The Iron Age 1915-02-04: Vol 95 Iss 5

ii) TEOVALEDUAEEDDGLERDURERDROUDESDDATOUOLEDROED ORE OND DOO ERANOES Established 1855 NUD ECUDARUDAUEUDONDEORNLAD EAT OOLEN READE ENDER EEA ATHENS TAEDA ATTA AAAAATAAAAAAAHELAAEA NESE AT EAA EA AANA AERATOR) THE IRON ACE a ATLA LULL New York, February 4, VASA SUELARREED LULL EET CURLUOD OULU ETE 1915 Vol. 95: No. 5 Purchasing for Scattered Factories The System for Covering from One Office the Requisitioning, Purchasing and Receiv- ing of Goods for Widely Distributed Factories BY H. L. A great many large manufacturing concerns operating two or more factories in different locali- ties are confronted with the problem of conducting these several factories by means of a general execu- tive staff with headquarters at the general offices. There is no doubt that this system is the most efficient and economical, provided, of course, that the proper men and methods are employed. We are going to deal with this principle as ap- plied to purchasing. It is a well-known fact that some large corporations after a very unpleasant and unprofitable experience with a general purchasing agent have been compelled to disorganize this office and place each separate plant on its own responsi- bility, on account of the utter failure of the pur- chasing staff to supply the demand for material. EVANS perience in his line installed this system, and he is able, with the assistance of a stenographer and one general clerk, to supply the material needs and yet find time to devote to research work and fulfil any other duties of his office with ease and thorough- ness. In The Iron Age of February 5, 1914, the author contributed an article on “Systematizing Purchasing,” descriptive of a system for handling purchasing for the home factory. It is found ex pedient, for the sake of brevity, to omit the de- scription of certain forms, namely: “Follow-Up Copy of Purchase Order” and “Store Room Ma- terial Record” which, while forming a part of this system, were previously treated and, not being affected by the introduction of other plants, their application is the same as before described. It In a case of this will be noticed, kind production however, that suffers heavily, No. A 9876 some of the due to short- REQUISITION TO PURCHASE other forms are ages which oc- PLANT No. 1 very similar t cur from time to those described time, and the Plattsburg, N. Y. in the article re- cost cannot al- DATE July 25rd ferred to above, ways be. esti- but there is an mated in dollars ee interchange of and cents. This routine which condition does SHIP Via renders their not signify that treatment neces- the fundamental QUANTITY | DESCRIPTION sary in this principle is article, or they wrong, but sim- reidesiainiiinaltin are of such vital ply that the aU, he "sc importance to situation has not the system as a been met in a m whole that their practical way omission might by the applica- cause misunder- tion of common standing or con sense methods. fusion in the We shall de- mind of the scribe a system reader. In use in a It is essen- large manufac- DATE WANTED Sept. loth. QUANTITY ON HAND g tial, in order to turing company FOR DEP’T K maintain the having its gen- REMARKS These vins should r ’ irrs records properly eral offices at Gea a eee citi eae . in connection Pittsburgh and en eee se with a system operating fac- APPROVED “. J. Howe SIGNED ©. J+ Arome such as we are tories in several SUPERINTENDENT going to de- cities. The pur- scribe that some chasing agent, a ° The Stores Department man of wide ex- Authorizes the Purchasing chases with this Form person be desig- nated at the Department to Make Pur- 283 it app neees 2a. Rs Sat RE ae - - > renee mis tal ge SBS: te 2s ek ee aon. elenngpiee iss tease ict A: sail ea LEGA CP EEN oy rr ~y Fg Mea po — 284 THE IRON AGE factory to act in the capacity of material record clerk. He will be held responsible for the condi- tion of stock and movement of purchased material at the factory and, in fact, will be the source of communication between the factory and general purchasing department on all matters relating thereto. It will be understood that the forms herein de- OSWALD COMPANY General Offices PITTSBURG. PA. PURCHASE ORDER No. A-10840 DATE ? PLEASE FURNISH MATERIAL AS SPECIFIED, SUBJECT TO CONDI- TIONS AND TERMS HEREIN NAMED: 1, RENDER INVOICES IN TRIPLICATE. 2. MAIL ORIGINAL AND DUPLICATE INVOICES HERE; TRIPLICATE TO PLATTSBURG. 3. MARK ORDER NUMBER ON INVOICES AND PACKAGES. 4. PRICES MUST NOT BE IN EXCESS OF THOSE LAST QUOTED OR CHARGED, 5. NO ALLOWANCE FOR BOXING OR CARTAGE. Ship to OSWALD COMPANY, Plant No. 1 PLATTSBURG, N. Y. VIA Freight neapest QUANTITY MATERIAL OSWALD COMPANY PURCHASING AGENT. Six Copies of the Purchase Order Are Made and Besides the Original They for: Purchasing, Receiving and Stores Departments, the Factor, “Reminder Memo” in Purchasing Departmer scribed as belonging to plant No. 1 are exactly the same as used for the other several plants, except- ing as regard color of the paper, it being advisable to employ different colors of paper in the forms used for different plants, so that they may be readily distinguished and confusion thus avoided. The reader to understand this article better should bear in mind that the term purchasing de- it February < 19}5 partment is identified with the general offices Pittsburgh and is not a department of plant No, 1. Plant No. 1 will be referred to as the Factory, ang identified with it are the following: receiving de. partment, stores department, material record clerk. Form No. 1, the requisition to purchase, js 51, x 8 in. in size and printed in triplicate. It consti. tutes the purchasing department’s authority for the issuance of purchase orders. Requj- sitions originate in the stores de. partment, though there may be an occasional exception to this rule The triplicate copy is retained there and placed on a Shannon board file in alphabetical order under mate- rial classification, as a reminder to the storekeeper that such a requisi- my ivis. tion has been issued. Original! and duplicate copies are handed to the material record clerk, who will re- tain the duplicate and forward the original to the purchasing depart- ment, filing the duplicate on a Shan- non board file temporarily in nu- merical order, pending receipt of copy of purchase order from the purchasing department, which will bear a notation of such requisition number. The requisition is then filed numerically in a_ vertical | drawer file, the purchase order number being first noted thereon. The purchasing department, on receipt of the original requisition from the factory, will issue a pur- chase order and file the requisition in numerical order in a _ vertical drawer file, noting fifst thereon the purchase order number. All requi- sitions should express the factory’s needs definitely, to enable the pur- chasing department to place orders with intelligence and dispatch. The factory should not write in the spaces above the double line, ex- cepting the date, as these will be filled in by the purchasing agent for the information of the clerk who will write up purchase orders from the requisitions. The factory should fill in all spaces provided at the bottom of the requisition, as the purchasing department will be able to determine, by being advised of the date material is wanted and the quantity in stock, what atten- tion should be given to the follow- up after purchase order has been placed to effect shipment of ma- terial in time to meet the factory's requirements. The purchasing department should also know the approximate monthly requirements, to determine iginal 7 ey Are what quantity of material to pur- “ chase, the object being to carry on hand at all times a stock which is normal in proportion to the requirements of pro- duction. Space opposite the word “Remarks” is provided for any suggestions the factory may have to offer, as affecting the placing of orders, possibly a crit! cism unfavorable to material received in previous shipments, or in fact any remarks of a special nature which might assist the purchasing depart- February 4, 1915 ' . O / ALE bd AIL Gg Oo THE IRON AGE Lz 285 [ - : , — P ORDER lee | oxve | quanrey | we [te an aaa ae aa oe 2 | dlzaaad | leas | “ oséaRat bas g Olelelea Yl bh Ditedecke The Purchasing Department Keeps a ment in serving the factory to the best possible advantage. The purchase order is printed in six copies, as original, purchasing department, factory office, receiving department, stores department, re- minder memo. The purchasing department will, on receipt of the requisition from the factory, issue the purchase making a note of requisition number in the ver left hand corner. The two copies “purchas- ng department” and “reminder memo” will be re- tained in the purchasing department. Three copies, that of the “factory office,” “receiving department”’ and “stores department” will be mailed to the fac- tory and should be distributed to the departments designated. The material record clerk, who will receive the factory office copies, will make postings of the orders daily on the material record card (described later), the classification for posting being noted on the order by the purchasing department, so that the material record cards at the factory will conform n alphabetical arrangement to the purchase record ards (described later) on file in the purchasing department. After postings are made at the factory office, the copy is placed temporarily in numerical order on a flexible ring binder, pending receipt of nvoice denoting shipment, and then it is filed nu- merically in a vertical drawer file. The receiving department copy should be placed on a Shannon board file in that department, ar- ranged alphabetically by shipper’s name, until re- eipt of the material, when it is taken off and filed permanently in a vertical drawer file. The stores department copy should be placed on a Shannon board file in that department, arranged alphabetically by material classification, until re- ‘eipt of material, when it is taken off and filed permanently or destroyed, there being no advantage In it. The purchasing department copy goes through nuch the same routine as the factory office copy, being first posted on purchase record cards and then placed in numerical order on a flexible ring binder, pending receipt of invoice denoting ship- ment, after which it is filed alphabetically in a ertical drawer file. These copies can be gathered follows : der, Record of Purchased reeled mee YL lpozus | %elzoo =| af - Record of MATER (AL RECORD C#RF- faterial Kept ie es: ota Purchased Material on 5% x 9-in. Cards together in complete sets of 200 as they become completed, bound cheaply in book form, and placed on shelves in vault for future reference. The use of the follow-up or reminder copy was described as stated in the article referred to. The purchase record card is 5!» x 9 in. in size, fitting a standard drawer cabinet. It is a complete record of purchased material, maintained in the pur- chasing department, the information being tran- scribed on the card from the purchasing department copy of order, as stated. The information provided for at the top can be gathered and inserted at any convenient time. Spaces “How used,” “Material,” “Weight,’ ‘““Maximum and Minimum,” are of value only where the factory is devoted to the manufacture of a specific article and the purchase of this material may occur from time to time. On cards covering record of purchase of miscellaneous items these spaces remain blank. This information is of much assistance where the nature of the company’s busi ness suggests its use. The card shows a complete record of the order from the time it is issued until the material is re- ceived at the factory. The spaces provided for the price and f.o.b. point under the heading Order cannot always be filled in at the time order is placed, as very often prices have not been specific ally quoted or agreed upon, but this information in such cases should be inserted when the invoice is received. The price column under the heading invoiee should not show any figures, but simply a check mark, as the price is invariably treated as a part of the order, and the checked against it. The column remarks in the center of the card is used particularly for the insertion of credits which may be issued to correct price or to cancel charge for material returned, after the invoice has been received and posted. The column “Remarks” at the right hand side is for a full description of the material, which does not form a part of the index, and should be inserted at the time the copy of the order is posted. On receipt of requisitions from the factory refer- ence should always be made to these cards which, in furnishing a complete record of past transac- invoice is PLANT No./ AVEMARKS at the Factory oe airag = Sas oe vet eet =a nin roe a il SS 286 ‘THE IRON AGE RECEIVING SLIP PLANT No. 1 Plattsburg, N. Y. CATE RECEIVED FROM HOW REC'D Hr: CHARGES OPDER mcks DESCRIPTION " " + : +7 STOREKEEPER The Receiving Department Makes Four Copies of this Slip, Purchasing, Stores and Receiving Departments and the tions, serve as a check against a purchase. of unsuit- able material and facilitate the placing of repeat orders. The material record card is 542 x9 in. in size and fits a standard drawer cabinet. It is a record of purchased material, maintained at the factory, and serves the same purpose as the purchase record card on file in the purchasing department. The material record clerk will post to these cards from “Factory Office” copies of orders under ma- terial classification, which is noted on these copies by the purchasing department. Columns providing for price and other details have been omitted, since the purchase record card on file in the purchasing department is complete, and such information is therefore not required at the factory. PLANT No. 1 Plattsburg, N. Y. DATE PURCHASING AGENT: DESCRIPTION: c OZ AI " 20,2. FROM WHOM REC’D RR. F. Hames Co. ae) R. S.No. A-12672 REASON FOR REJECTION: Ends are not milled parallel and respects not according to blue REMARKS: Totally wu! (SIGNED) The Rejected Material Report Originates in the Stores Department and One of the Two Copies Goes with the Receiving Slip to the Purchasing Department a No. A- | REJECTED MATERIAL REPORT YOU ARE ADVISED THAT MATERIAL DESCRIBED BELOW HAS BEEN REJECTED AND !S HELD AWAITING DISPOSITION: February 4 1915 The receiving slip is 5!. <8 jy No. A 12673} in size and is printed i: foy, copies, as follows: purchasing de. s partment, factory office, «tore; department and receiving (epart. ment. The receiving department wij| write up these slips promptly upop receipt of the goods. The space “How received” should = show whether the material is received by freight or express, and space “charges” should show the amount of carrying charges paid to the transportation company. In the event shipment has been prepaid, the receiving slip should be sg 526# marked. The “Factory Office” and “Store Department” copies are sent to the storekeeper, along with the mate. rial. The purchasing department copy is sent to the material record clerk, to be held by him temporarily. The “Receiving Department” copy is retained by the receiving clerk and filed alphabetically by shippers’ > name. The storekeeper will verify the Hogge. quantity and description of mate- rial, as reported by the receiving department, approve the “Factory Office” copy and send it to the material record clerk, filing the “Stores Department” copy alpha- betically by material. The material record clerk, on receipt of the above, will compare same with the purchasing de- partment copy, correct the latter if necessary, and forward to the purchasing department at Pitts- burgh. By having the purchasing department copies of the receiving slips verified in this manner insures against delay in their final disposition, as they can be more safely accepted as correct. The material record clerk will enter the factory office copy on material record cards, showing date, quan- tity and receiving slip number, after which it is filed permanently in numerical order. The purchasing department will, upon receipt of its copy, enter it on the purchase record card, showing date, quantity and receiving slip number, placing it temporarily on a Shannon board file in alphabetical order by shipper’s name, to be matched up with the invoice after which it is filed permanently in numerical order. Invoices will be rendered in trip- licate, the original and duplicate being mailed by the shipper direct to the offices at Pittsburgh, and the triplicate direct to the factory. When received by the purchasing department, the duplicate will be at once filed away permanently in al- phabetical order under the shipper’s name,—a transfer case being suit- in he able for this purpose. The original es should go immediately to the ore proper clerk’s desk for checking and posting. Krome. A rubber stamp providing for the check of calculations and prices, receiving slip number and date, freight or express charges, etc., !5 One Each for the Factory Office ary 4, 1915 mp: ssed on each invoice, and after this peration is completed the cal- n should be checked. e invoices are then entred on the irchase record card, and hi at the same time be checked ces, since the card will show price fixed at the time purchase order was placed, and if not, a comparison may be made by a glance over the card, which gives a complete record of, any previous purchases of the same material. After calculations and prices have been checked the invoices are placed on a Shannon board file in alpha- betical order under the name of the shipper and are ready to be matched ip with the receiving slips. Both the invoices and receiving slips now being filed in the same alphabetical arrangement, each sep- arately, the process of completing them is simple. The clerk should now proceed with matching up by placing both files on the desk in front of him and going through them from A to Z, posting from receiving slips upon the invoices the transportation charges, receiv- ing slip date and number, after which both are removed from the files. Invoices for which receiving PLANT NO. REC’D FROM The Form for slips are not on file or vice versa ing should not be removed. After in- voices and receiving slips have been matched or completed the invoices should be approved by the purchasing agent, then listed alphabetically and passed to the auditor, a receipt being obtained for The receiving slips are retained by the purchasing department and filed numerically. In the event an invoice falls into dispute over prices charged or for any other reason, a letter should be written requesting proper adjustment, the invoice being put on a Shannon file, with a copy of the letter attached, awaiting response. Invoices in dispute should never be returned to the supplier for correction, as confusion in the account, through misunderstanding or loss of such invoice, will re- sult in most cases where this is done. The triplicate copy, when received at the factory, should be given to the material rec- ord clerk, who will post it to mate- rial record cards and then to copy order which is being held on a ring binder. If invoices cover only partial shipment, the date and quan- tity shown on invoice should be noted on the order copy, but if ompleting, the date only is noted, in which case the order is removed ‘rom the binder and filed perma- nently in numerical order. The in- them nem. THE IRON THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED MATERIAL REJECTED BY REASON OF SHOULD BE DISPOSED OF AS FOLLOWS AGE 287 DISPOSITION ORDER Rejected Material PURCHASING DEPARTMENT Pittsburg, Pa. DATE a CA — ' Ad ; " . " Ww } an ‘+ a, l na ON P. O. No tric Via . *% (SIGNED) Rejected Material Originates in the Purcha: Department and Is Instruction to the Factory Disposition of set forth in this report, which will be forwarded through the material record clerk to the purchasing department, accompanied by the receiving slip. In the event material is allowed to pass into stock and it should not be found until some time has elapsed that it cannot be used for the purpose intended, it will be necessary that all information provided for in the blank spaces be supplied to the purchasing department to assist in the identification and proper disposition of the material. The duplicate copy of this report should be held by the material record clerk on a Shannon board file temporarily, pending disposition order from the purchasing department, after which it will be at- tached to and filed with receiving slip on which material was originally received. The purchasing ADVANCE ORDER OSWALD CO. PLANT No. 1 Plattsburg, N. Y. DATE PLEASE FURNISH MATERIAL AS SPECIFIED Do Not Invoice From This Order. voice is filed alphabetically by ship- Formal Purchase Order Will Follow. per’s name, The rejected material report is \'. x8 in. in size, printed in dupli- ate and originates in the stores lepartment. When material is re- eived and sent to the storeroom a areful inspection should be made by the storekeeper during the pro- s of checking, and should it be ‘ound that it is defective or unfit ‘or any reason, the fact should be QUANTITY ‘ DESCRIPTION SIGNED In the Event of Urgency for Material the Factory Meets Its Needs Before the Formal Purchasing Order Ensues by Use of this Advance Order Blank asia ates eis Se ea: SeeEe a a ree ~ cn nen cl ae a ga te ARAN SS CET es ee = 288 THE IRON AGE department will file their copy in the same manner. The form for the disposition of rejected ma- terial is 542 x8 in. in size, printed in duplicate. It originates in purchasing department. It in- structs the factory as to disposition of material which has been rejected and the original copy which is sent to the factory should be attached to and filed with receiving slip in the same manner as copy of rejected material report. An advance order or miscellaneous purchases are covered by a 51. x8 in. form printed in dupli- cate. It will often be necessary for the factory to purchase locally miscellaneous small items of material to fill urgent demands. To meet this condition and yet not disturb the routine of pur- chase orders or invoices, the factory will issue an advance order for any material which they may require in an emergency. The supplier will furnish the material and hold the order, as_ instructed, awaiting receipt of formal purchase order before rendering invoices. The factory will, in all such cases, issue to the purchasing department the regu- lar form requisition to purchase, making note on this requisition that the material covered thereby has already been purchased (stating from whom) on advance order (quoting number), and the pur- chasing department will issue direct to the sup- plier a formal purchase order in confirmation. Thus all purchases will be made a matter of record and invoices directed through the proper channels. This does not apply to sundry articles which can be bought at retail stores and paid for out of petty cash but to items of productive material or factory supplies not regularly carried in stock, such as fittings, bolts, screws, pulleys, etc., which are obtained from jobbers or through established busi- ness houses. It is desirable, however, to reduce these local purchases to the minimum and to confine the busi- ness to as few concerns as possible, to facilitate the handling of accounts in the accounting depart- ment. The duplicate copy of advance orders should be filed away for future reference, as it might be desirable to determine the volume and class of material covered by local purchases during any given period of time. We would call attention to the fact that the 514 x 9 in. and 51% x 8 in. forms can be vertically filed in a cabinet known as “legal blank size” of three-drawer capacity. The rejected material re- port and disposition orders being attached to receiv- ing slips to which they refer may all be carried in one drawer, while the requisitions are carried in an- other. The third drawer will accommodate the pur- chase record card, though if the business is ‘large the purchase records will naturally increase in vol- ume until it might be necessary to have one or two three-drawer units devoted to these cards alone, sub- divided alphabetically. The other forms may be transferred to the vault or other place for old rec- ords after a certain period of time, when the need for reference to them would seem unlikely. The system of filing the different forms in the purchasing department by number is by far more desirable than either by name or material, since they may be filed more quickly and accurately and can be located more easily when it is necessary to refer to them. If the party desiring information regarding a certain purchase order, requisition or receiving slip has in mind the number, then any of these forms may be located by direct reference. If the number is not known then it will be necessary to refer to the purchase record card under the heading of the material in question, which will February ‘4, 19); give the order and receiving slip numbe;s. and requisition number may be found by reference ty copy of order, on which this number is invarijabj, noted. The same remarks would apply to the gys. tem of filing corresponding forms at the factory, The Gathmann Ingot Mold The Gathmann mold for casting steel ingots has recently been patented (U. S. 1,117,181—Novem. ber 17, 1914). The inventor, Emil Gathmann, of Baltimore, states that in a mold in which provision is made for conserving the heat of the moltey metal in its upper portion and for promoting the cooling of the lower part of the ingot, supplemented by the use of a feeder or sinkhead, improved re. sults can be obtained, since a sufficient supply of molten metal is provided to fill the pipe until solidj- fication takes place. This is accomplished by 0 constructing the mold that the walls progressively decrease in thickness from the bottom to the top by being made thick and highly absorptive. The nN The Gathmann Ingot Mold with Riser walls of the mold are so made that the line of rapid cooling of the ingot extends upwardly to approxi- mately 75 per cent. of the mold’s contents, the re- mainder being much thinner as shown by the illus- tration. With a mold so constructed, Mr. Gath- mann finds that the casting of a sound ingot is pro- moted by placing in the upper end of the mold 4 feeder or sinkhead of insulating material, such as fire clay, which not only acts as a feeder for the mold but also assists in conserving the heat of the ingot at its upper end. The sinkheads are specially constructed in four sections adapted to fit the cavity. Any great variations from these measure ments do not give the best results. The 25th anniversary of the Southern Hardware Jobbers’ Association and the 26th convention of the American Hardware Manufacturers’ Association will be held jointly in New Orleans, La., April 20, 21, 22, >» with headquarters at the St. Charles Hotel. expectation that the pres- tribution to an object which { An Engineering Foundation Established Ambrose Swasey Gives $200,000 as the Initial Contribution to a Fund for Further- ing Research in Science and Engineering brose Swasey, president of the Warner & ey Company, Cleveland, builder of turret lathes ther metal working machines, long conspicu- is for his contributions in mechanism of precision, narticularly to the astronomical world, and a past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, has given $200,000 to the engineering ession as a fund for research. A few weeks mention was made in these columns of a meeting be held in New York City, on the evening of iary 27, for formally receiving the gift and an- ouncing the benefactor. Meanwhile arrangements been under way for king care of the fund, so that it could be regarded as the initial contribution to a indation calculated to be f direct value, not alone to engineering as a profession, but to engineering and sci- ence as these have expres- n in industry. How the fund may pos- sibly be employed is indi- cated in the phraseology of the establishment of what has been called the Engi- neering Foundation, and a sidelight contained in of the formal features the acceptance, the ad- is one dress of Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, given in part below. Throughout’ the speeches, particular empha- sis was placed on the desire he donor not to be con- spicuous as the contributor f the fund, a fact which is orne out in the naming of the foundation, and on the ent fund is the first con- Whees gift neering large s hoped will bring out + r er donations from time time. The offer was apparently made to the United Engineering Society, which operates the lilding presented some years ago by Andrew arnegie to the American Institute of Electrical rineers, the American Society of Mechanical ngineers and the American Institute of Mining Engineers, known as the Engineering Societies suilding. The United Engineering Society then vided by amendments to its charter and by-laws allow for the establishment of the Engineering ndation, and arranged, on the acquiescence of peration by the American Society of Civil En- ers, that the fund be controlled by an Engineer- Foundation Board, made up of representatives ‘nese four national engineering societies, as well ‘wo members at large, the last two not neces- members of any of these societies. In the ws it is stated that “the Board may use any bart of its funds and in any manner which it deems AMBROSE SWASEY, brought into being the Er proper for the furtherance of research in science and engineering, or for the advancement in any other manner of the profession of engineering and the good of mankind. The Board may, by publica- tion or public lectures or by other means, in its discretion, make known to the world the result of its undertakings.” At the inauguration ceremonies, addresses were made by Gano Dunn, of the J. G. White Engineer ing Corporation and president of the United Engi neering Society; Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Dr. Robert W | Hunt, Robert W. Hunt & Co., Chicago, and past pres ident of the American In stitute of Mining Engi neers, and Dr. Alexander C. Humphreys, president of Stevens Institute, Hoboken, N. J., and past president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. There was nothing con spicuously formal about the occasion. It came to Mr Dunn, who presided, to dis close the identity of the donor, and in closing his introductory address, he asked Mr. Swasey to say a few words. In these re marks Mr. Swasey showed his for self-efface ment in that he devoted himself altogether to com mending those who have arranged for managing the foundation desire and had given it the name Engineering Foundation. There were some fifteen or twenty be sides the speakers and Mr Swasey seated on the stage, indatic including Charles F. Rand, president Spanish Ameri can Iron Company, New York; James Harkness, president & Lamson Machine Company, Springfield, Vt., and past-president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; B. B. Taayer, president Anaconda Copper Mining Company, New York; John E. Sweet, president Straight Line En- gine Company, Syracuse, N. Y.; M. Smith, past-president of the American Society of Mechan- ical Engineers; Dr. Joseph Struthers, Johnson Elec tric Smelting, Inc., New York; Bradley Stoughton, secretary of American Institute of Mining Engi- Jones Jesse neers: Prof. C. F. Scott, Yale University; H. H. 3arnes, General Electric Company, New York; John W. Lieb, New York Edison Company; Calvin W. Rice, secretary American Society of Mechanical Engineers; A. R. Ledoux, New York City; Charles Macdonald, past-president of the American Society of Civil Engineers; Charles Warren Hunt, secretary of the American Society of Civil Engineers; C. O. 289 — aes aoe Fe 290 THE IRON AGE Mailloux, past-president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and Dr. John A. Brashear, president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. POSSIBILITIES OF THE FOUNDATION Dr. Pritchett in his address said that while great numbers of research institutes already exist in Europe and America, never has such an agency for research been placed in the hands of a group of engineering societies. “The process of research as one may expect it to be carried forward by such an agency as this, involves,” he said in continuing, “first, the clear formulation of problems and then the attack upon the problem by those men who have learned to think, who are familiar already with the present state of science, and who—using this as a basis—push forward the boundaries of our knowl- edge into new fields.” As to what the Foundation may mean, Dr. Pritchett said: “To the public the foundation of such a research agency in the field of applied science may well mean the inauguration of a series of studies having the greatest significance for public well-being and for public needs. The most striking illustration of such a result has been already given in the history of a small research laboratory of applied science, started in the technical school, at Charlottenburg, some forty years ago. The effort arose out of the ques- tions formulated and laid before the scientific staff of the technical school by the men of the steel indus- try; and out of the solutions of these questions the steel industry of Germany grew. Gradually the in- quiry arose, why should there not be an institute of engineering research to which any citizen engaged in the industries may bring his problems, to whose laboratories may be brought not alone the questions relating to the manufacture of steel, but those re- lating to the chemical industry, textile industry, electrical manufacturing and industries of every sort, in a word, all the questions which to-day in the manufacturing establishments of a great nation are constantly being asked? Out of the little research laboratory at Charlottenburg have grown the great testing laboratories covering many acres and offer- ing themselves freely to the solution of every tech- nical question that the industries in Germany can present. “Any company engaged in manufacturing work may bring its problems here. Any experts may come in and take part in the study, all the literature on the subject is made available, and under the com- bined efforts of the expert of the government labora- tory and the experts of the industry a solution is generally found. “Dr. Martens, the director of the research insti- tute at Gross Lichterfelde, told me that the complete and orderly collection of scientific literature and of scattered scientific solutions in research made avail- able at Gross Lichterfelde was one of the great fac- tors in the success of the research establishment. ‘Four times out of five,’ said he, ‘when a manufac- turer brings us a problem, we find that it has al- ready been solved somewhere in the world by some- body, but by someone who generally used the solu- tion in a different connection. Our greatest service is to place at the disposal of the inquirer the entire literature of his subject, and in this he will generally find a solution of his question already made.’ “Who can tell but that this modest agency for re- search, under the direction of the great engineering societies of America, may develop in due course into a national establishment to which any man in the industries may bring his problem with full hope of solution ?” February ‘, 19)5 MR. SWASEY’S CAREER IN BRIEF Ambrose Swasey was born in Exeter, N. i. At the age of 18 he entered upon the machinis: ' trade in Exeter, and in 1870, in company with his an partner, Worcester R. Warner, he entered the ep. ploy of the Pratt & Whitney Company, at Hartford Conn. While in charge of the gearing department he invented and perfected the epicycloidal jilling machine for gears. In 1880, he resigned his pogj- tion with the Pratt & Whitney Company and. to. gether with his present partner, established j, Cleveland, Ohio, the business which has since growy to large proportions. In an account of Mr. Swasey’s life in Cassier’s Magazine in March, 1897, Dr. John A. Brashear made some comments which are of peculiar interest at this time: “It seems a most fortunate circum. stance that these two men, Ambrose Swasey and Worcester R. Warner, should have associated them- selves together as partners, for although the mak- ing of astronomical instruments was not in their original scheme when starting the business of ma- chine construction, Mr. Warner’s taste for astron- omy, and his interest in the appliances used by astronomers, combined with Mr. Swasey’s love for artistic design and his ability as a mechanical en- gineer, very naturally led them to take hold of the questions pertaining to such instruments.” Among the instruments which they have designed are the famous Lick, Yerkes and United States Naval Ob- servatory telescopes as well as the 72-in. reflecting telescope now under construction for the Canadian Government. Mr. Swasey is, as stated, a past-president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers of Great Britain and of the British Astronomical Society, he is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, is past-president of the Cleveland Engi- neering Society, and, in 1900, received from the French Government the decoration of the Legion of Honor for his achievements in the design and construction of astronomical instruments. He was a member of the Jury of Awards of the Nashville, the Pan-American and the St. Louis Expositions and vice-president of the Jury of Awards of the Jamestown Exposition. In 1905 he served as presi- dent of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, and the same year the degree of Doctor of Engineering was conferred upon him by Case School of Applied Science. Mr. Swasey was married October 24, 1871, to Lavina D. Marston, and he and Mrs. Swasey had traveled extensively up to the time of Mrs. Swasey’s death early in 1913. The Union Steel Corporation of South Africa The development of the South African iron and stee industry is outlined in the annual report of the De- partment of Mines and Industries of the Union 0! South Africa, Parts III and IV. The manufacture ©! steel and iron from steel and iron scrap has been actually started by the Union Steel Corporation °! South Africa, Ltd., at Vereeniging, as a result partly of Government inducements. Rolling was commenced August 1, 1913, and from an open-hearth furnace ©! September 1, 1913, was poured the first steel ingot made in that country. The company’s full equipment com prises a 12-ton open-hearth furnace, a 600-ton press, two Siemens reheating furnaces and a 12-in. rolling mill. The buildings are inclosed by galvanized corr gated iron. The products consist of bar iron and stee! of all sizes, fencing standards, light mine rails, ¢‘ Men employed embrace 100 Europeans and 90 natives, most of the skilled ones being English. The output of the plant has not reached its maximum. Difficulties '" disposing of the product are mentioned. Pebriary 4, 1915 uxiliary Drilling Machine Heads ne of auxiliary heads for use on drilling ma- where it is desired to handle a number of multaneously at high speeds has been placed market by the Rockford Drilling Machine a Recently Developed Line of inn Awiesmbibiead of Multiple Holes To Be Drilled Simultaneously and the Mechanism Employed To Secure This Result Auxiliary Heads for ompany, Rockford, Ill. The heads are intended for ise With vertical and horizontal machines. The spindles may be set in a straight line around the ircumference of a circle or staggered to suit, and either stationary or adjustable spindles can be pro- vided. The length of the spindle sleeve can also be irranged to take care of drilling operations on dif- ferent levels. In the accompanying filustration the nternal arrangement of a two-spindle head of the stationary type is shown at the left, and the other three views, from left to right, are a six-spindle head with the spindles arranged in a straight line, 1 large four-spindle head and a four-spindle head vith the spindles grouped closely together. he heads are attached to the regular spindle of the drilling machine, the shank entering into the nole of the machine spindle. This shank drives a gear, which, as will be noticed from the view at the eit of the illustration, transmits power to the spindles of the head through gears. Upper and wer bearings are provided for the gears and the main spindle of the heads. These are bushed with phosphor bronze and are arranged to provide for the taking up of wear due to the thrust of the gear. Ball thrust bearings are provided for all of the spindles. The gears are made from hardened tool steel or phosphor bronze, the driving and driven gears being of steel, while the intermediate ones ire of bronze. The spindles are made of high-grade el and can be furnished with taper holes with a lrift slot, a straight hole with a set screw or any » of chuck. All the bearings have a lubricating stem. The auxiliary heads with stationary spin- are made oil tight, and the castings can be with light grease or oil. The adjustable type nade as nearly oil tight as is possible, and in t instances the casings are filled with grease. ine Texas Industrial Congress, of which E. W. patrick, Dallas, Texas, is president, announces its annual offer of $10,000 in cash prizes to the farm- f that State to encourage the adoption of better ultural methods, the increased production of live- and the cultivation of home and school gardens. THE IRON AGE 291 A Combination Adjystable Tool Holder George F. Krieger, Grand Rapids, Wis., has recently brought out a tool consisting of a combina tion adjustable lathe, drilling and milling machine, boring and grinding tool holder. It is intended for Drilling Machines Designed To 1 *ermit \ nts use in connection with his adjustable lathe boring tool holder in manufacturing plants, repair shops, tool rooms or garages. The particular field that the holder is designed to cover is jobs that cannot be swung in a lathe, such as the frame of a machine, large jigs where accurate holes have to be bored, crank rods, etc. The special feature about the new holder is the use of a taper shank which fits into a drilling or milling machine. An eccentric wrist pin, used in connection with the taper shank, enables the head L A New Combination Machine, Adjustable soring Lathe, Drilling and Milling and Grinding Tool Holder to swing, so that holes ranging from '% to 6 in. in diameter can be bored. The head is interchange- able on the different shanks that are used in an) of the metal working machines with which it is designed to be employed. A Stainless Non-Rusting Steel A new steel, claimed to be non-rusting and un tarnishable, and called Tirth’s stainless steel, has been introduced by a Sheffield, England, firm, according to United States Consul John M. Savage, of that city, in Commerce Reports. The new metal is especially adapted for table cutlery and requires only ordinary washing to clean it. It is said to retain a keen edge resembling that of double-shear steel, also that the properties are inherent and not due to any treatment The price is reported to be 26c. per lb., or double that of the usual steel for the same purpose. more to work up. It also costs es yeasts es Me eae. en: te sn ok tase: sera tee be aD eater eather ae ieee a —_ Micrographic Inspection of Steel What the United States Navy Has Done in Fixing Causes of Fail- ures by Microscopic Examination The United States Naval Experiment Station at Annapolis, Md., was established in 1908, and at the time it was regarded as the greatest advance in naval efficiency ever made. In an article, “The Engineering Experiment Station, Some Results,” by Lieutenant H. G. Bowen and Leo Loeb, mechan- ical engineer, published in the Journal of the Amer- ican Society of Naval Engineers, the achievements of the station in its brief existence are given in de- more than any other to clear up questions of metal- lurgical structure and processes of manufacture tending toward the prevention of failure of meta] in service. The time is not far distant when every important member of the propelling apparatus wi] have been subjected to a photomicrographic exam- ination before acceptance. The development of photomicrography at the station has been attended by results as important as they are startling. Time % es %. tt Sok. + See : 4 ES De oe Fig. 1—The Connecticut's Crankshaft, Fig Unetched Portion Showing Slag and Manganese Sulphide Inclusions Fig. 4—Section of Crankshaft from the Fig. Section of C-4, Etched, Showing a Crack Along the C-4 Showing C the Cell Walls Slag tail as well as a delineation of the intimate connec- tion existing between the station and the fleet. Topics such as coal, lubricants, corrosion, feed- water: heaters, boiler feed pumping, etc., are dis- cussed and the investigations reported. Of special importance is the portion dealing with the metallo- graphic work of the station, which has a very fine microscopical and metallurgical laboratory. Some extracts are made below: To the experiment station belongs the credit of introducing to the naval service metallography, an art which, though still in its infancy, has done Inclusions 2—The Connecticut’s Crankshaft, Fig. 3—Ruptured Propeller Shaft of Etched Portion Showing Structure and Manganese Sulphide Inclusions the Connecticut Showing Unequal Dis- tribution of Ferrite ‘ll - # ea, } = ee oo -_ _ ~ a . - | * A | aa 7 ae / ent a Crankshaft from Fig. 6—Section of Crankshaft from thé oarse Grain Size and C-4, Unetched, Showing Slag Inclusions and time again the blame for the failure of metal has been traced thereby to defects in the manufac- ture. Figs. 1 and 2 show photomicrographs of the battleship Connecticut’s broken crank shaft. It will be noted that the crystallographic structure of the metal is not unusual. The slag inclusions °! manganese sulphide and iron sulphide are marked. The failure of the metal is attributed to the pres ence of this slag together with its unequal distribu- tion. The specific gravity of MnS is half that of steel, so that if the metal had been allowed to 292 February 4, 1915 stand longer before pouring the MnS would have risen to the surface and could have been skimmed. Fig. 3 shows a photomicrograph of a ruptured propeller shaft of the Connecticut, revealing great patches of ferrite (white) and pearlite. Where ferrite is thus segregated, steel is no stronger than wrought iron. Physical tests made on specimens of the shaft after fracture when compared with tests made be- fore fracture show that the shaft had fallen off somewhat in its tensile strength, elastic limit, etc. But the conclusion is inevitable that the annealing temperature, 1425 deg. F., to which the manufac- turers subjected the shaft was too slow to produce a grain structure well able to resist alternating stresses. Furthermore the slag inclusions, occur- ring as they do in the relatively weak ferrite areas, THE IRON AGE 293 The Best Bar for Testing Cast Iron The object of an investigation dealt with in a paper on “The Transverse Testing of Cast Lron,” prepared by George Hailstone, of Birmingham, England, for the Iron and Steel Institute, London, was to determine the cast-iron test bar that should be used to obtain the most reliable and consistent results with breaking load and deflection, also the relation that exists between the two English standard test bars. The material used was cast iron of fairly good quality, but of the non-chilling type, melted in the cupola. The bars, 14. in. x 24 in. x 50 in. long, were poured from the same ladle and cast in green sand molds horizontally, the down and in gates being of the same size. After remain- ing in the sand until the next morning, the bars were cleaned and machined down to 2 in. x 1 in. sections. The results of the research are stated in the conclusions: The best standard cast-iron test bar to give the most consistent and comparable results both in breaking load and deflection is one 14 in. x 2% in. in section, 42 in. long, machined down to 2 in. x l in. in section and tested on 36-in. centers. The rate of testing should not exceed a load of 1 cwt. in less than 15 sec. Instead of the ratio, as hith- erto thought, of the 2 in. x 1 in. bar, tested on 36-in. centers, to the 1 in. x 1 in. bar, tested on 12 in. centers, being 1.333 times the breaking load, the experiments on machined bars show the mean Fig. 7—Section of a Steel Plate from a Fig. 8—Section of Same Drum as Fig ati . 52 hi ; > r Boiler Drum Showing Segrega- 7 Showing Structure Near the Edge of ratio to be 1.158, while am the on of Ferrite and Pearlite the Rupture bars tested with the skin on still more reduce the strength and life of the shaft. Figs. 4 and 6 are photomicrographs of a crank shaft from the C-4. Fig. 4 shows a crack following the cell walls. The cells are pearlite and the walls are ferrite; the crack is through the weaker fer- rite. Fig. 5 illustrates coarse-grain size and slag inclusions. Fig. 6 is the photomicrograph of a specimen polished but not etched, showing the slag inclusions still more plainly. This crank shaft tailed due to impurities and faulty heat treatment. The faulty heat treatment is responsible for the large grain size. Several water drums of Mosher boilers have been ruptured in service and the cause is made ap- parent from a photomicrographic examination. In the process of manufacturing, the drums are cold- pressed into shape from steel plates and this cold working was not followed by annealing. As a re- sult one would expect segregation and elongated grain. Fig. 7 plainly shows segregation of ferrite and pearlite in a Mosher boiler drum. Fig. 8 shows the structure near the edge of the ruptur