The Iron Age 1914-04-30: Vol 93 Iss 18

sVUDNNVUODUGUDUNUAEOROUDSAOONUDROUOUAYUEGURANUGOALEU HOU GANUROUUbOOUuENOUGaQUneGa aNuuanancudoneagnaniet CUUUEUUEOURELEDEREEORDUE EDEN ODEGUROEOOORDE OUTED ADEA NOONE Established 1855 neer, and much of the original equipment was obtained in this country. In the re- building of this fur- nace the former shell and columns were re- tained, was also the existing skip bridge, all other por- tions of the stack being provided new. Besides a McKee top, as much of the construc- tion materials and equipment were fur- nished by American firms: the Variety Iron Works, Cleve- land, Ohio; the Crock- er-Wheeler Company, Ampere, N. J.; the Cutler-Hammer Mfg. Company, Milwaukee, Wis., and others. The Nicopol-Mari- oopol Company, though not the largest producer of iron and steel products in Rus- sla, is among the most enterprising and best equipped. It is inter- esting to note that expansion. ai . Wr N | j 4 Ex a Mm 4 Pre \ |G | a * * & HOULULTEUEDETE LEE WHEE 7 New York, April 30, 1914 How a New American Made Une— Designs Have Plant Out of Old Important Points on Stock Distribution an The majority of the plants ieee ad rth 1057 air cylinders 78 in., stroke 80 ir maximum Vol. 93: No. A Reeonstructed Russian Blast Furnace The following article, which is a translation of have been reconstructed as to obtain a large a contribution in Russian from V. Y. Grebenikoff, and cheaper production and to satisfy the tremen describes the reconstructed No. 2 furnace of the dous demand for pig iron. The Nicopol-Marioopo Nicopol-Marioopol Mining & Metallurgical Com- Company decided to thoroughly reconstruct furnac« pany at Sartana, South Russia. The original de- No. 2, which has not been in operation since 1902 sign and construction of the plant was accomplished In view of the great interest and many novel under the direction of a prominent American engi- features in the design of the new furnace, we give below a description of it and the portant drawing Simultaneously, for the sake of son, are more n compar! also given on the construc of the old fur nace, the latter being all the ary since the old con truction limited to a the de data tion more neces certain extent signer of the néw plant. The new fur nace has been in oper ation since April 25, 1913 It is designed for an average produc- tion of 280 tons of open-hearth pig iron per day; it is pro vided with four blast heaters of the Ken nedy type with heating surface of 33,491 sq. ft. The blowers were built by the South wark Foundry & Ma- chine Company, Phil adelphia, Pa., in 1897, eat h compound with con densers, the diamete1 of the linders and 75 team cy being 40 in } m.) of free 30 9.4 cu. pressure is Material used is South-Russian coke The tabulated after a trial interval The Gas Outlets of the Dlaship Holst and Communicate There w e ne year the the Down Comer, Which is Hidd the Nearer Gas Pipe compar is recon- structing its No. 1 furnace on similar lines and that in., and of the Amer oncerns have similar construction pend- These blowers give 330 cu. ft. ing for other Russian iron producing concerns, the air per revolution; the Successful operation of the initial installation being |b. per sq. in. largely r sponsible for this. The translation fol- and ore from the Krivoy Rog region. lows : main dimensions of the furnace are: The metallurgical industry of Southern Russia Ce Gren aa been passing through a period of con- Number of (sam ts se 1058 Hight of hearth from the theoretical line of the SE MOON aw Gis eh bk Glk oh ws nwa ds 6s <0e ROR SO ee Re ae Re Oe re BOOS, | wc a con coh ass saegee cna’ 2090 mm 1290 mm 4130 mm 75 deg., 5 min. 5800 mm +. 6a 6 de 28'oee ew be eee 1780 85 deg., 44 min. 4000 mm Hight to center of slag tuyeres Hight of bosh ; Angle of bosh ; Diameter of belly.......... Sees OC DOR. oscscvencs Angle of stack Diameter of stack at the throat Total hight of furnace from the theoretical line of the hearth level to the circular rim of the funnel B. of the cone Useful hight of furnace Total volume of furnace Useful volume of furnace wee 397 cu. m I I RD 5658 dd So 6 bid, 8 Bae 6 Ke DA Lee ee Diameter of outlets (inside)... 1190 mm Total surface of outlets (probably cross section). ..2.22 sq. m Diameter of the large bell .2750 mm Diameter of the small bell 1170 mm Stroke of large bell 700 mm Stroke of small bell 600 mm Volume of hopper Capacity of loading wagons..... One of the illustrations shows the old furnace as it was when it was at work for the last time. The brick lining of the hearth was thin, the brick being only 340 mm. (13.6 in.), and with clay work only 530 mm. (21.2 in.). The con- struction of the pig and slag tap holes cannot be called successful. It can be seen from the drawing, and has been proved by many accidents, that the furnace did not satisfy requirements as to safety from burning through, reliability of the work of the pig tap hole and convenience of at- tendance to it, nor easy control of the state and reliability of cool- ing. Among other things that happened may be mentioned the tremendous explosion of 1902 when three of the columns were blown out and the roof and walls 22,200 mm 106 cu. m .3.56 cu. m .2.6 cu. m of the casting house were de- stroyed. All these requirements, and many others, are fully satisfied by the new hearth of American de- sign which has been tried out with uniform success in the South of Russia and in three units at the plant of the New Russia Com- pany. The advantages of this type are sufficiently explained in the article of V. I. Goolyga, mining engineer, in the Journal of the Russian Metallurgical So- ciety, section I, 1912, p. 24, “The Blowing in of Blast Furnace No. 4 of the New Russia Company,” and it is not necessary to go into further details as to this part of the furnace. The boshes as in- itially installed, 685 mm. (45 in.) thick, with bronze cooling cham- bers, of typical old American con- struction, were considered to be excessively complicated and ex- pensive, and the design was adopt- ed as the one which is more and more gaining ground with blast furnace engineers in Europe and America. It must be noticed, however, that this system is applicable only when the seams of the shell are perfectly strong and tight; this is not always borne in mind, and one meets on this ac- count considerable trouble in practical work. Section of THE IRON AGE Apri! 1914 The old stack, of the usual Scotch sur ported by cast iron columns, was modit he introduction of a system of cooling the e) on part. The adopted design of a thin (up to half the hight) with extern: (spray) and five belts of cooling pipe 1144 in. dia.) cast-in in cast iron and |; brick work, each belt comprising 12 pipe to a certain extent guarantee the pern shape of the furnace. The brick work of the entire furnace ne in small size brick, made in Russia, giving the maximum of stability. As a very serious problem in the design of 4 blast furnace, the rational construction of the throa: must be considered. A well. designed automatic - charging os plant, in addition to pro- ——— viding an absolutely cor. rect distribution of materials j; the throat, makes the working o: a furnace absolutely independent from possible carelessness employees, and at the same tim reduces the labor cost of th operation. is geen Thickness of Brick Top of stack Bottom of stack ....... Cylindrical belly (thick part Cylindrical belly (thin part) Boshes Hearth, at the section of the OF the tuyeres. sas asin ; i Hearth, at the section of the pig tap hole ; iX¢ Thickness of Furnace Shel New part of the truncated conica part of the shell Old shell at the top....... 4 Old shell in the middle. { Old shell at the bottom 9.5 and } New belly and boshes } Hearth The charging plant of th old furnace did not in practice do all that was expected of it, and the company endeavored t replace the old construction with a new one, retaining the feature of automatic operation as one too valuable to be discarded. The old charging plant gav' on the Parry hopper four sepe- rate heaps, the two front ones not analogous to the two rear ones neither as regards distribu: tion of materials, nor as regares symmetry and regularity of pc sition; this is easily explained as being due to the difference ' the velocity of fall of various materials at different positions of the guide boards. Four heaps constitute a glaring discontin: uity in the ring of materia along a large bell which causés | an unequal operation of the !ur nace; this can be noticed espe ffer- cially in the work of the di ent tuyeres. In selecting the new apparatus, the compat! decided to adopt, on the author’s suggestion, the patent system of automatic charging of Engine’ Arthur McKee, in use in a large number of Amer: ican plants. This construction is shown in one “ the illustrations from which it can be seen that ™ loading apparatus is provided with a double hopp . the Old Stack Pa neem + cht y gth and ‘e fully vhich is 1914 rrv bell, this ent satis- he require- working, in- and repairs. ness as well of the tn Sys- which ng cup rigidly with as 1n ( on- ' the } y Lur- ower de- lor a ke up ds, a than 5 tons: d by a gas ded with nholes which, in rs, a new may be to replace without dismantle the upper pper ; this | to shorten the time When the sterererrrrtyy ¢ Top and THE IRON Bottom o ¢ i the Reconstr iM AGE tal ih these 1059 furnace 1S at WOFrkK, manholes are ghtly screwed down. The top hopper, designed to take one wagon of coke (60 pood s or ap proximately l gross ton 1S supported b castings placed on the throat mantle: a flange connection 1s used on the castings which makes it possi ble, during in stallation or ré pair work, to take off and put on the entire hopper with its auxiliary mech anism in one operation. This hopper, as shown in an illustration, has in its upper part, a small fun- nel-shaped exten- sion. In order to decrease the di- mensions of the hopper, which are limited by the width of two charging wagons, a light iron con- struction, the so- called “guiding Fe Pins ve § + eS Wp oF 1060 hopper,” has been adopted. This hopper has a wedge-shaped construction, catches by its opening both cars, retains the material from scattering sidewise when the cars are tipped, and, by its in- clines, helps the more uniform fall into the top hopper. The main advantage of the McKee hopper lies in its rotation. Supported on 110 steel balls, 212 in. in diameter, placed in a circle under a support- ing flange, the hopper is given a rotary motion by means of gear transmission, from an electric motor placed on the top of the furnace. Together with the hopper rotates also the small bell pressed against it; its rotation is facilitated by the pro- vision of a ball bearing at the upper part of the rod. The mantle and cup are made of steel cast- / tL | Be OY / J x 'z YY Section A-A ~ Jerri \ ” ZX TH “Soy “ \ * yh ID. 6 4 if i, Sy i Detail of One of the Gas Outlets at the Throat of Stack ings; the funnel-like expansion of the hopper, of cast iron. The construction of the ball bearings is very simple, absolutely reliable and, by a special ar- rangement, is protected from being affected by for- eign bodies getting into the ball race, such as bits of materials, dust, etc.; it answers its purpose so well that an empty hopper can be easily moved by one man. The air-tightness of the top connection when the large bell is down, is secured by means of a special flange ring. The governing of the bells is done by hand, by means of steam cylinders located in the casting house on the columns supporting the inclined bridge. For the small bell use was made of an old cylinder, 12 in. in diameter; for the large bell a new cylinder was made, 350 mm. (14 in.) in diameter. This cylinder produces a positive clos- ing of the bell free from shocks, the smoothness of the closing operation being secured by means of very simple valves automatically holding-off the exhaust of the steam into the atmosphere and thus making unnecessary the use of buffers. The most essential part of the McKee automatic charging system is the cycle of delivery and dis- tribution of materials at the throat. The funda- mental idea of the distribution is as follows: the charging is done by repeated cycles. The cycle may be selected for four or six charges, the latter being used in the present case. Each charge con- sists of ten cars, out of whieh four are coke, 240 THE IRON AGE April 50, 1914 poods (about 6 tons) each, and six, ore an. fyye The large bell is lowered twice, once fo) coke and once for the ore and fluxes. It w. hav been better to divide the charge into batc! cars each, but the capacity of the hoisti; did not permit of taking less than 10 « Th small bell is lowered after the tipping ot The first charge passes from the sm: the large one without the hopper being After receiving one car load from the nex the hopper together with the closed smal! the material in it, turns through 60 deg. a; which the small bell is lowered. All of the 16 ears of the second charge pass in the same manner. J) the third charge the same occurs, with a tury through 120 deg., in the fourth through 180 deg, jy the fifth through 240 deg., and in the sixth thro 300 deg. The cycle is then resumed fror ginning in the same way. On the throat the following machine: stalled: a 10-hp. motor taking care of the d uting hopper; a brake which instantly stops the motor when the hopper has reached the position at which the small bell must be opened, and a peri- odically acting knife-switch of the enclosed type connected with the shaft rotating the main hopper. With the shaft of the hoisting engine is con- nected a switch which closes the current whenever the charging car takes an up-turned position at the top of the furnace. The arrangement is such as to provide for a certain leeway for the car for lubri- cation, inspection and repairs, without affecting the cycle of distribution. The valve gear of the steam cylinder of the small bell (located in the hoisting engine house) is provided with a solenoid which cuts off the admission of steam in such a way that the small bell cannot be opened until the hopper completes its turn. At the foot of the inclined bridge, in full view of the engineer, is placed the switchboard provided with seven automatically cut-in and out lamps, by means of which the engineer can see when the hopper is in motion, and where the charge goes. The main switchboard carries all the apparatus necessary for automatically starting and stopping the motor actuating the distributing hopper of the throat, and for closing the small bell and the cur- rent in the signaling lamps; it is placed at the engine in a special location which is kept locked; the starting rheostat of the motor is in the same place. The operation of the above devices may be summed up in the following manner: as soon as the main switch on the switchboard is closed by the action of the hoisting engine, the further evolu- tion of the cycle is entirely automatic, governed by the action of the hoisting engine, but independ- ent of the control of the engineer operating that engine. When the car loaded at the foot of the hoist comes to the top of the furnace, the perioc ically acting switch (at the engine) closes, and sets into action the solenoid at the valve gear, thus ¢' fectually closing the small bell and protecting " from opening too soon. At the same time the main switch on the switchboard is thrown over, thus re leasing the brake and gradually starting the dis- tributing hopper. After the hopper, together wi! the small bell, turns through a certain part of the circle, the switch on the throat, which is actuated by the motion of the hopper, automatically cuts off the current from the motor, sets the brake and releases the valve gear of the steam cylinder of the small bell, thus making it possible to lower the charge onto the large bell. After this the entire apparatus remains motionless until the next loaded car reaches the top of the furnace, when the opé™ Strib- neated in the same order as before for ar. hing of the gases is effected from two ead of the former system of using one ving to the conical shape of the upper furnace jacket, the gas outlets approach the center of the furnace which unites to extent the central and lateral systems of ction. The system of gas outlets repro- the illustrations is provided with two vith covers which replace all safety valves, eter of large gas outlets and the dust- ng considered as part of the buffer. ilar attention is due to the construction : outlets in the throat as shown in one of rations which secures lack of loss of use- of furnace usually caused by lateral further, the use of a cast armature pro- brickwork from the injurious influence onstituents in the mixture of ores and ind finally, their considerable width facili- tes a correct distribution of the gases. e adopted system of having a number of bends the throat, prevents the materials in the fur- from getting into the gas outlets and dust- er, and reduces the amount of dust carried the gases. The first is undoubtedly due to nsiderable height above the level of catch- ng, as well as to the use of two vertical gas out- leis passing into one inclined downtake. The sec- ond due to the great length of the gas outlet pipes and to the number of bends. The gas out- lets are where necessary provided by brickwork, which is only 50 mm. (2 in.) thick, so as to pro- tect the sheets from the action of the gases without at the same time materially increasing the load on the old jacket. The construction of the lift is such that it can safely handle 1200 poods (about 20 tons); by its means the installation and replacement of parts on the throat may be accomplished in a few hours, as an lift at one time the entire upper hopper or the large bell together with the cup. In installing the throat, suecessful use was made of the throat hoist and carriage on the bridge of the lift, b) means of pulley blocks. Such an arrangement of t facilitates not only the construction of the ‘oat, but also insures an ideal speed of repairs Without which the furnace might stay idle for a day or even longer. Each blast furnace man knows how injuriously operation of the furnace is affected now by all interruptions which destroy the useful inertia of running and facilitate the differentiation of the mixture of the ores and fluxes; in addition to that, curing the period of interruption the furnace pro- pig iron. This is why a serious effort made to have all unavoidable interruptions ttle time as possible. The construction of pe of lift, though attractively simple, pro- ‘acilities for rapid repairs, as was found tically on the occasion of the last replace- of the bell and cup on furnace No. 1, which rly three days. lined bridge consisted formerly of two ers placed at an angle of 55 deg. Their s bore against the foundations while their ‘Pper ends were riveted to the jacket of the fur- Ace ree pairs of columns of corresponding ‘e0" turther supported the bridge. The too close “ig between these girders and the jacket and ' construction adopted for tipping the pted the adoption, in the original design, drums for the hoisting ropes. new construction, in view of a certain the level of charging, through the intro- ths 1914 THE IRON AGE 1061 duction of the small bell, the angle of incline of the bridge has to be increased and the bridge itself lengthened, and it proved at the same time possi- ble to do away with the control drums. For the fixing of the upper part of the bridge an oscillating swing support was adopted. Such a construction, for the first time used in Russia, distributes in the most favorable manner the load on the bridge over the entire jacket of the furnace, by directing the reaction of the supports to the base of the columns supporting the jacket. This consideration was of particular importance in view of the weakness of the old jacket. This system of supports satisfies also the requirements due to the bending and growth of the bridge under the action of the load and tem- perature, and eliminates the vibration of the jacket which often causes the destruction of the brick work, especially in its upper layers. In America, lately, bridges of lighter constru tion are coming into use, but the change of bridge in this case was, of course, out of the question The blast furnace No. 1 of the Nicopol-Marioopol Company, now in the process of reconstruction, will be also equipped with the McKee throat, just as furnace No. 2. Special Steel Mill Electric Locomotive The Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., working in conjunction with the Baldwin Locomotive Works, has developed an interesting type of special electric locomotive for the Edgar Thompson Works of the Carnegie Stee! Company. This locomotive, which is rated at 42 tons is especially adapted for steel mill work, and prob ably the most striking feature is the extended front and rear platforms. There are other points of in- terest about the locomotive, as the motors are not of the ordinary railway type, but are commutating pole steel mill units. The motors used are of the same type as those employed by the steel company for operating cranes and other mill machinery. For this reason no spe \ Special Electric Locomotive f ra Steel M Fx ppe« with ole Motors cial spare parts are required and their construction and maintenance requirements are well known by every electrician in the mill. The motors, too, are not mounted on the axles as is the ordinary prac- tice, but are located under the extended platforms. In this way it is possible by lifting the flooring to get at the motors for inspection and repair. If re- pairs are needed the locomotive is run under a crane and the damaged armature, field coil, or the entire unit, if necessary, is lifted out, and a new part sub- stituted. In this way, it is pointed out, the locomo- tive is returned to service with a slight loss of time. The time required to repair a motor in place if an accident happens, as would be the case if the motors were mounted according to railway practice, is thus reduced. t * f aa. a aa up 1062 GEAR GENERATING MACHINE An Automatic Single-Pulley Drive Type for Cutting All Kinds A number of improvements have recently been made in the No. 5 gear generating machine built by the Lees-Bradner Company, Cleveland, Ohio, maker of automatic gear generating and thread milling machines. The original machine was de- scribed in The Iron Age, July 29, 1909. The changes for the most part relate to the drive. The machine cutting spur and helical gears and worm wheels and for threading worms. The standard machine will take work up to 14 in. in diameter and a special machine would take work up to 17!5 in. in diameter. Worms 8 in. in diameter and 8 in. long and up to 1-in. circular pitch can be threaded on the universal machine. The cone pulley drive on the original machine been replaced with a single-pulley drive a shown in the rear view of the machine, this drive being situated below the shaft on which the cone was previously located and between the cutter and spindle mechanism. The main driving shaft is now located in the position formerly occupied by the cone pulley. transmit the power from the is designed for has Gears lower shaft to the main driving shaft through the gear box giving nine changes of speed to the cutter a range of from 44 to 147 r.p.m. and with a back gear range of 3 1 3 to 10.8 to 1. The extreme back ratio of it possible to take advantage of the rigid construction of the machine 10.8 to 1 makes gear ike when using coarse pitches, and the low back gear ratio of 3 1/3 to 1 makes the production very good when using small hobs of light pitches. A plate fastened on the gear shield gives the cutter speeds and the used. With the cone pulley drive machine there were three changes of speed with a single belt and six changes with a double belt. By utilizing the constant belt speed and addi- tional reduction on the back gear the full capacity of the belt is delivered to the cutter. From the left end of the driving shaft, looking at the machine from the rear, power is taken di- rectly to the swivel head on which the cutter is gears to be THE IRON AGE Apri mounted. At the right of the main pinion which drives the rotating through a system of change gears as ij; type of machine. The machine automatically stops wh is completed, the entire machine being ed in. stead of simply the feed. The machine tonn, by shifting the belt to the loose pulley by device located over the top of the main 4 operates with the machine running in « r dives. tion. The lever for starting up again is the front of the machine just to the k micrometer handwheel. This has prov valuable time saver when the time to complete set of blanks is not very long, as the operator trols the different movements from the fr machine. The longitudinal feed of the work slide js, trolled by a jaw clutch operated by a hand ley from the front of the machine, replacing a frict clutch previously used. This feed is driven dir, from the work spindle to the feed screw by of change gears, the distance from center to cent to shaft being approximately 8% in., thus eliminat ing any error that might result from tors long shafts, which are conspicuous by their in this machine. The longest exposed tors , member is about 8 in. long in its extreme po Instead of operating with a push the feed screy pulls the work slide, which has a bearing the width of the main bed. The construction wil! traveling horizontal work slide is original with ' hobbing machines built by this company. In threading worms the change gear thrown around so as to allow the rotating shat ' be geared directly to the feed screw by the gearing. A new feature is a feed gearing 5 slotted in the form of an arc, which is rea¢ swung around to cover the gearing fully when ' change gearing is swung around for use [rom t rotating shaft to the feed screw in the machine. As in the original machine, a micromet cated on the front of the machine, which is | with graduations on a disk 6 in. in diameter ae is locked with a thumb screw at zero when star's yr rovide ns Cee ee ea eading. for duplicate work. new system It is easily adjusted and read- of lubrication has been here are two lubricating tubes that are by the two slotted clamps shown in the swivel head, the clamps being d arranged so that one oil tube is used 1ips off the cutter while the other is to keep the cutter and work covered ting compound. By using the two ibricant the chips can be readily re ¢ washed out without following the the work. rtant feature of the machine that adds is the fact that no part of the mechan- nded on a screw. All the mechanism is ntal plane and can be readily reached. of machine can be readily equipped nt-speed motor drive, as a motor can be he rear of the machine either above or n pulley. The loose pulley is mounted running on a hardened ng, thus eliminating the trouble often loose pulleys wearing their bearings isy and inoperative. i + earings and Bm iii ne noisv Production of Lead in 1913 lead in the Siebentha! 462.460 tion of primary refined 1913, as reported by C. E. States Geological Survey, was 1911 was the heaviest greater than in 1912 production, the primary lead in the United States in 191 1912, an in- ons. The quantity of secondary lead ning skimmings, drosses, old metals, 1913, ntity of primary lead smelted from 1913 $36,430 net production in eing 6085 tons sened imptior Ss, against 388,148 tons in net tons in against 67,168 tons was tons, against 12, while the quantity smelted or re- ore or foreign base bullion was 88.377 tons in 1912 oduction of lead in 1912 is stated as rainst 1,224,232 tons in 1911. Of the the percentage of the United States is The world’s figures for 1913 are not ome of those given for domestic pro- ir are subject to minor revision. THE IRON 180,894 tons in 1912, a decrease of L063 AGE A FURNACE STOCK LINE SHIELD A New Device to Protect the Inwall of a Blast Furnace and Successful The protection of the inwall of a blast furnace in the vicinity of the stock line has been the sub ject of much discussion. Many devices have been suggested, but the most recent development in this respect is the construction installed at the Keystone furnace some months ago of the Reading Iron Company, Reading, Pa. It is shown in the illus tration and is a device patented by Frank C. Rob erts, Philadelphia, and Albert Broden, blast fur- nace superintendent of the Reading Iron Company As indicated, the usual brick inwall displaced for a distance of 16 ft. below the top of the furnace by a cylindrical metal casing supported from below by the outer metal shell of the furnace. The casing is arranged to support only its own The charging hopper, etc., are carried independent! by the furnace shell casing is secured to the furnace shell by an annulat wrought metal diaphragm, designed to allow for the vertical expansion of the casing and to prevent the escape of gas from the furnace. A circular spra pipe and distributing troughs are located on ths outside of the central part of the of external water cooling Protection of the end of the brick inwall is afforded by taining coils of pipe, through whic} lated, also by metal we ight The upper end of the meta casing to permit upper castings co! wate! ~ reu water pockets which accumulate the overflows t petore water of the the cooling systen waste. The gas downcomer is connected to the tnat the disturbing des gned vertically without The entire casing is made of steel flanged expand he downcomer. casing by a joint so Y omar mat ising may castings except the upper ring which heavily cast iro! banded. A series of openings are provided through the furnace shell around the bottom The casing is ribbed and and the top of the ta casing; a rapid air circulation takes place throug! these openings and over the casing. The experience of the Reading Iron Company has demonstrated at that air cooling is sufficient under ordinary condi ; on _ . be =~, aN | , i if 5 | =a | if yA , | ; f/f | > 7 j \ a 1 : , Wy ' (io as Ad 5S ac} “oF 1 oi y EY y ti | 1 ’ } | tions and that water cooling is on ecessal I emergencies. It is essential, however, to circulate water continuous tnrougn tne asting tnat protects the upper part of the inwa The company’s experience wit! tnis design at tief protection has been so satisfactory tnat it nas re- cently contracted for a similar equipment for its Crumwold furnace at Emaus, Pa oo 1064 A HEAVY DRILLING MACHINE A Vertical Multiple - Spindle Tool with a Wide Range of Independent Feeds A larger and heavier type of multiple-spindle drilling machine has been added to the line built by the National Automatic Tool Company, Rich- mond, Ind. One of the principal features of the machine is the provision of a wide range of inde- pendent drill speeds. It is pointed out that in this way it is possible to secure approximately the cor- rect feed for each size of drill used, as there are Hit JNM A Larger and Heavier Multiple-Spindle Vertical Drilling Ma- chine three speed changes provided by the speed box and this number is doubled by the mechanism in the head. The machine is mounted on a base of massive construction, having an oil channel around the edge for catching the surplus cutting lubricant. A screen pocket in the channel through which the cutting lubricant must flow is relied upon to re- move any chips before the liquid passes to an aux- iliary tank. A pump, which is entirely independent of those employed for oiling the machine, brings the cutting lubricant back to the drill point. If desired, a T-slot can be furnished in the base. Several sizes of head are furnished and can be equipped with various combinations of adjustable spindles and cluster boxes for carrying drills rang- ing from 1% to 1 in. in diameter, while special heads can be built to order. All of the heads have power feed, a back geared pilot wheel to facilitate rapid advance and return and an automatic feed trip and are counterbalanced. Hardened and ground steel is used for the spindles, which have ball trust bear- ings and lock nuts at the upper ends to take up all wear. The spindles can be fitted for either straight shank or Morse taper drills and can also be provided with individual flexible oil tubes for flooding the drills with cutting lubricant when drill- ing in steel or aluminum. Variation in the length THE IRON AGE of the drills is compensated for by a cal ad. justment of the bronze bearings carr e drill spindles. It is pointed out that this a: secured easily and quickly by loosen that is accessible at all times, irrespe of bi : closely the spindles may be grouped. |: emphasized that this spindle arrangeme ld bearing rigidly to the end of the arm, which st be moved to cover any layout within t} the head being used. The spindle center ang +, center of the arm are in line, a construction why is relied upon to eliminate the tendency o/ the a» to twist and break the drills. The universal joints used on these machin. milled from the solid. Only five pieces are seq their construction, and it is emphasized that jojy: range of do not depend on drilled cross pins or smal! screws The speed box, which gives three changes speed, is of the sliding, transmission type. The gears are of coarse pitch with wide faces and ay hardened. The speed box and the feed box o& have a cascade system of lubrication with a sigh feed glass which shows the operator at once whether the pump is working properly or not. By the of this speed box it is emphasized that a number © o | eater A ~~] ~ Details of the Spindle Arm Const! of different sizes of drill can be used * the proper speeds and feeds. If, for & ample, 4% and 1 in. drills are being Use’ in cast iron on the same piece of Wor’, it is possible to obtain a feed of 472 iD. per min. The speed box lever is adju to give a rate of 547 r.p.m., or 71.5 tt per min. for the 1%-in. drill, with a feed per revolution of 0.0086 in. The driving pinion in the head which drives the 12 drills is shifted to a lower position tos!" a speed of 271 r.p.m. or 71 ft. per mi. with a feed of 0.0174 in. per revolution of the spindle. In this way it is possible to ge ® peripheral velocity that is practically the same, while the feed of the smaller drill is approximate one-half that of the larger. Vanadium steel frames are now incorporated 1) : locomotives of the Southern Railway, the first being put in service in 1907. The Delaware, sere? wanna & Western has approximately 200 locos equipped with the same type of frame, the first of ® were installed in 1908. 14 THE IRON AGE 1065 ine Tools Legally Defined Special Grinding Machine for Safe Work titutes a machine tool has been again For grinding the edges of pieces used in the d by the ruling of Judge Fischer of manufacture of safes and vaults, the Detrick & the United States General Appraisers Harvey Machine Company, Baltimore, Md., has It disposes of a large number of pro- brought out a special machine. The machine is issifies a great variety of machines. built in a number of different sizes, to enable work case arose under the tariff act of of various lengths to be ground, but the width of ight that the decision will apply to a_ the table is the same in all, 32 in. inder the present law. The protests The bed of the machine is of the usual type, perated and power-driven machines with a planed portion on one side, to which a arious ways to fabricate metal, wood, sub-base is fastened at right angles by a tongue paragraph 199 of the tariff of 1909, and groove joint and bolts. This sub-base acts as as made at 45 per cent. ad valorem, a support for the driving and belt shifting mech or wares not specially provided for anisms. In the top of the bed are provided two nposed wholly or in part of iron, steel V bearings for the table, spaced 21 in. on centers other metal,” whereas the importers The table is gibbed on one side, with a view to of 30 per cent. under paragraph 197 preventing tilting. An overhead countershaft of ols. the hanger type, which is intended to operate at ary, 1913, the Court of Customs Ap- a speed of 300 r.p.m., transmits power through a that “machine tools embraced only belt to the machine, the drive being through a pai driven implements as were used in of bevel gears and a spiral gear engaging a rack on metal, wood or stone.” Subsequently, attached to the underside of the table. The speed lecision, the term was further limited to of the table is constant, 24 ft. per min. in either wood-working and stone-working ma-_ direction, with the normal countershaft speed. er power-driven or otherwise. The pres- The spindle, which is 3% in. in diameter, is n goes into the question of the applica- driven through bronze and steel bevel gears by an ver of various kinds, and in summing up, §8-in. belt from the countershaft. It revolves in a ge Fischer says: “It will be readily seen that bronze bushed bearing, which is externally tapered pre s court interpretations of the term ‘ma- and has a take-up for wear. The end of the spindle ‘ should be further limited and restricted is arranged for receiving a grinding wheel 20 in. pplication; that, in addition to a machine in diameter with a 4-in. face. The speed of the perated by other than hand power, and de-_ grinding wheel is 600 r.p.m. A vertical adjust- work on metal, it must also perform its ment of approximately 12 in. is provided for the erations with the aid of a cutting tool.” spindle bearing, and is relied upon to give the Protests were sustained in the case of the fol- proper alignment of the wheel when the bearing machines: Chain-making machines, metal is swiveled for angular grinding. To enable this ‘ making machines, machines for cutting and to be done the pulating old tin cans, machines for engraving r . spindle bearing iH metal, machines for cutting metal and metal is clamped _ to ve manufacturing machines. The list fol- | a swiveling AL chines ruled to be not machine tools: | bracket swing- ne ot iron hand punching, shearing and cut- ing from a trun- ; nines, and various separate and additional nion bearing . parts thereof, knitting machines, paper-polishing through which b we watch-engraving machines, carbon brush- achines, lead-pencil machines, tin-can nines, machine for making metal hose, r rolling aluminum, wire-crimping ma- the driving | shaft revolves. If desired, the . bracket can be 5 a + + ps ik a ‘at Edge Grinding Machine That Has Been Developed for Use by Safe and Vault Manufacturers ces : fat : ne for grinding tools, machine for clamped to a T-slotted plate, which is mounted on cere r ind nickel into cubes, bronze powder- the upper surface of the sub-base. This upright ‘ oe nes, chain making and soldering ma- can be moved toward or away from the table by ae a ‘f as to power employed), rolling mills, hand, the power being transmitted through a hand- hee a! . riveting hammer. wheel and screw. byte Producing Steel in Electric Furnac: Observations Based on Experience Here and in Europe—Types of Furnaces and Cost Data—The Fu An illustrated lecture on “The Electric Furnace for Steel Making” was presented before the Cleve- land Engineering Society, Cleveland, Ohio, April 14, by Walter N. Crafts, president of the Crucible Steel Forge Company, Cleveland, and an inventor of an electric furnace of the induction type, which was discussed in The Iron Age, September 18, 1913. Mr. Crafts treated his subject under the four fol- lowing heads:—‘“‘Methods of Heating by Electri- city,” “Types of Furnaces,” “Metallurgical Opera- tion of Electric Furnaces” and the “Future of Elec- tric Steel.” At the outset he declared that the art of steel- making has developed to such an extent that excel- lent steel is being made for all commercial pur- poses at a cost considered reasonable, and with the crucible, Bessemer and open-hearth processes pro- ducing steel of good quality at Jow costs it will be necessary for the advocates of any new methods or processes to show some real commercial advantages as compared with the older methods of steel mak- ing. He did not think the electric furnace is any universal panacea for all the ills that steel is heir to and declared that the development of electric steel making is suffering from too great enthusiasm on the part of its friends, claims having been made for the furnaces and steel that can not be substan- tiated in commercial operating conditions. How- ever, he felt that there is a great field for the elec- tric furnace, although he does not expect it to re- place the Bessemer or open-hearth process, at least for a great many years. THE VARIOUS ARC The speaker pointed out the fact that the under- lving principle of all electric steel furnaces is merely that of heating and melting by the use of electric current, alternating current being neces- sary for commercial operation. The heating of steel is accomplished in two different ways accord- ing to the type of furnace, so that there is a natural division into arc and resistance furnaces. In de- scribing the different furnaces he confined himself to a few types which have come into most general use in this country and in Europe and which had been most generally adopted in commercial prac- tice. He said that the three best known types of are furnaces are the Stassano, Girod and Heroult, all in use in Europe and in this country. The Stassano furnace is purely a radiation fur- nace, which is adaptable to small sizes but has not been successful in the larger units. The current consumption is high on account of the small sizes but this furnace has the great advantage that it can use single or polyphase current of any fre- quency. The current consumption, using cold scrap and refining to the quality of ordinary steel cast- ings is 800 to 1000 kw. hr. per ton of steel. Several of these furnaces are in use in Europe and possibly three or four have been built in this country, of which one or two have been abandoned and other furnaces substituted. The Girod furnace is a combination arc and re- sistance furnace. This furnace has electrodes that enter through the top and also water cooled bottom electrodes. The speaker found conflicting state- ture of the Industry ments regarding the wear and life of + The life of the bottoms is said to be | 120 heats when cold stock is being melted, and ting in a bottom requires three days. plant in Ugine, France, during 1913 the char ton of steel for refractories and linings was $2 }y the management expects this cost to run somewhat lower this year. The electrode cost at Uvine \ from $1.25 to $1.65 per ton. The current ¢op. sumption at the Ugine plant varies from 900 + 1200 kw.-hr. per ton according to the quality and kind of steel that is being made, the high curren consumption being attributed at least partially ¢ the fact that all of the steel is melted from th cold. The product at Ugine goes largely into steel castings, tool steel and forgings. The Krupp Stee Works, Essen, Germany, has in operation a 10-top Girod furnace and the speaker said he understood that the Bethlehem Steel Company is building a 10-ton furnace of this type for making high grade \4 work. The Heroult furnace, the speaker said, is better known in this country than any of the others, and has reached a high state of development both in Europe and here. In the United States the patents are owned by the Steel Corporation, and in its hands the furnace has probably attained its best efficiency. He referred to various _ electrode troubles experienced in the operation of Heroult furnaces and investigation of electrodes by t Steel Corporation. The first electrode used in the 15-ton furnace at South Chicago was 24 in. squar and 10 ft. long. Within the past year or ty amorphous electrodes have been made in this cow! try which are giving better results than was [for- merly considered possible. Formerly the electrode consumption in a Heroult furnace was 35 to 40 !! per ton, then it was reduced to 30 Ib. and he had recently heard of one furnace that is averaging only 22 lb. per ton. With cold melting there 's an average electrode cost of $1 to $1.25 per ton steel. In refining hot metal the electrode consump tion will average from 5 to 12 Ib. per ton. Th current consumption for the Heroult furnace W! vary greatly according to the size of the furnace In an English steel plant which melts from cold and makes high quality steel the current sumption in a furnace of less than 3-ton capac! was much less than 700 kw.-hr. per ton. A mu higher consumption should be expected on a >" Heroult furnace operating for steel castings on “* day turn but if continuous operation could be the current consumption should be brought dow! nearly to 600 kw.-hr. per ton. e e the h INDUCTION FURNACES The induction furnace is really a large ‘r# former for alternating current of either one, or three phases. The first form of induction “™ nace was the Kjellin. Mr. Kjellin was the first develop commercial electric furnaces and severs of the old Kjellin furnaces are still in use. The next development was the Frick arrangement the coils. There are several of these furnace © ™ operation. The greatest single step in the devel 1066 iction furnaces was the Roechling- type. ker referred to the comparative ad- the two general types of furnaces. furnace has no electrodes and con- freed from electrode troubles. On the the shape of the bath is much more than is the case in the arc furnaces, ine is probably at least twice as long as open-hearth or arc furnace of the same e result is that the scorification at the lag much greater than in the case of the arc ynace. After a certain number of heats the inductic irnace must be shut down and relined. 1, European practice this is done every 15 days and takes 2'» days. This delay would be impossible nder American conditions of steel plant operation. The current consumption of the induction furnace varies according to the size of the furnace and the wality of metal but in general will run from 650 to 400 kw.-hr. per ton. While the wear on lining is » distinct disadvantage in the induction furnace type has certain advantages. The current iemand is much more uniform and the load on the generating plant is much more desirable than in the case of the are furnace. The total kilowatt pacity used by the two furnaces is very different and the installation cost for the induction furnace mewhat more than is the case with the arc However, the induction furnace has cer- dvantages which to a person who has had ‘perience with open-hearth practice are very great. The process of melting and refining a heat f steel in the induction furnace is simplicity itself. Norway the speaker saw a 4-ton furnace harged with as poor a lot of cold scrap as could rined and after the furnace was filled full of the charge the current was turned on nply turning a switch and setting a Rheostat. Atter doing this the melter went away and did hot return to the furnace for an hour. In about ‘5 minutes the entire mass had settled down into t iten bath and the furnace was ready to e the remainder of the charge of cold scrap. iter the second charge was melted a slag was remove the phosphorus. This heat was led for cheap tool steel and no effort was reduce the phosphorus and sulphur to a He said that within the past three years yecome possible to refine in the induction ace just as well as in the are furnace. le speaker said that many considerations will ‘iter into a wise choice of a furnace. For N an induction furnace must have a little ' kept on all the time and therefore is more r continuous operation, while an arc fur- ve better adapted to intermittent opera- the other hand if current is bought from tation the cost of current per unit will increased by the higher demand. metallurgical operation of all kinds of elec- ‘naces is the same. The possibility of on the bath of steel, at will, either or reducing slag is a feature that of electric furnaces their great ad- the Bessemer or open-hearth proc- th of the latter processes the heat iS maintained by oxidation, either cel itself or in immediate contact with ts slag. In the electric furnace the come from oxidation at all. In the ectric steel after the phosphorus and been lowered as far as desired pig added to obtain the desired carbon ty THE IRON AGE 1067 content, and any other alloys, if alloy steels are to be made. It has been claimed ever since electric steel has been made that segregation in the ingot has been eliminated and investigations made in this country and Europe seem to substantiate this claim to a surprising degree. It is an interesting fact that electrically made steel seems to be more dense than either Bessemer or open-hearth steel. This is probably due to its greater freedom from occluded gas pockets, both of blow hole and microscopic size. THE FUTURE OF ELECTRIC FURNACE STEEL Mr. Crafts said that perhaps the best forecast as to the future manufacture and use of electri- cally made steel can be made by reviewing the present activities and by mentioning some of the elements that may affect the production of electric steel in the future. Electric furnaces were first used in Europe to make the lower grades of tool steel, but gradually furnace practice has been im- proved until now excellent tool steel, even high speed, is made in electric furnaces and at costs very much lower than are possible in the old cru- cible process. The next step was the use of elec- tric steel in small and intricate steel castings. In Europe the electric furnace has largely superseded the crucible and Bessemer processes for steel cast ings. For some time in Europe and lately in this country electric steel castings are entering into competition with open-hearth steel castings. In Europe there are several steel foundries making castings exclusively from electric furnaces and they are able to sell in competition with open- hearth foundries. These foundries are selling a considerab