The Iron Age 1914-01-22: Vol 93 Iss 4

Ee eae = a ee ——:::) hlished 1855 New York, January 22, 1914 Vol. 93: No. 4 Making Repair Work a Profitable Adjunct How and Why the Machine Builder Could Give More Attention to Up- keep of Machines He Has Sold BY C. A. TUPPER isons such as the present, when production is tear of continuous or intermittent operation, such in many lines, are very generally taken ad- as can only be expected in the ordinary course. It ge of for making repairs to machinery; and _ will be conceded that the basis of all permanent needed for replacement are usually ordered business is the satisfied customer; and one of the the manufacturers. These should, as a rule, most important factors in keeping the customer in eadily obtainable; but in many cases they are that frame of mind is proper attention to the mat- and when there is delay in filling orders it ter of repairs. Repair part orders ought not, of Spares and Repairs Department of Pump Works at Frankenthal, German) feeling of irritation which may, later on, course, to be allowed to hold back or otherwise the loss of more important business. hamper the production of the machines which are, is a phase of manufacturing which, dur- at the same time, going through the shops. That hurry and rush of modern industry—at usually constitutes the most serious objection to the United States—has been more neglected such orders and accounts for much of the evasion hinery builders than probably any other and neglect with which they are treated n be named. Reference is not made here to One of the most satisfactory solutions of the resulting from breakages, which have to be problems involved is separate provision for repair rood in accordance with guarantees, but of work and the devotion to it, primarily, of certain ments rendered necessary by the wear and _ specified facilities; or, in other words, creating a nee 245 war degen ye ae 246 THE IRON AGE Special Machi for Repairs 01 Engines, Compressors, distinct department for this purpose and putting it on a proper earning basis, the same as any other part of the establishment. There are, however, many different methods of working out the details. In one large Western plant, comprising a foundry, forge shop and machine shops, where jobbing or custom work forms a part of the business in addi- tion to regular lines of manufacturing, the repair orders have been combined with the custom work and are treated on precisely the same basis. For the most part the system employed might be adapted to a separate repair department, and they are given here for their suggestive value. SYSTEM IN HANDLING REPAIR BUSINESS As the orders come in from customers, they are written out at the office in quadruplicate, that is, three carbon copies. Two copies zo to the ship- ping department, one being kept on file there and the other returned to the office when the part called for. has been completed or shipped. The third copy is sent to the shop superintendent and the fourth is kept in an alphabetical file at the office. From the order sent to the shop superintendent a requisition is made on the jobbing and repairs department, and the order itself is filed alphabeti- cally under the customer’s name. A clerk in the repairs section of the department mentioned, who 1as his desk in the superintendent’s office, then checks the requisition against the stock list, to as- certain whether the part is one regularly carried. If so, the requisition, after entry of the essential details on a card record, is sent directly to the stock clerk, and forwarded with the part to the hipping platform. From the man in charge there t goes back to the repairs clerk with a notation that the part has been forwarded to the customer by freight or express, as the case’ may be, with route and date also stated. These facts are entered on the card record and the requisition is returned to the stock clerk to be filed. In the latter’s office there is a cross-reference between this requisition and the record of the particular stock from which was withdrawn; so that it can be subsequently looked up, if necessary, from either side. Meanwhile, the second copy of the original or- der above referred to has been sent from the ship- ping rooms to the billing clerk, with the particu January 22, 19/4 Shown Here with Attachment for Regrinding Valve lars of shipment, including prepayment of har dling and transportation charges, if such prepay- ment is made, and a statement of the total charge sent to the customer. Notice of shipment, with railroad receipt, bill of lading or other necessary; papers, is also mailed to the customer on the same day that the part is forwarded. In writing out shipping directions, no abbreviations are allowed to be used, even the name of the state being writ- ten in full since the company had trouble over shipment billed to “Ia” which turned up in “La” and was only located after long search. [f the part is not carried in stock, but must be cast and machined, a requisition from the repairs clerk is sent to the office of the pattern shop and foundry. When a new pattern has to be made, an order for it is entered accordingly; but,-if not, the requisition is sent directly to the pattern storage foreman, the pattern taken from its rack, and this pattern sent with a molder’s ticket to the foundry; the requisition being returned, with a copy of the molder’s ticket, to the pattern shop and foundr) office. There the requisition is filed alphabeticall) and the copy of the molder’s ticket numerically, with cross references. For a forging the course pursued is similar, involving entry of the requisi- tion at the office of the forge shop foreman, selec- tion of the necessary billet or bar and having !t worked up as ordered. Rush work is indicated by a pink ticket; and, as the use of this color is rigidly restricted to cases where there is real need of dispatch in delivery, always has immediate attention. All work done on repair jobs is checked up at night, and a record kept by the clerk in the super- intendent’s office which shows at any given time, by the cross references, how far any order has progressed towards completion. When a casting or forging is delivered to the machining depart- ment, it is kept track of in a similar manner, ane the course of the finished part, with entry of ! ords, etc., is precisely the same as above deserib for one taken from stock, except that produc’ costs also go to the billing office. For the pattern shop, foundry and forge 5! a separate set of records is kept for repair W inder the supervision of a clerk especially assig to that service, but none of the equipment is ses vr help outside. wy 22, 1914 THE IRON AGE for it. Ordinarily, in fact, the parts go ‘+h on regular orders, which are made large to include and stock from which spares can be drawn. ame is also true, in general, of the machine but there certain tools of each group are ed to repairs; and, if needed in repair work, annot be used for any other. When not so they are at the disposal of the other depart- on the basis of a suitable credit to the job- and repairs department. This, however, is ipproximated, in order to avoid unnecessary | work, and is a matter of agreement between pairs clerk and the foremen. nN ore both current manufacturing facilities are needed than these tools the jobbing and repairs department “buys” ce from other departments, and if need be can The equipment placed at its dis- , however, is sufficiently comprehensive to pro- r all ordinary contingencies. Naturally, work is slack all around, some of the repair stand idle, as the manufacturing departments preference to their own machines; but, as a the balance is well maintained. Normally, as above, a season of dullness in the regular production is usually accompanied by a orders for repair parts, and vice versa. If epartment, however, can afford standby losses, e one entrusted with repairs, as will be geht out farther along. ; Oo + 0 th IAK ING SEPARATE DEPARTMENT OF REPAIRS It is desirable for any machinery manufacturer handle the repair work as a separate department d have some one of sufficient ability made respon- for its success. nie ny en all the Ss « This can not only be made a 1f maintaining satisfactory relations with istomers, but also of earning an excellent profit on permanent ch it involves. investment and working capital Compared with the sales margin new machinery, spare parts and repairs almost s bring good prices; and, as most of the orders in without solicitation, the usual r expense is eliminated, which still further in- tne! n come the rel: itive ger here, in fact, avoid the temp- n of charging ( i ers ey t ch to particul cus- arly advantage can lake ne n of t hereby alie Ney n from heir necessities, nat- fur- patronage when ing new ne yr T iil. e, however, orders will unsolicited, ifacturer of ry sh ould them to be upon him. ild at ] istomers thre mention east un- ugh by en and in cor- ence that rk is wanted; f wants to all repairs on of his net returns. The principal bo ~~? ~“ build and that they will be given just as careful attention as orders for new equipment. The importance of this can be demonstrated by reference to three machinery building companies that, within the writer’s personal knowledge, have been heavy losers as a result of indifference to this policy. The apparatus manufactured by each is of standard design, approximated very closely by com petitors, and the latter are in a position to fill orders for repairs without much difficulty. One of these concerns has out upward of 31,000 machines which are subjected to peculiarly severe service and, under the most favorable conditions, require frequent replacements of wearing parts. Some years ago its nearest competitor, whose apparatus is practicall) interchangeable with the other in these wearing parts, made this feature even more pronounced by changes in design and started out to get the first named company’s repair orders. This it had no trouble in doing, as users were tired of the inatten tion given to that phase of the business, and soon the competitor had practically the control of the repair work, which it clinched by making very fa vorable terms for season contracts. It did not stop there, however. Gradually, as new machines were needed, the competitor, being in constant touch with users, got its own taken on trial, and, using the repairs brought to it as illus trations of the weak points of the original make, it displaced the latter more and more. Many time the company which had been first in the field and had practically developed it did not learn of these opportunities for new sales until long after the com petitor had made deliveries. Today, the relative positions of the companies are reversed. The other two cases referred to above are similar but have not been carried to the same extreme ASCERTAINING PERFORMANCE IN SERVIC! One of the advantages enjoyed by the concerns that have made a specialty of repairing the ma chines of competitors, as well as their own, is th experience obtained from the continual handling of the various parts and the knowledge thus forced upon them of the effects of actual service condi tions over a wide — = - field of operation. It enabled them to make such a study of the essential fa tors of design as to put them in the lead of other manufac- turers of the same types of machinery. This same condition, however, applies with practically equal force to work done by a manufac- turer which involves repairs to machines of his own build ex- clusively. There is no better means of becoming acquainted with points of weak- ness in their me- chanical structure and with desirable alterations either in ‘, design or in the se- lection of material. _ Universal Woodworking Tool of English Design Used in Re Furthermore, if ; pair Part Work for a Great Patte Variety of Operations on this Boe department of ein 248 THE IRON AGE the business is properly conducted and provision made for regularly carrying a stock of spares for immediate shipment on repair orders, it will enable average production costs to be cut down, by the ability to put parts through the foundry and forge or machine shops in greater quantities and to pur- chase materials to better advantage. There are other phases of the subject, perhaps equally important, which there will not be space to consider here; but the principal lesson to be learned is the necessity, for any long continued business, of handling repairs on a definite system, with the same thoroughness and attention to detail that character- izes the work of the plant as a whole. RED IRON ORES OF TENNESSEE Rockwood and Sweetwater Districts Have Been the Chief Sources of Supply. Since it has proved possible successfully to make basic open-hearth steel from Southern iron ore, the attention of the iron makers of the United States has been turning toward the Southern iron ore fields to a considerable extent during the last de- cade. This statement introduces Bulletin 16 on “The Red Iron Ores of East Tennessee,’ by Ernest F. Burchard, recently issued by the United States Geological Survey. The bulletin is intended to de- scribe the red iron ores of the northern part of what in a broad way has been termed the Chatta- nooga district. In prospecting the ore beds every section has been inspected and measured. There are three formations which carry red iron ore in noteworthy quantities in East Tennessee. The lowest or oldest is the Tellico sandstone of Ordovician age; the next and most important is the Rockwood formation of Silurian age; and the last, but of slight importance, is the Grainger shale. The term ore in the report is meant to cover any ferruginous material which may have a value at present or in the near future as a source of iron. The type of iron ore considered is restricted to that commonly known as red ore which is composed es- sentially of red hematite, Fe,O.. THE SWEETWATER DISTRICT The most important district of the Tellico sand- stone formation is known as the Sweetwater local- ity. This deposit of ore lies one-half to three and one-half miles northeast of Sweetwater, Tenn. The unique feature of this deposit is that the dark, bluish red and steel colored clay and some of the reddish surface clay really constitute an earthy iron ore. This locality was first visited in 1906 when mining was in progress and about 150 carloads of iron ore had been shipped to blast furnaces in Chat- tanooga. The most notable characteristic of the deposit is the large proportion of hematite present. Nearly 8000 tons is reported shipped to blast fur- naces in 1912. Average analyses are said to have shown a little more than 40 per cent. metallic iron and between 2 and 3 per cent. manganese. It is stated that a sintering plant is to be built by the American Ore Reclamation Company comprising four Dwight-Lloyd machines. This plant is planned for an output of 400 tons of sintered ore daily, pro- ducing a cellular sinter. In the Tuckahoe district of the Tellico sandstone formation the iron ores, though abundant in the weathered zones, are irregu- lar and in shallow veins and not easily accessible. They are therefore put in the class of deposits of possible future value. January 22, 1914 THE ROCKWOOD DEPOSIT The most important ore deposit of East Tenn see is known as the Rockwood iron ore, named f: its occurrence at Rockwood, Tenn. It is principa the red oxide and is amorphous, red to bluish bla lustrous and mixed with calcium carbonate and other minerals. It outcrops along the foot of the Cumberland escarpment from the southern border of the State below Chattanooga to the northern border of the State at Cumberland Gap and in s eral separate areas in the Tennessee Valley. On the east side of the Sequatchie Valley, about 9 miles above the confluence of Sequatchie and Tennessee rivers, the outcrop of this ore has been found to carry ore that is workable. This locality is known as the Inman mines. More than 2,000,000 gross tons is reported to have been shipped from here to the now abandoned blast furnaces of the Ten- nessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Company at South Pittsburgh, Tenn. According to data regarding the ore beds of central East Tennessee this section car- ries in various parts some very important areas of red iron ore. It is the most productive part of the State. The ore is of a comparatively high grade, the hard variety carrying 35 to 42 per cent. of iron with 0.50 to 0.60 per cent. of phosphorus and from a trace to 1 per cent. of sulphur. At LaFollette, Tenn., the Rockwood ore occurs in one important bed in which there are 3 ft. 10 in. to 5 ft. of ore, separated by several shale partings. If only the area bounded by Pine Mountain and Cumberland Mountain and extending 15 miles northeast from Fork Mountain be considered, the LaFollette mines would be located about the middle of the southeast edge of this area. A solid block of ore, having an average length of 79,200 ft., an average width of 47,520 ft. and an average thickness of 4 ft., would thus be indicated, making a total of 15,054,336,000 cu. ft. of ore. Allowing 12 cu. ft. to the ton, the enormous quantity of 1,254,528,000 tons of hard ore would probably represent a reasonable estimate of the reserves in this one area. The red iron ores of East Tennessee have been mined and utilized for the manufacture of iron for more than half a century. As early as 1854 there were five small blast furnaces working almost ex- clusively on Rockwood hematite. These furnaces were all located close to the outcrop of the ore. In addition to these furnaces, in two of which the blast was created by steam power, the rest by water power, there were at that time 15 bloomaries or forges using Rockwood ore for making bar iron. The question of markets in this area is not at present serious, since most of the blast furnaces of the district, when in blast, are willing to buy ore at market prices. Six furnace companies with 4 total of nine coke stacks in East Tennessee have been built to use the red hematite ores of the State. Statistics for 1911 show the production in Tennes- see of 251,083 gross tons of red iron ore, 218,645 tons of brown ore, 198,050 tons of limestone for flux, 6,433,156 net tons of bituminous coal, 330,418 net tons of coke, and 297,594 gross tons of pig iron, the greatest previous production being 400,269 long tons in 1910. At the regular meeting of the Cleveland Engineer- ing Society, January 13, an illustrated paper on “Elec- trical Heated Devices and Their Industrial Uses” was presented by Lawrence W. Cady, consulting engineer, Cleveland. Wood preserving and the uses of treated lumber are to be discussed in an illustrated address before the society, January 20, by F. A. Weaver, Ayer & Lord Tie Company, Cleveland, and natural gas January 27, by J. C. Gillette, master mechanic, National Carbon Company, Cleveland. Janu Vv oa. 1914 Roller Bearing Pneumatic Drill ise of roller bearings for the connecting ibined with crankshafts running on ball is the special feature characterizing the | Little David pneumatic drill that has re- een brought out by the Ingersoll-Rand 11 Broadway, New York. Other fea- the older type, such as accessibility of e casting of the cylinder head integral with casing and a small number of parts, have retained. ylinder shell is a high grade steel casting, nsures lightness, while the metal is dis- | to give strength where that is needed. It ble to assemble or disassemble the entire apparatus through the crank case by simply r the cover. motor or engine is of the angular four- single-acting reciprocating piston type, air of pistons being attached to opposite of a double crankshaft. This arrangement d upon to give a balanced crank action and continuous smooth running. The four con- - rods, one of which is shown in the lower rner of the accompanying engraving, are alike and can be interchanged. These are ed by drop forgings from a single piece of They run on Hyatt roller bearings, the ends vhich may be seen in the lower right corner of engraving. This arrangement, it is pointed out, es friction and gives an easier running tool. With a view to securing ease of assembly the con- necting rods are fastened to the piston by a spring arrangement. As will be noticed, the piston ends of the rods are ball shaped and flat steel springs are slipped over them. These balls have their bearings in the center of the pistons, forming ball and socket joints, an arrangement which permits connecting rods to yield to pressure from any tion without, it is pointed out, causing the ton to bind in the cylinder. Another advantage ; construction is that the piston can turn in inders and distribute the wear evenly. attaching the piston rod, it is simply neces- see that the four pistons are in place, after the crank is put in with the connecting rod prings all assembled, one spring being in- erted at a time. The piston is then pushed to the of the cylinder, and the crank is rotated the ball on the connecting rod reaches a seat piston. The spring is then pushed down t seats in slots near the bottom of the piston. moving the crankshaft and connecting rods, pliers are inserted in the two holes in the near the slit, the spring being compressed pulled out of the piston. After all of the have been disconnected the entire crank the connecting rod attached is readily lifted the case. crankshaft works in separator type ball and it is emphasized that this type of s more satisfactory for machines operat- edium and high speeds than the full type, ne latter, it is pointed out, the balls come ict and wear flat rings on their circum- na short time, with resultant loose bear- unsatisfactory operation. It is empha- t this rapid wear is due in a large measure ict that the balls are rotating in opposite s at their points of contact, which doubles ring effect. drill spindle has a ball thrust bearing be- ne shell and the feed spindle, which is relied relieve the main frame of all thrust or THE IRON AGE 249 A View of the Drill Partly in Section Showing the Constru tion and One of the Crankshafts, Connecting Rods and Ball Bearings strain. It is machined to receive standard Morse taper shanks and if desired can be threaded on the end for the use of chucks or other special attach ments. Each valve controls two pistons which act on alternate strokes. As the valves are completely balanced and have a rotating motion instead of a reciprocating one, it is emphasized that wear equalized. They are geared to the crankshaft through the spindle gear, it being pointed out that there are no rocker arms or eccentric straps to com- plicate construction and increase the opportunity for wear and breakage. These gears are of steel drop forgings with cut teeth and are inclosed in individual chambers, thus avoiding any necessity for disturbing the other parts of the machine, should access be desired. The valves are of hardened steel, finished by grinding, and operate in bronze bushed chests. In setting the valves, it is simply necessary to see that the letters stamped on the valve and crankshaft pinions register with the letters on the main gear. All the parts subject to wear and strain are made of special steel, which has been hardened and then ground, to give a close working fit. The tools can be made reversible or non-rever- sible at the will of the operator by changing the position of a sliding sleeve on the throttle handle. Five sizes in all of drill are made. The first is designed for heavy drilling, reaming, tapping and flue rolling, while the second is intended for similar work of a lighter character. Light drilling and reaming is the field for which the third size is intended, while the two remaining ones are fitted with chucks for wood boring augers for 4 and 2 in. holes respectively. These two latter types are lighter than the others and are not fitted with compound gearing for multiplying the power. The crankshaft and gears revolve in grease packed dustproof chambers. Lubricant is fed into all the working parts by the revolution of the crankshaft. Se RS bre Sa aA Sh ag ieee ean o 5. oo near renege a ee ee Prolonging the Life of the Bessemer Process Additions of Manganese Sesqui- fluoride Permit of the Use of Lower Grade Pig Iron in the Converter BY L. GOLDMERSTEIN So much has been unsuccessfully done to restore the Bessemer process to its former position of supremacy in the production of steel that it was with but little hope of success that I started my in- vestigations four years ago. Only time can show definitely in how far I have succeeded. As far as the decarburization of iron goes, the Bessemer process leaves very little to be desired, and it could have held its own against all later comers, such as the open-hearth and electric fur- nace processes, if there were a sufficient supply of suitable ores, i. e., ores without either sulphur or, still more important, phosphorus. The weakness of the Bessemer process lies really in its inability to treat properly the two above named impurities. Therefore, if a process could be found for eco- nomically and completely eliminating the phos- phorus and sulphur present in the pig iron while it is treated in the Bessemer converter, there would be a chance for the otherwise ideal process of steel manufacture to come back to the position which it held some fifteen years ago. FLUORINE AS AN ELIMINATOR In my investigations I found that fluorine has a powerful affinity for phosphorus and sulphur, and that there are several fluorine compounds which de- compose at the temperature prevailing in the metal bath of the heavy metals, say iron or copper. When these compounds decompose, fluorine, which is one of the most energetic elements known to chemistry, violently combines with those elements for which it has a particular affinity—phosphorus, sulphur, and hydrogen—and forms with them gaseous com- pounds which instantly escape from the metal and cannot, therefore, contaminate it on cooling. Not every fluoride, however, can be used in this process. It appeared to me theoretically evident that no natural fluoride, such as calcium fluoride or cryolite, could be used, because, with such a powerful and energetic substance as fluorine, only the most stable compounds could occur in nature, and such compounds would be very unlikely to decompose at the comparatively low temperature prevailing in the bath of molten steel. Experiments, both my own and those of others, have confirmed this view. Further experiments have shown that fluorine has particular affinity for those elements of which the atomic weight is near its own, and forms with them very stable compounds; this practically eliminated the use, as far as the purification of steel was con- cerned, of such compounds as aluminum or mag- nesium fluoride, which do not decompose in molten steel, and are either incorporated, unchanged, in the metal, or pass, equally unchanged, into slag. It very soon became clear that only fluorides of heavy elements could be used to advantage, and even of those only certain particular classes. Most heavy elements (having an atomic weight in excess of 41) form with fluorine two compounds—fluorides and sesquifluorides—and, while the fluorides are as a rule fairly stable, the sesquifluorides, probably on account of there being a molecule of fluorine too much, decompose far more easily, and what is most important, decompose directly into fluorine and the 250 metallic element, just as is required for the meta) lurgical process under consideration. None of the sesquifluorides could be obtained op the market or from dealers in laboratory chemicals, and I had to make myself all that I used in my early experiments or to order them made for me (usually the latter could not be done). It was only consider- ably later that I succeeded in persuading an impor- tant German concern to start experiments in pro ducing some particular sesquifluorides commerciall; (I shall say more about these experiments later on). But not even all the artificial fluorides and sesquifluorides could be used successfully. Further tests have shown that many hydrates of fluorides were vaporized without decomposing, and escaped from the metal without affecting its chemical! com- position; so that finally the class of fluoride com- pounds that could be successfully applied to the purification of steel narrowed down to artificial fluorine compounds of metals having an atomic weight in excess of 41, having a constitution ap- proaching, preferably, the type of sesquifluorides, and being, sometimes preferably and sometimes necessarily, anhydrous. ADDING FLUORIDE COMPOUNDS TO THE BATH As to the introduction of the fluoride compounds into the metal bath, several ways were experimented with. In my tests made in a steel foundry in Penn- sylvania, I tried placing the fluoride, not heated, in the form of powder, at the bottom of a ladle, and pouring the metal over it. The amount of heat re- quired to decompose the fluorine compound proved to be so large as to cool very rapidly the metal, and there was not sufficient time for the chemical process to take place. The results were therefor: not uniform; and while sometimes complete puri- fication took place, none could be found in other cases. From further experiments were evolved th following fundamental principles for the use of fluorine compounds for steel purification: Where these compounds are used with an out- side supply of heat, as in crucible steel production or the open-hearth furnace (I shall say below why it is also of advantage to use them in those proc- esses), the fluoride may be introduced as soon as the metal has fully melted, the bath being strongly stirred immediately after the introduction of the fluoride. It is of advantage to introduce the fluoride in several batches, in order to avoid cooling of the bath and loss of the salt. When the fluoride is used in a process carried on without a supply of heat from the outside, as in the Bessemer process, it is of advantage to introduce the fluoride salt after the silicon present in the metal has burned out (for fluorine has a powerful affinity for silicon, an¢ will unite with it if present, which would entail an unnecessary loss of fluorine), having previously raised the salt to as high a temperature as C0l- venient. It may be introduced, e. g., with the blast. THE CHANGE PRODUCED IN THE METAL What happens then is this: The salt decomposes and liberates free fluorine which combines with the impurities in the iron for which it has a greater vy 22, 1914 “init. than for the iron itself. The various fluor- ‘des sulphur, phosphorus, arsenic and hydrogen gases at the temperature prevailing in the ath, and therefore escape immediately, leav- he bath a metal of the highest purity. e is, however, more to this process than the as irification of the metal. The metal with he fluorine is combined in the salt (nickel, ese, copper, etc.), after the fluorine breaks emains in an extremely finely divided state rate molecules, and in what is known in ry as the nascent condition. A _ peculiar teristic of this state of matter is its tendency bine with other elements present at the in- stant of the liberation of the element. Owing to this property of the elements which were previously ed with the fluorine, they enter with peculiar into alloys with the main element of the ay steel, to form alloy steel possessing some properties. As the fluorine itself eliminates purities, by this process high grade alloy may be made from cheap kinds of pig iron or lirect. COST OF THE FLUORIDE PROCESS In order, however, that a process of making steel should be of interest nowadays, it must be not only better than other processes, but also cheaper, the t element being of especial importance in view of the fact that, at a certain price, steel of any desired purity may be now produced by the open-hearth or electric furnace method, or one of the combinations f these processes with the Bessemer process. The following calculation will give an idea as to the cost f the fluoride process. Let us assume that we start with pig iron con- taining 0.25 per cent. of phosphorus, and that it is lesired to produce steel containing not more than ).05 per cent. of phosphorus. Per ton, therefore, { lb. of phosphorus must be eliminated, which re- lires approximately 5 to 6 lb. of fluorine. We take r the purposes of this calculation the latter figure, nd propose to use the fluorine in the form of man- ganese sesquifluoride, Mn,F,. To obtain 6 lb. of ree fluorine, 12 Ib. of manganese sesquifluoride will have to be used. While this salt was discovered by Moissan some 15 years ago, it has never been used r anything practical, and never manufactured by mmercial concern until I started my experi- nts. It cannot be said therefore to have a definite e; but at my request the great chemical works Ue-Haen in Seelze near Hannover, Germany, e made a series of experiments and are pre- pared to deliver the salt at 95 marks per 100 kg. his, with duty, would come to about 13 cents per New York. There can be scarcely any doubt large quantities anhydrous manganese iifluoride may be produced even more cheaply s. But for the purposes of this calculation assume the above quoted figure. Twelve at 13 cents per lb. gives $1.66; in return for im 6 lb. of manganese is also introduced into etal, and a low phosphorus steel is obtained Bessemer converter from a comparatively pig iron. PECIAL FIELD IN RAIL AND BRIDGE STEEL fluoride process will apparently have a field cation of its own, and that is in the produc- rail and bridge material. The steadily in- ng weight and speed of railroad trains re- stronger and better materials for the rail. first place, however, what is required is a al of perfect uniformity, which, with perhaps paratively low maximum strength, would have THE IRON AGE 251 a high minimum strength, since it is the low mini- mum strength of some rails that causes wrecks. If the present day steel rail could be made equally strong throughout, it would be probably fully suf- ficient for many years to come, and the railroads could quite well do, at least for all general purposes, without either expensive alloy rails or probably equally expensive heat treated rails. But to make the rail of uniform strength throughout, or of high minimum strength, it must be made of material absolutely free of impurities. It is the presence of impurities, either solid or gaseous, that causes mainly blowholes, segregation, intensive crystalliza- tion through fatigue, etc. It is quite possible that the electric furnace will give us, at a price, a per- fectly pure steel, and it is certain that the fluoride process can do it also, at a price. The writer is not fully prepared to discuss here under which condi- tions either of these two processes is more ap- plicable, as his experiments have not been carried far enough for that. It appeared to him, however, that the engineering world was entitled to the in- formation contained in the above. A New Style of Non-Skimming Crucible For use in connection with the melting of metals, and more especially those of the precious group, the Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, Jersey City, N. J., has brought out a new —______— crucible. It repre- sents an effort to do away with skim- | ming and also pre- | vent charcoal or | molten fluxes from | getting into the | ingot or casting. As indicated in the accompanying cut, the crucible has a bridge at the top with a hole in it for the clean metal. Other points upon which special em- phasis is laid are A New Type of Crucible Which that the holding ‘to*poine Away with Skimming” capacity of the crucible is not reduced in any way by the new de- sign, and that it is possible to stir the metal the same as in a regular crucible. The Browning Engineering Company, Cleveland, Ohio, which has changed its name to the Browning Company, has increased its capital stock from $850,000 to $1,000,000. It has just booked an order for a loco motive crane for shipment to Sweden. Foreign-built cranes are said to be heavier and slower in moving than American cranes, and the superiority of the lat- ter resulted in this order being placed with an Amer- ican builder. The Browning Company has also recently received an order from the Erie Railroad for a large railroad ditcher. Hermann Boker & Co., New York City, have opened a branch office and store room at 703 Frankfort avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, where a line of tool steels, nickel bars, sheets and rods, music wire, steel balls and other prod ucts will be kept in stock. The Cleveland office will be in charge of Wilmot H. Kissam, who was formerly con- nected with the New York office of the firm. His terri- tory will include Ohio and parts of West Virginia and Kentucky. v “4 Swedish Iron and Steel Developments in 1913 Progress in Iron Ore Concentration and Briquetting—The Manufacture of Iron Sponge—Electric Smelting and Its Future BY IVAR BARTHEN” It has been claimed for years that Sweden is particularly well situated as far as the iron and steel industry is concerned. This may be true in one sense: Sweden has the great advantage of vast resources of high class iron ores—inexhaustible, from the standpoint of the demands of the home country only. But over against this advantage is the fact that Sweden is sadly lacking in coal suit- able for iron ore melting. However, the result of this state of things has been that Sweden has been forced to look for char- coal as the predominating fuel of the blast furnaces. I am not sure that Sweden would have succeeded in progressing in the same degree up to the present time and maintained the reputation of producing iron of the highest quality obtainable, if suitable coal were to be had at reasonable cost. Thus, the country had to maintain the use of charcoal in the blast furnaces. The purity of this fuel, in connec- tion with the purest iron ores ever obtainable, has brought it about, that the Swedish iron has kept its position at the top, being preferred all over the world, where particularly high quality of the fin- ished product is required. Fortunately the vast forests of the country easily delivered all the char- coal wanted. But as time passed, the demand for raw material for the sulphite, sulphate and pulp industries grew, and these manufacturers proved able very soon to utilize smaller and smaller sections of wood and to buy these, formerly piled up almost entirely for charring-stacks, at a higher price than the charcoal industry could. The price of charcoal therefore grew and grew. This has brought the Swedish iron and steel works into a somewhat awkward position. Still, the country’s iron and steel works have enjoyed a rather good season during the past year. But there has been no rush. The works have all been very busy and most of the production of the year to come is already disposed of. Still prices have shown no sign of increasing, rather the con- verse, especially in the case of Lancashire iron. SOME RECORDS MADE IN PRODUCTION Some of the records for production, those of pig iron and open-hearth steel, are the highest ever published. During 1913 there have been operated 113 blast furnaces, 210 wrought iron hearths, 17 Bessemer converters and 57 open-hearth furnaces. The following table shows the production in gross tons of the last four years, the records of 1913 being averaged in proportion to those for the first three quarters of the year: Increase for 1913 1913 1912 1911 1910 over 1912 1. Pig iron . 745,000 699,800 634,400 603,900 6.5 per cent ’, Open-hearth ingots .... 450,500 404,100 372,700 372,500 11.5 per cent Bessemer ingots .... 111,000 107,200 93,900 97,600 3.5 per cent. 4. Wrought iron blooms and rough bars 155,000 148,800 146,700 151,700 4.2 per cent Items 1 and 2 constitute record productions; item 3 is surpassed by one year only, 1896. For tem 4, 1892 leads with 235,400 tons; thereafter the * Assistant chief engineer, Jernkontoret, Stockholm, Sweden. 252 production has slowly decreased, year by year. |t is to be presumed that the increase in wrought iron last year is only occasional. The following tables give the export figures jp gross tons during the last three years, 1909 being exceptional because of the general strike. 1912 1911 1910 Pig iron... at ititck hates 204,800 150,500 134,100 SOU Gd GISOk .. ac 0<0.08s 480,400 418,300 $21,300 Iron ores chara aba . 5,420,600 5,086,900 4,434,800 Export during January to October 1913 1912 Pig iron .. : ; Pt Gdsebnes 176,100 151,200 TOGRs MORE 43 i. aenss = SRiearecerrce she 418,300 382,900 rh EE ke gig oe Avorn ee downs ee 5,662,700 4,902,700 Attention should be called to the considerable increase from January to October, 1913, as com- pared with the same period of 1912. The ratio be tween acid and basic Bessemer production in 1912 was about 4 to 5 while that between acid and basic open-hearth was about 3 to 5. The production of pig iron per blast furnace in 1912 was 5881 tons. The total production of iron ore in 1911 was 6,150,700 tons of which 5,508,800 tons were first quality ore while in 1912 the total production was 6,699,200 tons of which 5,945,400 tons were first quality. Of the total production of first quality iron ore in 1912, 2.9 per cent consisted of ore with an iron content of 40 to 50 per cent; 21 per cent with an iron content of 50 to 60 per cent, and 76.1 per cent with an iron content of 60 to 70 per cent. Ore containing over 0.10 per cent phosphorus con- stituted 81.8 per cent of the total production while ores with a sulphur content of 0.010 to 0.020 per cent made up 57.4 per cent of the total ore pro- duced. The total iron ore production in 1911 was 6,150,- 700 tons, of which first quality ore was 5,508,800 tons, and in 1912 it was 6,699,200 tons, of which first quality ore was 5,945,400 tons. CONCENTRATION AND BRIQUETTING Of the total first quality ore produced the fol- lowing quantities were obtained through magnetic separation, sometimes directly from the rock as it comes from the mine, sometimes after being reduced to small pieces: in 1911, 385,000 tons, and in 1912, 605,400 tons. The magnetic separation plants are, as a rule, situated quite close to the mines; 28 such works were operated during 1912 against 21 in 1911. Of the rough ore produced there was handled, in concentrating works in 1911, 860,200 tons, giving 374,200 tons of first quality pulverized concentrated ore, “slig’” so called. In 1912 from 1,215,300 tons of rough ore there was produced 520,700 tons first quality “slig.” During 1912, 34 concentrating works were operated against 31 during 1911. Seventeen briquetting works in 1912 produced 288,600 tons of briquets, the raw material being the pulverized concentrated ore or “slig.” The briquets are formed like ordinary small bricks and are used in the blast furnace just as ordinary lump ores. The method of carrying out the briquetting process is outlined below: A definite weight of the “slig” is stamped together in an iron mould into small bricks. These bricks are placed on a car, January 22, 1914 THE IRON AGE 253 _ ,oved forward automatically in a furnace “. 65 ft. long. This furnace is heated in the an oxidizing fire. Thus the bricks move y from one end to the other, through a e of maximum heat. By this process is given a form more suitable for Further most of the sulphur is burnt the FeO becomes Fe,O,, rendering it more icible in the blast furnace. The iron ore ng process has proved remarkably use- t of the Swedish iron ore mines, many of ig mountains of poor ore piled up during f years past. \N SPONGE AND ELECTRIC PIG IRON two remarkable inventions for extracting the n fi the iron ore have been heard of from Sweden lately; both claimed to overcome the diffi- wlities arising from the lack of suitable coal. Un- nately both of them have not measured up to tations at first attached to them. I refer nm sponge process and the electric blast Experiments to reduce the iron directly the ore have been conducted for several years © Hoganis-Billesholms Aktiebolag at Héganis, Sweden. These have met with success to such an extent that an average of 4000 tons of iron sponge ryear is produced at Héganiis, but the use of the thod is confined to that company, since it is the r of the only coal mines to be found in Sweden. These coal mines produce three grades of coal, none witable to compete with the imported English and German coals. The first and the second grade is used for combustion purposes (the second only to a limited extent), while the third grade has been put aside and considered of no value whatever. This third grade of coal and the best concentrated ore obtainable (71 per cent Fe) form the raw material for the production of iron sponge. The coal and lig” are packed by turns in layers in brick cruci- These are heated up in an ordinary brick The product is a sponge with an average gravity of 2.4, composed of iron and the residue of the coal and ore. Extensive tests have roved that this sponge can be used and melted in the same manner as pig iron, in Lancashire hearths pen-hearth furnaces. The finished product be tool steel, springs, drills, etc., and it shows excellent quality. A considerable part of the iron uge is exported. But, as before mentioned, the of the process consists in the fact, that ist for combustibles is nothing except for ransportation and handling. \ greater importance must be accorded to the “ectric blast furnaces, patented by Aktiebolaget ciextrometall, Ludvika, Sweden. The furnace is ly an ordinary blast furnace based upon on ectric are furnace with coal electrodes, fed by a phase alternating current. The number of elec- re 4 to 6. The preliminary experiments ted by Aktiebolaget Elektrometall and the achieved thereby had attracted much atten- all the leading iron and steel interests. cided, in 1909, that research meltings on a . le be undertaken by Jernkontoret (the board the Swedish Iron Masters). The Jern- ntoret took on lease land at Trollhattan where a amount of electric power was secured for iree or four years to come. Thus was ed Jernkontorets Férséksverk at Trollhattan. ‘Hen the researches had been conducted for a suf- ‘time (1912) and the research committee de- Git ready to give a final report of the method, ™ Jern ntoret had spent about $125,000 on this it at this time the practicability of the ared stu method was settled, and the two richest iron and steel companies, the Uddeholms Aktiebolag and the Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags Aktiebolag, had al- ready erected their own electric blast furnace plants. In 1911, 5800 tons of electric pig iron were pro- duced; in 1912, 17,600 tons. The output during 1913 is expected to exceed 25,000 tons. The first expectations of the inventors may have been that only as much coal should be put in the blast furnace as was needed by the chemical consti- tution of pig iron, as regards carbon, the heat in- dispensable to the process being secured by electric current. Even if those expectations could not be realized, still about 65 per cent of the coal ordinarily consumed is saved. The importance of this result may be clearly seen, because of the constantly increasing price of charcoal. There is also another remarkable result. As the content of phosphorus in the charcoal goes almost entirely into the pig iron, the use of the electric furnace has made it possible to reduce the phosphorus content in the finished product. This new type of pig iron has been exhaustively tested for all uses and found by no means inferior to or- dinary pig. But there is an important drawback that must not be overlooked. The price of the electric horse-power per year must not exceed 40 Swedish crowns (about $10.70). This being ex- ceptionally low, to be secured by only a few works, the usefulness of the electric blast furnace is con- siderably minimized. It may be hoped, though, that the further development and use of the method may bring to light some improvements to enlarge the range of the method to some unknown extent. Preparations are in progress for building still more electric blast furnace plants. ELECTRIC STEEL FURNACES It is well known that almost the first electric steel furnace used practically, was a Swedish one— the Kjellin induction furnace. The first Kjellin fur- nace was built in Gysinge, Sweden, 1900, and is still the only one of this type ever operated in Sweden. All other types of electric steel furnaces did not meet a good fate. This is all the more strange, as the electric current is cheaper in Sweden than in most other countries. Recently a new electric steel furnace has ap- peared, and it must be admitted that this new type has suddenly made a good start. I refer to the Rennerfelt furnace. It is an arc furnace fed by a so-called compound 2-phase alternating current through 3 electrodes, the one being connected to the junction point of the phases, the two others to the end points of the phases. In the rest, it is said by the inventor, that the furnace may be fed with either of 1-, 2- or 3-phase alternating current, and probably with direct current too. The arc takes a peculiar and, even to the inventor, a somewhat un- expected direction; the arc is bowed down to the bath, thus producing a very high heat. The new furnace is very young but already five plants of this type have been built and a number of others are planned. Among other advantages the furnace has the one of being comparatively cheap, both to buy and to run. It has been constructed thus far for a capacity of 2 tons. The product is steel cast- ings, etc., and the raw material is preferably iron and steel scrap. The invention is watched with considerable interest. From time to time voices have been heard pro- testing against the importation of heavy consign- ments of foreign iron into Sweden, while the coun- try itself has iron ore resources far beyond its own need. Big plants have been repeatedly planned to . % 2 erry was att re 2a * — 254 THE IRON AG