The Iron Age 1915-01-28: Vol 95 Iss 4

ul VAALOUELADAPODAEOEDOGEDALOOOUDEUEDOUOTADADOOUAEDEDUSOCVEUEDOEETOEGER ETO EDADETEOUPUODET ETUDE TELAT AA ATA DOSUOU UEP EEE ETAT DUA A TELS TED ELTA ETNA AEA ELUATE sVUUNUUUENUUNUUENUOOOUOGDENDENUSUUUNOOENUONDCGUUENUOVLOGOOSUOOOURULENOTUAUEOUEQOUANUOTUUEOCEAUUNUUELUDUAOUERLLETTSOD POAT ENOPLAEOUUEAEUL ENMU LAU TUE Established 1855 New VALUES TOADORDAD LUALERERALTCD UL DOREOE EET YT, j : y } IN = , wt vn ' wii neerronui EL York, January 28, 1915 Vol. 95: No. 4 A Factory Built at 60 Cents Per Square Foot The Hart & Hutchinson Plant at New Britain, Conn.—Details of the Construc- tion—Steel Strips to Prevent Floor Wear Che creation of the new factory of the Hart & Hutchinson Company, New Britain, Conn., manu- facturer of sceel lockers, was unusual in that the building was constructed under plans furnished by a mill engineer who guaranteed a maximum cost of 60 cents per square foot of floor space, including mitted by contractors was 88 cents per square foot Then along came the engineer in question with plans which carried with them an agreement that th factory should be constructed on a 60-cent basis Under his proposition, if he failed, he was to re ceive no compensation. He did not fail. The re Press Department, Showing the Transportable Tables for Holding Material Conveniently for the Machine Oper rything above ground after filling and levelling. company had acquired the locker business of the rt & Cooley Company, with the privilege of con- iing the manufacture of the product in the er’s plant for a limited period only. Under the ‘inal plans for a factory, the lowest figure sub- 231 sults are wholly satisfactory. In New Britain the custom is to go up in the air to secure space; the usual factory products are light in weight, but the Hart & Hutchinson Company departed from this practice and confined its plant to one floor, because of the greater economy where the product is heavy H , . = oe THE IRON AGE January 28, °91; € “4 , if ii] i 4 -; bibs cs id coer 7 tf a » a _ ee — i EES inion a — - a | ‘ " ee r é )* Yellow Pine | Ft ge \I i} A 1} 4 Y ? Vi it : i Pa } 7 oC > Cinde ” Soft Tar: covered ; Lt | with 2*Chestnut and §"Maple Floor —— ————— Lemay! Z a hy Se nn ree ; iin ae NANA f CBN ISS ONL BSUS ae CTRL EAL COT ROR RRS \ ( t é Were Spt Toward One Sicle Requiring Sp and somewhat bulky. As a consequence at least in part, the total payroll has decreased, while produc tion has increased about 50 per cent. as compared to what had been accomplished in the old factory, one reason being the better opportunity for scien tific routing, and another the fewer foremen re quired, for even a working foreman constitutes an additional overhead cost. The site is excellent. Little desirable land for industrial purposes is available in the central por tion of New Britain, and therefore the compan) purchased a large area within the city limits but in the suburbs, lying between the Western Division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and the double track interurban electric line of the Connecticut Company, which connects the city with Piainville. For the present a siding from the steam railroad is not practical, because of the difference in grade, but eventually the New York, New Haven & Hartford will lower its tracks at this point to get rid of an expensive grade, which will bring them to the desired level. In the meantime the electric line af- fords ample facilities. Freight cars are hauled to and from the factory siding, and a regular trolley express service takes care of smaller shipments. This spur track was laid out very carefully as to grade. It dips from the main line, until the car floors are level with the loading platform of the shipping department, and ascends ‘until at the re ceiving end of the shop the tracks are level with the How the Angle Irons and Other Semi-finished Products Are Stored ~ rv 28, 191! permitting the unloading of heav: ils by gravity. though the land secured for the building site ewhat low, there is plenty of slope to take the drainage. The floor is laid without sup The ground was leveled up 2 ft. the floor level and then filled in with gravel hard and compact, and upon this about 12 ashes was placed and rolled to a 6-in. thick nd then 3 in. of hot sand and tar, into which hestnut planks were tamped, and on top of as placed the finished flooring of 1l-in. hard n unusual feature of the floor is the use eel strips placed on edge between the boards se areas which are traversed by trucks. The | strips, which were recently brought out by the Stanley Works, New Britain, as described some time n these columns, are of the nature of angle Noor, timbers. W ie Construction and the Wooden Ceiling Timbers Supported by the I-beams rons. The edges, being flush with the wood surface, ake the greater portion of the wear. They are ving much satisfaction under conditions of severe sage. The main building is 500 ft. long and 75 ft. vide with one row of posts through the center. These posts are on 16-ft. centers leaving almost an inobstructed floor space of 75 x 500 ft. The sides are practically all double glazed windows, affording ample light in the darkest days. Between the 18- steel I-beams are longitudinal 6 x 10-in. wooden purlins on 8-ft. centers which carry the roof. This roof is of the ordinary pitched type with a monitor over the section used by the japanning department. in order to get additional room in this department, t has been necessary to set the posts 8 ft. off center. This was taken care of by splicing the I-beams at the ridge, as indicated in an accompanying drawing. At the front of the building are the offices and the shipping department, and back of them are ne japanning department (cut off from the rest of the structure by a fire wall) and the machine shop, while at the rear, occupying most of the space of structure are the manufacturing departments. Up the center are racks for the storage of finished nd semi-finished products, while at the rear of factory is the storage for steel. Bolivian exports of minerals in the form of con- ntrates 40 to 78 per cent. pure were as follows in 13 in metric tons: Tin, 44,594 (38,614 im 1912); pper, 4019 (4707 in 1912); tungsten, 282 (474 in 12); zine, 7367 (8961 in 1912), and lead, 1763 (1074 m 1912). THE IRON AGE 233 Ventilation Standards for Factories \ set of minimum ventilation requirements fo and semi-public buildings has bee committee of the American Society Ventilating Engineers as a : yr pub prepared by . Heating and Dasis tor egisiation which +} 4 wn he society can recommend. The recommendatior the standards for factories is given below. The com mittee is composed of Prof. James D. Hoffman, pro fessor of mechanical engineering, University ol Net Dr. E. Vernon Hill, Depart Frank T. Chapman, American Radi raska, Lincoln, Neb.; ment of Health, Chicago, and Eastern manager Vento Department, ator Company, New York. A minimum floor area of 25 sa. ft., and a minimun cubic space of 250 cu. ft. per occupant shall be pro vided in all work rooms and no work room, of which occupancy is taken after the date of issuance of this a clear hight of 10 ft from an uncon provision, shall have less than \ positive supply of taminated shall be outdoor air source provided the work room at all times’ during working hours, and the quantity of this positive supply of outdoor air shal! be based upon a minimum requirement of 1500 cu. ft. per hour per occupant. The distribution of the supplied outdoor air shall be so arranged as to maintain the mperature require ment without uncomfortable drafts, or any draft lowe than 60 deg. F. in occupied spaces. A test of proper air supply and distribution will be that the CO, content in any occupied part of a work room shall not at any time exceed 10 parts in 10,000 parts of air, based upor tests taken in a zone from 3 ft. to 6 ft. above the floor line. The temperature of the air in the work room shall maintained within the range at all times during working hours, be throughout the actual working spaces, of 60 deg. to 72 deg. F., depending upon the of work and workers—except when the outside perature is sufficiently high that artificial heating in the building is not required or when the particular class of manufacture or work requires or makes de sirable other temperatures that may be approved by the department of health. The temperature of the air ir offices shall be maintained during occupancy within the range of 65 deg. to 70 deg. F.; in wash, dressing and locker rooms during working hours, 60 deg. to 70 deg F., and in toilet rooms 55 deg. to 68 deg. F. Accurate thermometers, properly protected by open wire shields, shall be provided, set and maintained at a hight of 5 ft. from the floor of all work rooms, at least one thermometer for every 2000 sq. ft. of floor area. In addition, there shall be provided one such thermometer in each office, wash room, toilet room and locker room. If in the opinion of the department of health the air supply to any building is deemed impure or es pecially dust laden, filters, air washers or other ap pliances, satisfactory to the department, may be required. class tem Industrial Engineering at Cornell An industrial engineering department has been es tablished in Sibley College, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. It is intended to meet an increasing demand from the commercial side of the industry for tech nically trained men. The department will be under the immediate charge of Prof. D. S. Kimball, professor of machine design at Cornell and the author of books and papers on industrial management. The new course will be offered to seniors in the next college year and besides industrial engineering and industrial design will cover accounting, business law, government contro] of injury, ete. Pipes of asphalt-paper, a special German product, are replacing iron, steel, copper and clay pipes in Aus tria for conveying everything but hot fluids, concen trated acids and petroleum. a arte r Blast-Furnace Charging Apparatus Special Designs with Subsequent Improvements to Insure Thor- ough Distribution in the Stack BY FRANK C. ROBERTS When the application of labor-saving devices to the handling of the materials to be delivered into the blast furnace was first seriously considered, it was speedily recognized that little could be expected unless some suitable means were found for deliver ing the materials into the furnace proper, in such manner that there would result a reasonably uni- form distribution both of volume and of coarse and fine materials over the cross section of the furnace. It was also quite generally concluded that the double skip hoist presented the simplest method of elevat- ing the materials from the stock house level to the top of the furnace, a conclusion which added to the difficulties by reason of the fact that the discharge from a skip car has a natural tendency in itself to roughly separate the contents into coarse and fine materials. MAIN AND SUPPLEMENTARY HOPPERS With the foregoing conditions in mind, the writer designed the furnace charging apparatus il Figs. 1 and 2—Stationary Main and Supplementary lustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in 1898. This equipment was first placed in use in 1899 at the Lebanon fur- naces in Lebanon, Pa., and subsequently at many other plants. In essence, the apparatus consists of the main bell and hopper, a supplementary bell and hopper placed concentrically above the former, and two adjustable chutes, one on each side of the supplementary hopper, designed to conduct the ma- terials discharged by the skip cars of a double skip hoist into the supplementary hopper. These chutes are so constructed that the coarse materials dis- charged from the skip car rebound from the side of the chute opposite the skip car and become re- mixed with the finer materials as they pass through the chute, the whole mass of material having its direction of flow deflected at right angles to the direction in which it leaves the skip car. Again, the chutes are carried on wheels and are so designed that they may be adjusted backward or forward and may also be twisted horizontally. The chutes discharge into the supplementary ho; around the central bell rod and the adjustment the chutes is provided in order to vary the open of discharge by increasing or decreasing it or } providing more opening on one side of the bell rod than on the other, and thereby controlling the « tribution in the hopper. A traveling crane ried by crane girders provides convenient means for the renewal of parts; the crane girders support the supplementary hopper. The arrange ment of levers and operating cylinders is evident; the latter are equipped with steam cushions. The distribution secured by this design of apparatus, both as to volume and coarse and fine materials, proved quite satisfactory, so much so in fact that it is still in use. REVOLVING THE SUPPLEMENTARY HOPPER Subsequently, it occurred to the writer that : more thorough distribution in the furnace might result if the already good distribution in the sup Hoppers for Charging Blast Furnaces plementary hopper, which must necessarily be some what similar in each filling of the supplementary hopper, should be further distributed by revolving the supplementary hopper and discharging its con- tents into the main hopper at various points in its revolution. It was very evident that provision could be made for revolving the supplementary hop per in Figs. 1 and 2, by providing a rack on thi hopper engaging with a pinion operated by 4! electric motor. These conditions led to the design of apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 4, which was first placed in use in 1905. It will be noted that this design is practically identical with that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except that means are provided for revolving the supplementary hopper. This charging apparatus may be operated as follows: (a) The supplementary hopper may be station- ary while materials are dumped into it and on re- ceiving its charge may be revolved any desired 234 iry 28, 1915 umber of degrees, by means of a limit switch | of the motor, before it is discharged. \ile the distribution is undoubtedly improved ; method of operation, yet it is equally true leads to the concentration of fine materials d points in the furnace. To illustrate—when pper is filled with coke while stationary, the aterial which dribbles into the hopper is ntrated in a comparatively narrow segment of nd 4 hopper and when revolved a fixed number of legrees this same fine material is ultimately dis- harged into the furnace at one of four fixed seg- ents of the furnace, there being generally four nts in the circumference at which the hopper is lischarged in succession. The writer therefore pre- ‘ers the following methods of operation: The supplementary hopper may be revolved e it is being filled with materials and discharged contents while it is stationary. By this ethod a much better distribution of materials is ired within the supplementary hopper than un- the method outlined in (a), and the fine mate- referred to under (a) is distributed around he hopper and ultimately around the furnace cross tion. The supplementary hopper may be revolved tinuously. In this event, the revolving of the per while the materials are being delivered leads to the advantages stated under (b), the discharge of the hopper at constantly ing points in its revolution avoids the possible entration of any particular distribution of fine oarse materials at fixed points in the furnace. er the doctrine of chances and without fixed ts for discharge, it is very unlikely that the er would be emptied twice at the same point ts revolution during a considerable period of UNIFORMITY AN IMPORTANT FACTOR is generally recognized that uniformity is a important factor in the conditions governing t-furnace operations, and the writer believes the methods of charging outlined under (b) c) will give better results in the uniformity THE IRON ww _' AGE 23 of the distribution of volume and of fine and coarse materials over the cross section of the furnace than the method described under (a) and that of the two, method (c) is preferable to (b). Methods (b) and (c) are covered by patents granted in 1912. Fig. 5 shows a later design of the apparatus wherein it will be noted that the small bell is oper- ated by a steam cylinder placed concentric with and above the bell. Same Apparatus as Figs. 1 and 2 Except Supplementary Hopper Revolves in Charging the Blast Furnace Later Design in Which the Small Bell is Operated by a Steam Cylinder Fig > 236 THE IRON CENTER HEAD BORING MILL A 73-In. Boring and Turning Machine with an Extra Adjustable Head. The Niles-Bement-Pond Company, 111 Broad way, New York City, recently furnished the Tro Engine & Machine Company, Troy, Pa., with a 73-in. boring and turning mill, equipped with a This machine is also built in three other sizes, designated as the 44, 53 and 62 in. sizes. This extra head is located on the rail between the two heads with which machines of this nature are regularly equipped and has a rack and p adjustment. If desired, the center head can be traversed to the left and the regular head at the right end of the rail brought to the center to re place it or the same ment can be used for the left head. In design- ing the machine care has been taken to central- ize the control center boring head. inion arrange- as far as possi- ble and to pro- vide protection for the gears and guard against damage to the machine should obstruc- tions be encoun- tered by any of the heads or bor- ing bars. The spindle of the central boring head is driven by an ad- justable - speed motor, having a range of 3 to 1, mounted on the left end of the cross rail. A pull pin conveniently located on the head provides three positive feeds, and the spindle has rapid traverse by a large handwheel. A clutch on the horizontal driving shaft disengages the drive from the central boring spindle when it is desired to feed the spindle without rotating it, as is some- times the case when finish boring is done with the table revolving and the center boring spindle sta- tionary. All the changes of feed and their reversal, the rapid power traverse or hand adjustment of the saddles and the bars and the cross rail adjustment and table control are within reach from the oper- ator’s position. One lever disengages feed, engages fine and coarse feed and operates the fast power traverse which is provided in either direction for the saddles and bars. Automatic releasing ratch- ets, located at the sides of the saddles, provide a hand adjustment for the saddles and bars. The machine is entirely self-contained, no parts extending below the floor line and no special founda- tion being required. The housings are of the con- ventional box-girder form with broad faces and double webs. There are no openings in the front 4 It Boring and Turning Mill Additior Equipped to the Two AGE January 28, | \\|5 face, the cross-rail elevating screws being lo: .teq between the housings, which are securely bolt the bed and tied together at the top by a | The table is deep and is strongly reinf by ribbing. It is supported on a large-diametey «; nular bearing, running in an oil bath, and is d by a wide-face, coarse-pitch bevel gear. Four pairs of parallel and eight radial T-slots are provided j; the surface of the table. The table spindle, wh long and of large diameter, is maintained in alig; ment by an upper and a lower bearing. The forme; is bored out of the solid bed and is fitted with a; adjustable taper bushing to take up wear, while the latter has a bronze bushing. An _ adjustab\k threaded collar on the end of the spindle is relied upon to prevent lifting of the table. The cross rail is of the three-track type, having a narrow gui at the with the saddle travers. ing screw lo cated betwee the guiding surfaces. The section of the cross rail: is that of a box girder with a wide face and corresponding- ly deep. Power adjustment is provided, and the cross rail can be clamped to the housings if desired. The bearings of the saddles on the cross rail are wide, and taper gibs are em- ployed to take up the wear. Each saddle can be locked in place by a clamping _ bolt when the bar is feeding, and they are swiv- eled by an arc worm at the top. The bars are octagonal steel forgings with a bearing on four sides, thus enabling wear to be taken up in all directions. Continuous caps are provided for the bars, and a binder bolt is located in the bottom of the cap for locking the bar when the saddle is feeding. The feeds are independent for each head, both in amount and direction for down, cross and angular feeding. They are positive, continuous and reversible and eight changes are provided. Steel forgings are used for the tool hold- ers, and provision is made for boring, turning and facing operations. The holders have straight shanks and are readily removable for the insertion of special boring bars. The counterweights for each bar are attached to the same chain, but act inde- pendently. The chain is placed at the rear of the bars to prevent interference from overhead cranes when placing work on or removing it from the table. It is emphasized that this arrangement of counter- weights will not pull the swings over nor interfere with the movement of the saddles. To guard brace. botton with a Regular Side Central Head in Heads Boring struction when feeding or the fast traverse aged, safety friction clutches are located on rtical spline shaft. machine can be driven by a direct or alter- current motor or through a belt. When a current motor is used, one having a 4 to | range is employed, ard is carried on a drive n the rear between the housings. From otor power is transmitted through a double clutch gears, thus providing two mechanical! changes, which, in conjunction with the cus ry minimum of 16 speeds in the controller, pro- at least 32 table speeds. The motor is fitted pushbutton control and a dynamic brake for the table is provided. When alternating-current r drive is used the power is transmitted from nstant-speed motor through a speed box and gear located in the rear of the mill, giving 12 changes. This box fitted with a hand- erated friction clutch for starting and stopping table, and a brake controlled by the same lever ‘right side of the mill is provided. A separate r, located on the top brace of the mill, is fur d for elevating the cross rail and providing power traverse to the bars and saddles. The t-driven machines built on the convertible and can be readily changed to motor drive, the t drive being through a single pulley to the speed and back gear used in connection with the nating-current motor drive. is are Universal Hollow-Hexagon Turret Lathe A recent product of the Warner & Swasey Com pany, Cleveland, Ohio, is an improved type of uni hollow-hexagon turret lathe. The principal is a new type of headstock, with the gears ng in oil. Other changes include an increased rking range, increased power of the headstock, an » in the rigidity and strength of the two tool ng units, as well as the use of larger and more tools. he pan of the machine has been placed low to de an increased chip space and also to give access to those parts of the machine directly er the pan. The legs have been redesigned along nes of the semi-box type with a wide spread to a solid support and secure freedom from on. The turret and carriage have simultan ire ro , power operation with the feeds independent « amas ene A Recently Developed Universal Hollow-Hexag ry 28, 1915 THE IRON AGE 237 accidents in case the heads or bars me ach other. The turnstile operating th irret addie has been superseded DV a large handwhee ‘he provision of power operation for the turret the feeds independ and carriage and the ent making enable two distinct at the Lurret + rmed th the operations to be pert exampie, ring Wil . a ‘ Same time; Or ' i while the carriag S [acing r recessing and way, it is pointed out, as many Ip tor tne ‘ e placed in opera n with one set rectior 0.1 to 0.00459 Chere are 10 feed changes in each d arriage and the turret, ranging tron n. per revolution « controlled {t the spindle These changes are by the feed box at the headstock end of the machine. The.e are 12 spindle speeds, both for ward and reverse, which range in approximatel) geometrical progres n from 8 to 250 r.p.m A n the earlier type olf machine, the headstock ast solid with the bed, which tends to insure strength and rigidity. It is of the single-pulley type and ma be belted either directly to the lineshaft or t constant speed motor This headstock, with a 5 belt, running on a pulley 16 in. in diameter able of delivering 14 hp A splash system of coi tinuous lubrication is employed, and this arrange ment is relied upon to reduce as far as possible the frictional loss of power in the head As to make the machine easy of lar as poss ibie, Tac ilities nave een operation rapid traverse of the turret saddle is relied upon t give quick operation, while the independent adju able stops for both the turret slide and the car reduce the setting-up time The use of a hollow hexagon turret permits toois to be ited from the nside, thus giving the maximum use of each ‘turr face, as well as full support for the t n direct line of thrust and torsional strains The machine is equally adaptable for bot} and chucking work and the automatic chuck will handle round stock up to a maximum diameter 3 in., While the length turned has been increased to approximately 40 i The swing over the cro slide carriage has been increased to 17% in. and the maximum swing 21 n Taper turning and screw cutting attachments are furnished when de sired. The former handles tapers up to 1 in. per ft. in length of 15 in. The screw chasing attach ment cuts from 2 to 48 threads per in. of any pitch, and this is increased as each leader will cut three pitches that are either one, two or four times its own thread. W a ae 238 THE IRON AGE SAVING ASSEMBLY COSTS What May Be Done to Reduce the Amount of Filing and Fitting Required BY ALBERT A. DOWD During a casual visit to the assembling department of a large manufacturing plant, a man was noted at a lathe, filing a short jack shaft, which was used in the gear box of one of the machines manufactured by the company. A pile of 10 or 12 other pieces of the same kind was on the floor alongside of the lathe. Being asked what he was doing the machinist said that the shafts were from 0.001 to 0.002 in., too large to enter the holes in the jack shaft gears, so he had to touch them up with a file before he could assemble the parts. Upon examination, it was found that it was not the shafts which were wrong but the reamed holes in the gears, The chucking department was visited, the reamer calipered and found all right, and the operator said he had used his plug gauge in every piece. The plug was taken to the assembly department where it readily entered some of the holes but could not be forced into some others. Here was a mystery, the solution of which was found to be that the pump which supplied cutting lubricant to the chucking machine got out of order when about half of the gears had been machined so that the remainder were cut “dry,” and were warm enough when the plug was tried so that they could hardly be touched by the hand. As a natural conse quence the metal was expanded by the heat to such an extent that after they had become cold they were slightly undersize. Had the inspector for this depart- ment tested all the gears as he should have done, the error could have been rectified before they were taken from the room. In all probability he tried a half dozen or so which happened to be the first ones machined, and finding them all right, passed the entire lot. The assembler took the easiest way out of the diffi culty, instead of sending the gears back to be reamed over again, and did not even go to the trouble of find ing out whether the error was in shaft or gear. The matter was not discovered in the gear-cutting depart ment because an expanding arbor was used. The remedy for a condition of this kind was a more rigid inspection of parts before they reached the assembly department, and an order to report work not up to the standard to the inspector who would see that it was taken care of in the department responsible for the error. Another man was seen in the assembling department, removing the burr along the edge of a splined shaft, and a note was made of this, so that the operator who splined the shafting did the burring also while the machine was operating on the next piece, so that no loss in time resulted. The same man who was burring the shaft in the assembling room, also had to touch up the keys so they could be set into the shaft. There seemed no good reason why this should be necessary if the spline was properly cut, but an inspection showed the key stock to run a trifle large so that each piece had to be filed a trifie before it could be used. The remedy for this is obvious. One of the forks which was used to shift the gears in the speed box had to be taken out and filed in nearly every case, because the side of the fork rubbed on one of the other gears when in a certain position. This was found to be due to variations in the forgings caused by their being thrown into a pile while hot, so that some of them had a slight bow which was sufficient to cause the interference. A bending fixture was made to straighten the forks, so that no further filing was necessary when the next lot came along. There seemed to be an excessive amount of chipping on the inside of one of the castings, and an examination showed that in one place there was an interference with one of the sliding gears. A consultation with the patternmaker resulted in a slight change being made in the core box, so that the matter was taken care of in the next lot of January 28, 1315 eastings and no further chipping at this poi: needed. Several other cases were noted which required ing in the assembling department, and these were up with the various department foremen respo for the production of the pieces in question wit result that this work was done without extra « the operators who produced the work. A consid saving in the filing and fitting costs was effected | various small items mentioned. In the tool department a number of points noted which increased the cost of jigs and fixtures. | the first place all jigs and fixtures turned out by department had the corners carefully rounded w file, in many cases the toolmaker spending several hou on this kind of work with the very laudable purpose of preventing the operator from cutting or injuring | elf on sharp corners. It was found that the pat hop had received orders not to do very much extra work on jig patterns, so as to keep the cost down as low as possible, so that very little rounding of corne was done on the pattern. It is certainly much cheaper to round a wooden corner than a cast-iron one, and ir structions were therefore given to the pattern shop to round all corners slightly when they were in such a position that they required handling. Jig and fixture patterns were looked over by the chief tool designer before sending to the foundry and the corners rounded when necessary. This little matter actually saved the company considerable money in a year. One man was seen in the toolroom laying out four holes in the buse of a fixture, and scribing a circle and prickpunching all around when the holes were simply to be tapped out for jackscrews and no great accuracy was required. As an excuse he said he didn’t know how accurate they had to be, and therefore laid them out carefully. Prick punch holes were thereafter marked in red pencil on the tool drawings, so that unneces- sary work of this kind was eliminated. Draw filing and polishing bushing plates, clamps, etc., was tabooed because it increased the cost without serving any use- ful purpose, except in cases where the work was for an outside customer when a little more care was taken so that the general finish would not be criticised. Several cases were noted of sliding fixtures having taper gibs, in which the gib stock was ordered only in. or so longer than the work to which it was to be applied. The ordering in department was instructed to order all taper gib stock at least 2 in. longer than the work so that a man could fit it without trouble. It was also observed that the amount of scraping involved on sliding surfaces was often excessive, sometimes re quiring a man to spend the greater part of a day on work which might have been done in a couple of hours had the planing been more accurately done. This mat ter was taken up with the planing department and a noticeable improvement made. The saving in filing and fitting costs traceable to the items mentioned was found to amount to a con- siderable sum in both assembling and tool departments and well repaid the company for the pains taken in locating the causes of the trouble. Output of Metals for 1914 The production of important metals in the United States for 1914 as compared with 1913 is estimated by the Engineering and Mining Journal as follows: 1913 1914 Alumina, Wi osc csiie ss 49,601,500 45,000,000 COMBOS, © Tiki tar cudeewss 1,225,735,834 1,135,730,818 Ferromanganese, gross WE: ic aseeeee en ee 229,834 172,514 Lead, net tons..... iss 433,476 533,373 PONCE, Ie Vnitce ae wees 47,124,330 30,067,064 Zane, net COWS... 6 «cess. 358,262 360,689 The unsold stocks of spelter in the hands of Amer!- can smelters at the close of 1914 was 23,500 tons against 64,000 tons at the middle of the year; this was a large decrease—40,500 tons. The world’s production of copper was about 913,000 metric tons in 1914 com- pared with 1,006,000 tons in 1913. ry 28, 1915 METAL PLATE FLOOR SHOP ecial Section for Machining Large Pieces of Electrical Apparat’ s. BY J. J. TURTELTAULS question of machining large electrical ma ; has been more or less difficult for the manu- ers to handle without much study. To a extent this problem which has confronted so ef a Shop in Which Large ind in the Foreground many capable engineers is now, practically speak- ing, a matter considered as routine work by the Crocker-Wheeler Company, Ampere, N. J., which ww and has been for the last few years capable handling the machining of its own machines re- rdless of size, which, judging from some of the erators turned out, seems to be limitless. lhe Crocker-Wheeler Company now has one of argest and most completely equipped floor the world. The floor plate shop, h was designed and built by the.engineers of the company, is equipped with a sectional cast-iron 65 ft. long and 47 ft. wide. The sections are edded in solid concrete and are true to level. the center of the shop is a boring table 226 in. ameter which is level with the floor, making ssible to turn work of considerably larger neters than the table, which has a central boring and an Espen-Lucas boring stand. There is in this mill a Newton slotting machine with a ke of 82 in., an Espen-Lucas horizontal drilling hine and a 6-ft. radial drilling machine. A n Niles electric crane running on overhead ks and having a span of 60 ft. makes the work oving the portable machinery and mill work nparatively easy. It is an ordinary thing at this to see three or four machines at work simul- isly on one job. shops in , First Stee] Works in America Carlos E. Godfrey has contributed a most in- ting chapter to our colonial iron and steel history. published in the Daily State Gazette, Trenton, |., of January 1. He quotes freely from old docu- and demonstrates that the first steel works in ‘a was established at Trenton by Isaac Harrow before September 5, 1734. This pioneer manu- red various kinds of edge tools, making the steel that purpose. The plant appears to have been in nee as late as 1785. mi eee 7 ent ae Pieces of Electrical Apparatus Are THE IRON AGE 239 Combined Friction and Positive Clutch For internal duty machinery, lineshafts, etc use on combust engines, neav\ the O. K. Clutch & Machinery Company, Columbia, Pa., has brought out a combined friction and positive clutch, which is th nvention of H. Druschel. The advantage cla for this type of clutch is that the feature of a friction clutch gradually picking up the speed of a driven shaft or pulley under load, together with the med as Machined. The Shop Has a Sectional! Cast-Iron |} a Large Boring Table positive drive of a jaw clutch, is secured rhe clutch can be used either on the friction or positive drive, as desired, the friction being strong enough to carry the load. The frictional contact surface is large, with a simple one-screw adjustment to take care of wear. If the friction block should be replaced, this can be done by putting on two new need te wooden blocks which gives practically a new clutch with but little or no expense for the material required. The clutch is engaged or disengaged by either the labor o1 a single movement of the lever, and in engaging or starting a load the friction will gradually start the load un til a certain point is reached, when it will release, giving the four steel driving pins a chances to enter a series of holes in the driven part. By this time the friction, which is operated by a double ended wedge, is entirely released and the pins carry slowly View of a Combined Friction and Positive Clutch Showing the Four Steel Driving Pins and Yoke for Shiftir g and the Double-Ended Wedge for Operating the Expansion Ring the load positively in practically the same way as a jaw clutch. The clutch is made in several sizes, from 20 hp. upward, and is designed for transmitting power at a speed of 100 r.p.m. 240 NEW NUT TAPPING MACHINE An Automatic Non-Reversing Type Employing the Bent-Tap | r-nc-p-e An automatic tapping machine employing the bent-tap principle has been developed by the Na- tional Machinery Company, Tiffin, Ohio. These machines are built for handling nuts of 4, %., ‘2, and *4 in. sizes and are of the continuous non-revers- ing type. The machine is designed primarily for tapping square nuts, but hexagonal ones can also be handled, and each size of machine can be equipped for handling both styles and also several sizes. It is possible by making a simple gear change to vary the number of nuts tapped per minute to suit the character of the stock used. In the *4-in. machine, 40 nuts of shop size can be tapped in 1 min. if th stock is free cutting and the holes are of the proper size. If, on the other hand, United States standard nuts are being tapped, a speed of 30 nuts per min. is recom- mended, the blanks thicker and require more turns of the tap per nut. This also applies where the nuts are of tough stock or the holes are smaller than the standard size. No special type or grade of tap, it is empha- are as sized, is needed in_ this machine, and any standard straight-shank tap that has been successfully employed in a shop will equally satisfactory in the bent form for the new machine. The hopper container for the blanks is located at the upper left corne: of the machine and is made larger than usual. On the smaller size of machine it accommo dates about 80 lb. of blanks, which gives the operator con siderable time between fill- ings and enables him to at- tend to a battery of from 6 to 10 machines. A vane type se of feed brings the nuts from ovine Ges ii pe or T up tion against the plunger or star‘er. THE IRON AGE January 28, (915 These whica are four in number, are rotated by a ratchet and pawl located at the right of the hopper. The vanes are inclosed, so that the pressure or we gh of the blanks, it is pointed out, cannot interfere with their operation, and the ratchet operating ‘hep is held between friction flanges. This arrangement is employed to prevent damage to the machine j scrap or thin nut blanks should tend to wedge in th, nut groove and interfere with the vanes, as in such an instance the ratchet would merely slip. The tap spindle and injector or starter are j; clined at an angle, and the blanks come out of th feed chute at a similar one, causing each blank t rest against the starter as it is advanced to the ihe angie of the starter is relied upon to cause the blanks to be tapped square with the bearing face, and the cutting lubricant employed keeps the fac; free from chips. + wey ty trav¢ ly ] Tapping M The tap spindle has a slight lateral] ichine En , t Principle. The Blanks s a wes ; . Are Placed in the Hopper at the Upper Left the hopper to the feed chute, | ee ll thereat tees Wit Front. The where they are carried by Ratchet and Pawl at the Right of the Hopper : ; Rotate the Vanes Regulating the Feeding of gravity down and into posi- the Blanks Two Views of the Head or Tap Holder with the Guerd Oper Head. The Guard Directs the Ejected Nuts Into a Chute Whi Is Opened Showing How the Nuts ss Over the Tap and Art Shank of the Tap Serving in ( the View at the Left a Nut Is About to Be Ejected fron from or Ey to Suppor veys entually Them Ejected by and is counterbalanced, thus giving a variet) of floating movement to the spindle. After the starter has fed the blank part wa on the tap the spindle de scends during the completi of the tapping, thus keeping the blank stationary while it is being tapped instead pulling it through the nut holder or guides with the lik lihood of binding and atte: dant excessive wear on thi nut guides and tap. Th course of the nut after being tapped, its travel up the shank and off the end of the tap, due to the forcing o! other blanks on the tap, is clearly shown in one of accompanying illustrations The hood or cover over the head serves to direct the nuts ejected from the tap into chute at the right of the bed that conveys them out of the machine into boxes or kegs 4] tne N. A. Petry Company, ! manufacturer of wing nuts and thumb screws of malleable iron, brass and bronze, has moved to 1309 Race street, Philadelphia, Pa. the the Machine. At the Right the Hea the Oncoming Blanks, Those 0! It and Keep It Central iary 28, 1915 A JTOMATIC MOLDING MACHINE A New Stripping Plate Jolt Ramming Type for Rapid Mold Production ‘ractically all of the operations entering int« aking of a mold, except the shoveling of sand, performed automatically by a new molding ma- that has been brought out by the Osborn Mfg inv, Cleveland, Ohio. The machine is intended e making of molds for journal boxes and work general character. Speed in molding is isized, secured through the automatic jolting tripping of the mold, and the drawing of the ern through the plate is by power, which, it is tends toward accuracy. The machine is in- d for use with any of the standard types of ng plate equipment. he construction of the jolting mechanism is ar to that of the builder’s plain jolting machine, standard Osborn air cushioned balanced jolt e being used. One of the particular features valve is that it is free from springs, catches loose parts. The draw cylinders are cast in a rle piece and large fitted bolts are employed to ect them to the base of the machine. The cylin- ; extend below the base and are designed to set de of pipes 8 in. in diameter, which are inserted the foundation to receive them. The side of the piston rod, which is also the guide rod, is planed has teeth cut in it which mesh with pinions cut Developed Stripping Plate Jolt Ramming Mo Fr That Automatically Performs Practically \ the ms Necessary to Make Mold Except Shoveling t Sand ry the solid shaft extending from one cylinder the other. This shaft is relied upon to prevent ne guide rod from traveling faster than the other d together with the two rods is entirely inclosed | is self-lubricating. Clamps operated by air are provided to lock the flask and the stripping plate rigidly to the table ' the machine although this is not always required. On certain classes of work, it is pointed out that arrangement is advantageous, and where it is employed a bail, which is made of spring steel to compensate for variations in the hight of flask, swings over the end of the flask. The table and piston are a single piece of cast iron. The standard Size of the table can be varied, which, it is pointed is sometimes desirable, where the machine is be used on one particular pattern. The advan- ‘of this arrangement is that when the table is e approximately 1% in. less than the size of the , the sand does not pile up on the table, and it nus unnecessary to brush or blow the sand off re returning the stripping plate to position. n operation, after the flask has been filled and d, the air is turned into the draw cylinders, THE IRON AGE The Flask ad the le? iv plate which strip the flask and the stripping from the pattern. After the away, the handle is ipward mold heen lifted tnrown to the Oppos té position, thus supplying air above the piston and re turning the stripping plate ready for valve the next mold This use of air on both sides of the cylinder piston, it is pointed out, is an important feature of the ma chine, since it is not necessary to wait for the ex haust to escape from below the cylinder and then depend upon gravity for the return. The stripping and lowering actions, it 1S emphasized, are equall as rapid as when done by hand on an old type of macnine. The following table give the principal d mensions and specifications of the machine Rat strij Maxi! May The equipment furnished with the machine in cludes all the necessary piping, valves, lubricators, etc., and the machine supplied is ready to set on the foundation. The Vilter Mfg. Company, Milwaukee, Wis., has been represented by William E. Hexamer for the last 20 the East, as general sales manager, has removed its Eastern office and warehouse from 864 North Franklin street, Philadelphia, Pa., to the prop- erty located at the southwest corner of Twenty-fifth and Wharton streets, in the same city. It occupies a main building, 200 x 300 ft., and has recently com- pleted a new building for shops, 100 x 100 ft., and a fitting department for carrying smal] machines, 40 x 80 ft.. and now has all departments concentrated. The office is located in a separate building, 30 x 40 ft. The company will continue its New York office at 17 East Twenty-fourth street. It will carry a full line of fit- tings, supplies and small machines ranging from 1 ton to 25 tons in the Philadelphia warehouse for immediate shipment. which years in The N. A. Cressman Company, Drexel Building, Philadelphia, has been appointed sole selling agent for the North Penn Washer Company, Hatfield, Pa., which manufactures wrought steel washers and special steel] disks. Blast-Furnace Gas for Coke Ovens German Tests to Compare Its Use As a Fuel with Coke-Oven Gas for Mak- ing Coke Show One of the next steps in the promotion of fuel economy in blast-furnace and steel plpants is the use of blast-furnace gas to heat by-product coke ovens. In this way the high value coke-oven gas is set free to be applied in places where the low value blast- furnace gas could not be used. So far this process has not advanced beyond the experimental stage, although it has been talked of for some time. Pro- fessor O. Simmersbach of Breslau, who is well known for his work on blast-furnace and coke-oven problems, recently published in Stahl und Eisen a paper on this particular subject, giving the results of work done at the Friedrich Wilhelms Hiitte at Miilheim on the Ruhr. COMPARATIVE TESTS ON KOPPERS OVENS Two tests were carried out on a Koppers oven 32 ft. 9 in. long, 8 ft. 6 in. high and 19% in. average width; the first with the usual coking time, and the second with the shortest possible coking time. The details of the charge are given in Table 1. In both tests coals of almost the same composi- tion were used, and as the coke in both cases was of the same nature, the results are strictly com- parable. Table 1 Details of the Charges in Com parative Tests Test 1 Test 2 Coal Moisture, per cent 13.10 13.40 Volatile matter, per cent - 23.86 23.75 Ash, per cent ; ap 6.82 6.38 Oven charge: Dry coal, kilograms. . 7,647 7,620 Water, kilograms : : 1,153 1,180 Moist coal, kilograms 8,800 8,800 Coke: Ash, per cent 901 8.76 Volatile matter, per cent 3.72 3.91 The coking time in the first case was 29 hr., aithough the coke was not pushed until the end of 30 hr. The gas was not burned the last hour. With the second test the time was only 25 hr. Tempera- ture measurements were made each half hour in six different places, the exact locations being shown in a diagram in the original article, and the results given in tables and diagrams. Two of the latter are reproduced. Fig. 1 shows results obtained in the first test. The firm line gives temperatures taken in the middle of the charge, 3 ft. 342 in. above the bottom of the oven. The dotted line shows those measured in the upper part of the oven above the charge, 4 in. below the roof. Fig. 2 shows similar results obtained in the second test. The average temperature in the heating flue in the first case was 1125 deg. C., and in the second 1173 deg. C. Corresponding to the difference in these tem- peratures the charge was heated more slowly and to a less amount in the first case. This is seen first in the evaporation of the moisture of the charge that took 8% hr. in the first test and 61% hr. in the second. Further in the first case the tem- perature of 1000 deg. C. was only reached at the end of 24 hr., but in the second in 21 hr. Also in the first test the highest temperature reached in the charge was 1080 deg. C. after 29 hr., but in the second test this temperature was obtained in less than 23 hr., and the highest reached was 1150 deg. C. in 25 hr. The temperatures in the gas space above the charge show. similar conditions. The critical temperature for ammonia decompo- sition of 900 deg. C. was first reached in test No. 1 Gratifying Results in 22 hr., while in the second test in 16 hr. In the first test it only remained 7 hr. above this temperature, but in the second 9 hr