % and % Inch Rivets. THE FLOW OF STEEL. vary with the form and shape of the bar to be severed. The first of the above figures represents an iron bar 5x 1 inches, the second a steel var 5 x 144 inches, both of these two being cut by a knife with an angle of 8 degrees. The third card was taken from a steel bar 5 x 144 inches, with an angle of knife of 4 degrees, while the last of all was taken with a flat knife on a5x1inch bar. The pressure rose quicker than with hot work, and the flatter the knife the earlier in the stroke was the maximum resistance reached. This maximum also occurred at a somewhat later period with an iron than with a steel sec- tion, showing in the former a greater distribution throughout the stroke of cutting. It is only fair to assume that this latter feature will be equally in evidence when comparing soit steel to a high tension material. With fiat knives the card becomes very short, indicating generally so violent a rupture as to make the needle vibrate quite considerably. The average results on Poor = apa bars as to actual figures can be summed up as ollows: FOR 1 INCH THICK BARS. 700 inch-pounds for 8 degrees bevel. 1,000 inch pounds for 4 degrees bevel. 1,200 inch-pounds for flat knives. For 2 inches thick bars the above figures have risen to 1600, 2000 and 2500 pound-inches, respectively. Fig. 8 represents types of cards of angles, in both cases using flat knives, the first one being taken from a6 x 6 inches by %-inch iron angle, and the second from a steel angle, with dimensions of 6 x 6 inches by 14 inch. The same general characteristics are seen to exist here as with the rectangular bars. The average results in figures for cutting iron and steel angles can be placed as follows: The necessary power to cut a steel angle with dimen- sions of legs a and b, and with a thickness f, is: P=tf(a+b) vy? where f is the ultimate per square inch. : The energy per square inch in foot-pounds can be writ- ten in the same manner: ee ate 8 THE IRON AGE. E = 1600 (a + b) @ where the letters denote the same as above. wh Summing up the general characteristics of the indi- cator cards, as taken by and derived from the system of pressing metal without any restricting dies whatever, we find the resistances to rise quickly and reach maxi- mum at an early period, which point being reached, a more or less gradual decrease takes place until rupture occurs. The metal itself will mainly flow in the direc- tion of the pressure, having little or no side flow, while the point of rupture for cold work is always reached before the entire thickness has been penetrated. This point of the stroke, when measured in inches from the time the knife comes in contact with the bar, is repre- sented by the formula: s=9(4/P + w tang a. ) where ¢ and w equal thickness and width of bar and a represents angle of knife in degiees. The Second System. It has often been asserted that punching is nothing more or less than a case of shearing with flat knives. This is erroneous. In shearing, let it be remembered that the flow is absolutely unrestricted by any dies, while with punching the metal surrounding the finished hole acts during the operation, by its resistance to flow, partly as the walls of a die chamber. In cold shearing the rupture occurs when the bending moment on the bar reaches the resisting moment of the section; while in the case of punching is witnessed the phenomena of a detailed yield of the molecules — the whole process of penetrating through any one thickness being divided, as it were, into periods: the first one rep- resenting the resistance to rupture of a certain portion of the thickness, this to be succeeded by a following one where the resistance has become still greater—the line of resistance continuously rising until the maximum is passed, after which it very quickly decreases—in quite marked contrast to what exists during the process of shearing, where, as seen by the cards, the heavier resist- ances are maintained during longer periods, causing diagrams less pointed but more rectangular. Fig. 4 represents a card taken during the operation of punching six 15.16-inch holes through %%-inch steel, all tools being square to their axes and all meeting the plate simultaneously. When it is desired to punch a very large number of holes the tools are divided up into series, each series being then set a little in advance of the following one, so as to — the pressure more uniform throughout the entire e. A typical card of this kind is given by Fig. 5, which represents the operation of punching two holes, each being 224¢ inches long by 5 inches wide, as also 23 15-16-inch holes, all through 7-16 inch steel. The results from a large number of cards on 3{-inch, 7 16-incth and &-inch materials are as follows: Pressure per square inch to punch 70,000 to 75,000 pounds steel varies from 30,000 to 38,000 pounds, depend- ing upon the condition of the punches. Average energy per square inch of severed surfaces equals about 1495 foot-pounds, the extremes varying about 10 per cent. each side of this figure. It must be noted that all the punches were provided with some shear. The figures as already given refer to a long punch, the end of which has a shear of 11 82 inch to the inch on each side of center. _ The general characteristics of this system are a quick, immediate rise in the molecular resistance in a manner more rapid than that of shearing to be followed by one or possibly more intermittent periods of detailed yield of the solid strata which is nearest the punching tool, the resist- ance being constantly increasing until a maximum is reached more or less quickly, depending upon the degree of tension of the material. This point being passed the resistance quickly decreases until rupture occurs upon the penetration of a distance more or less equal to the full thickness of the material, this depending again upon its degree of tensile strength. The Third System. When considering the system of closed dies, these lat- ter can be divided into three divisions or methods of application—namely : 1. All dies to be fixed and stationary, having only the upsetting plunger movable. 2. The surrounding dies to be partly movable and partly stationary. 3. The surrounding dies to be all movable. In the early history of upsetting materials the first method was the one generally used, and it has been quite commonly adopted even up till to day. Its great trouble lies in the fact that the necessary power to accomplish a certain work is very excessive, with a correspondingly heavy wear and tear of the dies. This necessary power is especially demanded at the end of the stroke when the February 15, 1900 dies are to be filled at some point furthermost away from the upsetting plunger. When upsetting rounds on square or round bars it is a well-known fact that the power necessary to form a foot neck is very great. In all up- setting it is a law that the material will flow near the moving parts, which with this method means near the moving plunger, and the further any stationary part is away from this moving plunger the slower is the material to flow at this point, and the more power does it naturally take to fill the dies at this remote place. If, during the upsetting of a bar by this method, the latter is taken out of the die with the stroke half done, it will be seen that the metal is heavily upset near the plunger, but also that very little work has been done at the neck. Hence a system of dies, Fig. 6, based upon this first division re- quires a maximum amount of power to accomplish a given work. There is one application of this method which is in general use today—to be sure with some additional modified requirements—and represents a case where any other system would appear to be impossible—namely, the operation of riveting. The stationary dies are repre- sented by the plates to be joined together, but the rivet hole must be filled up. An additional requirement lies in the demand for a well filled good rivet head; but the hardest work is after all to fill tae hole. : Fig. 7 represents indicator work of % and % inch rivets. As clearly seen, hardiy any work is done during the early part of the stroke, while at the finish the pressure rises very fast. The cards were taken on bridge work and the results in figures, as given below, represent the necessary powers for rivets of great‘lengths and only fairly meee holes. The total thickness of plates corre- sponding to the above cards was 11¢ inches or more. It is the sliding of the material against the more or less rough surfaces far away from the die holder which re- quires the great power used in bridge riveting, as com- pared to boiler work. The average results from a series of cards were as follows: The power necessary to complete the heads on 34 and % inch rivets is about 60 to 70 tons, when working on such grips as mentioned above. The necessary energy in foot pounds for % inch rivets is 7200 and fora % inch rivet 9500, or as in the proportion to the squares of the diameters. Better Results with Short Rivets. With the view of showing the vastly improved results which can be obtained with short rivets and well reamed holes I shall attach some data derived by Mr. Vauclain, superintendent of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. on boiler plates They form part of a discussion delivered before the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia a few years ago and are as follows: The suitable pressures for well fitted boiler work are: For 5-inch rivets, 25 tons: for %-inch, 33 tons; for %-inch, 50 tons; for 1-inch, 66 tons; for 14-inch, 75 tons; and tor 144 inch, 100 tons. It is undoubtedly true that the last pressure is concen- trated upon the rivet head, and that hence the diameter of head enters to some extent when having to decide the total amount of power necessary to drive a rivet. But as the standard of rivet heads does not vary very much between the different makers it is thus possible to use the rivet diameters as a basis of computation. Again, the resistance existing along the circumference of the rivet hole, when filled, will certainly be transmitted through the body of the rivet back to the tool holder, independent of that part = _ head which is outside of the rivet and forms the collar. A summing up of this division means an early flow with comparatively small stresses, all concentrated near the moving plunger, this to be followed by rapidly in- creasing resistances toward the end of the stroke, accom- panied by a slow flow at the remote parts. Movable Dies. The next step represents the resistance to flow in dies which are partly movable and partly statiopary. When entering upon the question of movable dies an entirely new feature is brought into play—namely the upsetting or dragging tendency of the surfaces of the movable parts, outside of the plunger itself. The effect of this is naturally beneficial, especially so if the moving dies extend far toward the stationary neck, causing thus, at this remote point, a flow which means directly that much power saved (as compared to the absolutely stationary method) when the final squeeze or pinch is required. The methods of movable or partly movable dies can be applied to almost any form of upsetting and the principles in- volved hold good for all. The neck dies are of course always stationary, the semicircular plunger being always movable, while the remaining top or bottom dies will vary according to the system applied. If they were stationary the criticism of the first system has shown the necessary power to be excessive, and the present practice discarded them long ago; but if they are arranged to be stationary on bottom and movable on top the flow of February 15, 1900 metal can be best illustrated by Fig. 8, which shows the form of a bar half upset and removed from the machine. The plunger has upset the back part, while the moving top die has dragged the metal along and upset the neck. An indicator card showing the power necessary for this division is shown in Fig. 9. More work is here done during the early process of ‘the stroke as compared to what existed with the absolutely stationary dies, but even so the final maximum ordinates are very great in proportion to the earlier dimensions. The summing up of this division means a more uni- form flow throughout the stroke, followed by a tendency toward a more even distribution of pressures. The third and last division, having all movable dies, represents an improvement upon the former two, inas- much as the dragging tendency of the surrounding dies is here brought into play to the greatest possible extent. Hence the distribution of flow and pressares during any one stroke is more uniform than with the former methods. Again let a bridge ave bar illustrate this assertion. Fig. 10 shows a bar partly upset, and the striking feature of this sketch is the fact that the most remote parts from the plunger or header are the very first parts to upset. An indicator card of this division is represented by Fig. 11, which also shows the great amount of work done dur- PERFECT EYE - ACCUM. LOAD == 1500 LBS. @$ese2 8 3 8 ¢ S gATmine xn Ow os @ MEAN PR. -= 355 LBS, Fig. 8.—Die Movable on Top, Stationary on Bottom. Fig. 9.—Card with Fig. 8. Fig. 12.—Cold Flanging Card. THE FLOW OF STEEL. ing the early stages as compared to the two former methods. . This third division represents undoubtedly the ideal manner of upsetting materials, and while it has hitherto been applied only to a limited extent, I think such has been due entirely to a want of knowledge of the general flow of metals. The very fact that a result can be ob- tained by this construction with very much less power than by any other method—and also that offsets, far away from the upsetting plunger, can be filled witha degree of sharpness obtainable with no other system— ought to be enough to insure its action. —_— Flanging. One more important branch of this third system is represented by the process of flanging. The great majority of work of this kind, if heavy, is preferably done under the hydraulic press instead of under the hammer, and the application of flanged work is daily becoming more and more general, superseding riveted or cast sections wherever at all possible. The general work can be divided into two classes—namely, hot and culd flanging. Cold flanging is generally confined to the thinner sizes, 516 or 3 inch being the greatest dimen- sions usually considered safe to be so treated. In all flanging the greatest effort is to edge the plate—that is, to sharpen the corners or bends and take out wrnkles. Fig. 12 shows a typical indicator diagram of the flang- ing of the center part, about 17 feet in length, of a sill for a steel car. The material was 5 16 inch in thickness and the body of the sill was channel shaped, having a flange at top and bottom. A number of cards have been taken from cold work and the average results can be summed up as follows: Pressure per running inch to THE IRON AGE. Stretch accompanies the process. > flange 14-inch thick 70,000 pounds steel. 600 to '740 pounds; pressure per running inch to flange 5 16-inch thick 70,000 pounds steel, 710 to 750 pounds; pressure to edge Y and 5-16 inch thick 70,000 pounds steel, 2500 to 5800 pounds per running inch. Whatever variation exists in doing the actual flanging is no doubt due to the variation in the steel, as the material upon which the experimentg were made was allowed some latitude both physically and chemically. As to the variation in edging, however, this is mainly due to the difference in radius of curves and general shape of work. When flanging hot materials it is difficult, if not im- possible, to determine the exact pressure per running inch to do the work, because invariably a certain amount of In fact, in many in- stances the necessity for doing so determines, in spite of any thickness, the question as to whether the material shall be treated hot or cold. With hot work wrinkling or waving is also a strong factor which has to be considered. A number of experiments were made on some 44, 7 16 and 1¢ inch plates, all heated to a bright red, and the result- ing figures were as follows: The pressure necessary to bend the plate and com- mence the actual flanging varies from 185 pounds per —- -2750-LBS.— ' ' I cs a °o a — 4 = ; c Zz m 1000 LBS. }+ --- 1350 LBS. }+-——-—- . 160 LBS. H 390 LBS. H 690 LBS. 1000 LBS. H QD 4° BAR, WITH 1034 m YE Fig. 10.—Bar Partly Upset. Fig. 11.—Card from Fig. 10. running inch for 44-inch material up to 380 pounds for 1g-inch. The pressure necessary to complete the flange and sharpen corners varies from 2100 pounds per ranning inch for 4 inch material up to 2700 pounds for the larger thick- nesses, depending greatly, as a matter of course, upon the temperature of the plate. j The pressure necessary to remove waves or wrinkles on a flanged surface equals about 1406 pounds per square inch of waved surface. The latter represents such cases where the wrinkles are not of exceptionally heavy amplitude. The middle figures—namely, 2100 to 2700— contain also the power necessary to overcome a certain amount of stretch incident to the process. The energy consumed in flanging 14 and % inch hot steel plates was found as follows: For 44-inch material, 100 foot pounds per running inch or 400 foot-pounds per square inch; for 34-inch plates, 360 foot pounds per running inch or 965 foot pounds per square inch. Summing up the general features of the third system we find the resistance to flow as being very gradual in their increase—commencing at Aa Bagyen, | following a line of increments which, toward the final end of its stroke, rises more or less rapidly, depending upon the amount of movable surfaces inclosing the materials to be treated. The metal flows exclusively in the line of pressure, only changing its direction when the motion becomes impeded by meeting a stationary surface, more or less perpendicu- lar to the line of flow. This constitutes about the limit to the field upon which the speaker has experimented. There are unquestionably some other directions into which the flow of metal enters and which are of importance to the engineer; as, for instance, the reduction of metal when compressed between a pair of revolving rolls. But I think, nevertheless, that the different processes mentioned in this paper will cover most of the branches of the mechanic arts in which the a engineer is interested when pursuing his pro- ession. aa. _— In view of the American exposition of agricultural machinery to be held in Moscow in 1901, the German In- dustrial League has addressed a circular letter to the German manufacturers of agricultural machinery point- ing out the danger to their export business and proposing an exposition uf German machinery in Russia this year. A large number of manufacturers are said to have al- ready agreed to join in the project. eo —— eee re mere Ee fone yr ey sand Seta ee a fon rerrate rer mn Ep ern A NRE — 10 THE IRON AGE. A Fine Enameled Ware Plant. For some time prior to the beginning of last year it had become increasingly evident to the Lalance & Gros- jean Mfg. Company of New York that their manufactur- ing capacity for enameled ware at the big factory at Woodhaven, L. I., immense as it is, was becoming totally inadequate to meet the rapid growth in the demand for this class of goods. The revival of prosperity through- out this country and the expansion of their trade in for- eign markets called for a constantly increasing supply of the company’s enameled wares, until, at the beginning of last. year, they were confronted with the positive neces- sity for a radical and prompt extension of their facilities for production, if they were to cope in any satisfactory degree with the current requirements of their customers. Consequently it was decided that an entirely new fac- tory, to be devoted exclusively to the manufacture of enameled ware, should be erected on the block imme- diately adjoining the company’s large group of factory buildings on the east side. The contract for the new buildings was given out in the middle of March, and the work on them began forth- with and was pushed actively until, at the end of Oc- tober, the factory was in a condition for the inaugura- tion of operations. While not yet entirely completed, so February 15, 1900 at either end of the building, serve to carry the unfinished ware down and the finished goods up. ‘The system fol- lowed throughout the factory is progressive; no back steps are taken by the goods in the process of manufac- ture. They come in as black iron articles at one end, go forward through the several processes, and emerge at the. other end as finished enameled ware, ready for boxing and shipment. On the second floor, along the outer wall, is a row of benches, at which workmen are employed in putting the handles onto kettles,. pots, and other goods that require these appurtenances. Following the black iron goods as they descend in the elevator at the north end to the ground floor, we fina. them run on cradles through a large scaling oven located in front of the elevator. Having been in the oven mere- -ly long enough to remove any scale or grease that may have remained on them after the stamping proc- ess, the goods issue directly into the pickling room, which occupies a space 75 x 110 feet at the north end of the si