The Iron Age 1917-06-07: Vol 99 Iss 23

THE IRON AGE New York, June 7, 1917 LISHED 1855 A Notable Small-Tonnage Foundry The Construction and Operating Methods of the New Foun dry of the Universal Winding Company, Cranston, R. I. NOTHER has been added to the list of note- worthy New England foundries by the open- ing of the new foundry of the Universal Winding Company, Cranston, R. I., a suburb of Providence. While some comparatively heavy frame castings will be poured, the bulk of the work in the form of small and light castings of somewhat intricate shape. These are required the design of the machines produced by this highly specialized industry, which has a high repu- n and a world-wide trade in the textile field. he plan of this foundry is the result of a thorough examination of the better-equipped foundries of New England and the Middle West by William A. Booth, general superintendent, and W. H. Harriman, nstruction engineer. For many of the details of upment, Charles F. Miller, foundry superinten- s responsible. Whi De | The main foundry building, of the monitor type, is 159 x 180 ft., with a two-story front section 42 x 159 ft. Its external appearance is here well shown. The main floor under the monitor is 93 x 180 ft. The columns supporting the roof are 20 ft. apart in a longitudinal direction and 24% ft. from the edges of the monitor, leaving a clear space of 44 ft. in the middle of the molding floor. This makes it possible to have molding floors 10 x 20 ft. in size with a 4-ft. gangway down the middle. The spaces on each side of the monitor under the main roof are each 33 x 180 ft. The cupola is located in a bay 20 x 33 ft., at the northwest corner of the building. This tion is carried up to provide for a mezzanine and a charging floor. It is the rear of the building so that when it becomes necessary to ex- tend the building, the cupolas will then be in the sec- located at = - - aa ~ -~ - <> = = 1 r _ -_ = eo ANNEALING [| a BENCH ae ' : ROOM . i ! ° a i = \ : . ’ y t ——— 7 Tumis NG y | & GRINDING A Considerable Use of Overhead Tramways is a Feature of the Un 1367 es | h | ~ —_—— Re i PATTERN RO _ 7 -_ _ a iversal Winding ‘ pany’s Foundry 1368 THE if Monitor — center of the structure. The cupola now installed is a Paxson, Calleau type, with 76 in. shell. With single lining this is rated to melt 13 tons per hour, but is now lined to 48 in. with a melting capacity of 9 tons an hour. The bottom is held up by a collapsible cupola leg so arranged with an eccentric joint that pulling on a rope lifts a latch which collapses the leg. The bottom is pulled out by a winch-operated rack. A Hauck crude oil burner is used to light the cupola and this also has for drying ladles. cupola. The blast for the cupola is furnished by a No. 6A Wilbraham Green positive pressure blower, driven by a 35-hp. direct-connected motor. This apparatus and the switchboard for controlling the electric current for lights and power are located a nozzle Space has been left for another Fig. 3 so that Steel Loads Pig-Iron Are 3arrows and Steel Coke Wagons Weighed on the Way to the Cupola. Are IRON AGE Construction the monitor floor Equipment The charging Is Such that It Is Found ire pivoted top and bottom and process of installation Almost are Impossible mechanically op } on the mezzanine floor surrounding the cupola shell at about half its height. Above this is the charging floor, 34 x 40 ft. The surface of this floor is pro- tected by checkered steel plates, °¢ in. thick. Ma- terials are brought to this floor by an elevator, but provision has been made for emergency hoisting by an electric hoist supported by a beam exter from the wall on the outside of the building. A 2-ton Kron scale is used for weighing the charges Steel pig-iron barrows and steel coke wagons Sterling make are used for transporting materials The mezzanine and charging floors are also reached by an iron stairway. The molding floor, with its central bay 44 wide and its side bays 24 ft. wide, will accommodat 65 molders. But little hand molding will be done, molding machines being used almost exclusively. in Use and a Kron Scale Is Located in Front of t ; floor is protected by %-in. checkered stee! ! THE IRON AGE eee a ip ‘ : a’ os nm Pais, i eo Blower and Switchboard Are on the Mezzar for conveying ladles and dumping bucket M 1 pieces will be made on squeezers and large shown on the ground on stripping plates and jolt ram roll-over this and the comparat nes. The larger molding machines will all eral use are to be seen in tl llustration of the ated in the east bay which is equipped with a cupola. Biehl dumping kets are used to carry traveling crane to facilitate handling the castings to the cleaning and shipping rooms and work. The smaller molding machines are for conveying sprues and gates from the floor to n groups of four about each column. By _ the cupola section. The tramrail extends into the cing the sand piles will come in alignment core room and to the molding floor so that a sand cutter can The molding floor composed of n. of loam, erated most advantageously. A Combs gyra- taken from the foundr on which is placed 3 ddle is employed to prepare sand for the _ in. of molding sand. Floors, other than the molding nolding machines, for facings and for cores floor, are of concrete. of the features of this foundry is a tramrail The core room, 33 x 80 ft., is on the west side n capacity, composed of 8-in. I-beams, sup- of the building, adjoining the cupola. The core at a height of 8 ft. from the floor by rods ovens, Fig. 5, are a battery of the 5-draw type made foot intervals. The lay-out of this tramrail by the Coleman Founcry Equipment Company. the position of switches and sidings is plainly Benches placed transversely to the length of the 7 : nA am AW ls) i "f i vr ey pe re Be ll i] or he] Tale A ee ele EP eee ke cae, eee eo | : Nava SRSRe Mei pp) ep) poms > — Equipment of Coleman Core Ovens. Provision is made for coremakers Each man is provided with one tables saown in front of the bench so that molded cores will not be disturbed by the ramming of cores 1370 THE IRON AGE June ~ 19}7 shop at the rear of this section of the and the annealing room is a space give bench molders and to a toilet room. The shop is 26 x 50 ft. and is equipped with a No. 3 universal saw table, an 18-in. buzz p a 36-in. band saw. The office, cleaning, shipping and patte: and the toilet and locker rooms, are locat: two-story front section. The cleaning ro pies the east side of the ground floor, n 40 x 85 ft. Besides the usual equipment stands for cleaning, there is installed a P type L sand-blast room for cleaning floor Bench castings are cleaned in a Pangb GB barrel. Plans have been made also for Richt Is Bat te Reoarte the Arid te the Stosane Peak the Stallation of a sand-blast revolving table. pickle beds are flush with the floor One end of the cleaning room is divided a pickle room which has two sloping pick room provide space for 35 core makers. Each man’ discharging into a central duct. A special is furnished with a substantial table for molded of this installation is the deflectors, Fig. 6, cores, so that his finished product will not be dis- can be adjusted so that the acid can be drain turbed by the ramming of work on the bench. to storage vats and the water into a settling t Wadsworth steel core plates are in use and racks and thence to a sewer. The dip tanks are made of iron pipes are installed to hold cores while the floor directly beside the pickle beds. The cooling. A deposit of good core sand, sufficient beds are flush with the floor and are lead cover to last for a long time, was found on the building The office and shipping room occupy the site. A large number of small circular cores are mainder of the ground floor. Shipments needed for the usual work of the foundry and these weighed out on a 2500-lb. Kron scale which has its are made on end, 200 to 300 at a time in a box, platform in the shipping room and its dial in the on a jarring machine. office. This scale also has a computing attachment The annealing room and the carpenter shop take for ascertaining the number of pieces in any | up much of the space on the east side of the build- of small castings being weighed. A concrete run- ing. The annealing room opens directly from the way leads from the foundry to the main plant and cleaning room and is equipped with two No. 4. castings are conveyed by electric mill trucks. Brown & Sharpe furnaces. Between the carpenter The room over the cleaning room is used for ; } Molder's Tag ' ee : Order No PAT. No. /¢ a Order No PAT. No. /G0- 34 Order No. 7272 put. Ne. (00-39% Order No. 7 WANTED -/*~4 WANTED ./«4 WANTED ““y / } wanten ply / ' ‘ Oo . aS : ; . Ne “< ediah ht <q a ona . oe “3 F n nit emediat LAL F : rx , ib, : 1 JOO No. Daily 2S + pasern Nome oedet, Aide ‘ : $ (“7 Sixiplay Beft. un Steel ao / ° . iy Brg Yr A \ ‘ J : af %S ? “ ; a we Best toch Pe oe - — ' , Filing Pieces . a am ie) tps pe J Pf ee ale _ ; r “T <7 s t Pu ® A Molde ry Vi“ y ae TURN S SIP WITH PATTERN) KEEF PAT NO CLEAN 2<¢ Shortage Cast tron Stock R 5 Se i i es DAY WORKERS’ DAILY RECORD a ‘gis a eee ede FE DAILY MIXTURE SHEET eno Sroxen MIXTURE FOR 7 cadet UCR oars Je eT eos anauebeainininn saammepaia la —_ / re : 1 ’ "Ties rer | Per | Smicon a nee | @ AR NO BRANC Pee ae a) a ‘ore . CmaRG! = ‘ _s a m= f= = +—— hh a * = , : a yal o| , sg ‘ 4 as t | ¢ las | Low) »% pad) 9.724 6712 Ail26 CY” [\dG@rurtck | 2C00| 10 2.60) £20 920| 1 FO.027\ 054 - > eri/ss } 201 5 os ‘ ; 2 | Croy 4 L4é CC OLA CIV 2 WO) GI 2. fa lar) 008 ad +, 2 Lead Chatceal 2a0\| se ard rs] LPN FP CRN OEE) O92) IF , | ; } } 4 ‘ , ; + bs ‘ , a sl ‘ ) ae? 1 sf Ui ticed dctaA SOO| AO W257 ROTA 47 \e3. 7B OSH) 6 fA | } } } 4 } } > | «* 4 « polotal bbe |. BOC O) FS VS ID) tthe Gross Sil, Mang, Sul_ and Phos 244 . , 4-2 | Loss by Oxidation and Sulphur Taken Up From Coke oO} 24 Lf i Net Sil, Mang, Sul. and Phos 2,/% 40 | pidinture Analysis ‘ — ceteris ea nD acaenicent ie endl Remarks _ MIXTURE FOR nal, erg ee me an Ww | Gross Sil. Mang, Sul. and Phos | Loss by Oxidation and Suiphur Taken Up From Cone Net Sil., Meng, Sul. and Phos Mixture Analysis = Remarns The production order, Fig. 7 S sent to the pattern man who lays out the patterns, and the supe! signs the work to the moldet nd sets the piece rate The daily production slip for piece workers, not sh out each morning | 1 cler! nd note ill the patterns which the molder has It is turned in at night checked the next orning by cler The « production slip for day workers, Fig. 8, is practically the for piece workers but is of a different color Fig. 9 is the jol ecord which is kept of work on each pattern kit of tools is given each man, which is charge out as shown by Fig, 10 On the form Fig. 11 is kept a analysis of each daily mixture rames with wood shelves. ter barrels are located at convenient places 1917 THE IRON AGE The pattern racks have The space over e and shipping room is equipped with 16 baths, 56 individual wash bowls with hot | water, and 100 expanded steel individual Steam pipes are placed below the lockers the workmen’s clothes during the night. rage of patterns. angway, the core room and near the cupola water into these is controlled by a d float valve in the corner of the molding lich by maintaining the water level in each at a predetermined height does away with and drain pipes and eliminates the possibil- in overflow from any of the barrels by care Rubblers are maintained at several points " A undry. The source of drinking water is ; eB 8 ft. deep. w ol lighting of the molding floor is by 1000 sand bins are also located besid trogen lamps in conical reflectors, one lamp Each employee is furnished yay formed by the columns; 400-watt nitré working equipment, which is num} ps are used for the lighting in the smaller to him. This record kept o1 On each column in the main foundry is a 10. The production order forn a portable light, and similar plugs ars isual. From Fig. 7 it will be at many points throughout the plant. long strip of cardboard perfor pressed air for the molding machines and sections. The entire product eral use is furnished from the main power’ the pattern man who lk it f the company. Bowes couplings afford a superintendent signs the wo neans of attaching hose to the air mains. The core room order is put N Ye . Y = _ —_ P oJ Pi 5% O < care LHe 2O0S6 | VP Po oS FO E = / PS) sa) Aq ¥* 5 | g / v v wt y o yy = a . 3 . aY s No CUPOLA TA y wie 5 aS gs s @ ¥/.) YN ~ J ~ Charge 44200200 HU Ao!) Added 4Aeo! 200 4vu2co| Aov |\200 Hvo2 Jo} YFUO | 200 44 Od TO) 4 OO 200 4UUV 200. ——— id 4) BouscHT orf . suipwue® \ oF or 2 a mancanest aLysiS—BRANO : yseo su100 ; pic tron AN > | bj - parc 2 ‘ —— wevent + ‘ 12-16 & 443 as. t P 7 “ car | —— u-s3 Jo. 7 ia <V. + 200 {Ff — 29 U4 70 SS, = ¢ nds of Each LD orcs /fv0 2ere sore 4 OT 67F 2722 2 fit _ are — 2.0t One Pound Fuel, Melted Pounds wen. as 7 r Put Out Fh Se CONDITION OF METAL rooe maou Beane v Suanr Pressure of Blast in Ounces Fiowed 44.47 Te rT-—« yome Te ree vTi-e rem T=. reme Teme tem T= Shut Off 5.05 4.20 ed Bottom 5. OF ox oz oz oz oz oz oz oz on oz on on “nM Melting Time 4o2 . . —— —_ - NL ee 5 5 ot t of harge Castings Defective Castings Sprves, & Total Shor c « > rimeT sr 52 Z Priest COLL Ea 7 6< 720 Uhl Stcono msP secomo cot Recorded by sorTrros eee LE LL LLL man keeps the melt record on a !arge manila she with en a. roows ffice Each carload of iron is analyzed and recor ' or Fig ‘ lay ‘lag S REMARKS ? } puosenoerv® gravity carrier is employed in the unloading ften necessary to detach 1 start ron. Each carload is piled separately and the cores considerably ahead of the time ed by a cast-iron sign bearing the brand nam« order is issued to the molder The next r number. These piles are conveniently near the order that goes to the molder. The a as the spur track runs close by. The _ tion is retained in the office and placed or emMPLover Lbs. of Coke From Bottom 1372 under the molder’s number to show the work on which each is engaged or the work ahead of him. The fourth section goes to the shipper. Tags for rush work are red in color. The daily record slip of workmen is filled in with the numbers of the patterns in his possession and given to him each morning. He fills it out at night and turns it in. The next morning the count is checked by a clerk. A slip of lemon color is used for day hands and a green slip is used for piece hands. In this description only a hint has been given to the thought which has been given to the com- fort and convenience of the employees. A sincere effort is made not only to make the foundry at- tractive to the men, but also to the installation of safeguards and to interesting the men in wearing proper clothing and using the utmost care in their daily tasks. Change in Government Boiler Plate Specifications WASHINGTON, June 5, 1917.—As the result of protests of manufacturers of boiler plate that the requirements of the rules of the Board of Supervising United States Steamboat-Inspection Service, governing the manufacture of steel boiler plate are too stringent and unnecessarily increase the cost of making boiler plate to meet the regulations, the executive committee of the board has adopted amendments relaxing the re- quirements for physical qualities of steel plates and for the drilling of tube and stay holes. Inspectors, Manufacturers claim that the requirements of the existing regulations add from 5c. to 6c. per lb. to the cost of steel boiler plate made to meet the rules of Lloyds Bureau, without in any way increasing the serviceability of the boilers made therefrom. After examining the evidence in support of this claim the executive committee has adopted the following rule for physical quality of steel plates: ensile strengt detern : 8.000 1 I ' of 7 0 Ib. per sq measured l gage tl per No change was made in the regulation regarding the physical properties of iron plates, the tensile strength of which must be not than 45,000 lb. per sq. in., with an elongation of not than 15 per cent. The reduction of area must not be less than 15 per cent for 45,000 lb. tensile strength and for each 1000 Ib. up to 55,000 lb. an addition of 1 must be to the required percentage of reduction of area. The board further modified the regulations concern- ing tubes and stays by striking out of section 15, rule 2, the requirement that “all holes for tubes shall be drilled and no part punched” and out of section 16, rule 2, the stipulation that “‘all holes for stays shall be drilled and no part punched,” substituting therefor the following: less l i€ss increase of made Centers or guide holes not to ex ed 7 per cent f the di ameter of the full size finished hole for tube d stays may be punched The ren nele shall be cleanly cut I ed reamed to full The amendments have been approved by the Secre- tary of Commerce and become effective immediately. w..L. ¢ Italy’s Large Pig-Iron Output in 1916 The Italian output and consumption of pig iron in 1916 reached record proportions. The production last year is reported as 454,923 tons, against 372,909 tons in 1915, and 424,099 tons in 1913. Imports last year were 302,333 tons as compared with 240,366 tons in 1915 and 221,689 tons in 1913. Included in the 1916 output was 7000 tons of electric furnace pig iron against 2800 tons in 1915. The charcoal iron produc- tion was 5090 tons, and the amount of 80 per cent fer- romanganese, 4500 tons. THE IRON AGE June 1917 A TALBOT MIXER Two Hearths Provided with a View to a Better Refinement of the Crude Metal To enable the crude metal in the process of steel to be more or less standardized befor¢ duction into the furnace for final treatment effect a better refinement than is possible present mixer, Benjamin Talbot, Middlesbroug land, has recently acquired patent rights in that protected by him in 1903 and 1904. Mr. Ta poses to employ two or more tilting hearths, s: by chills, but so arranged as to be practically furnace having separate hearths, each of whic! an active mixer and can be separately tilted, w! whole furnace can be worked by a single set of Assuming the hearths to be empty, which w be the case when starting the furnace, one-halt up as rapidly as possible by emptying into it th pig iron, and when full the filling up of the next is commenced. Meanwhile the metal in the first is treated as may be desired. Thus, if sulphw the chief element it is desired to remove, the metal i pt quiescent, and the sulphide of manganese slag which rises to the surface is removed from time to time sufficient purification is effected, when the metal may lx drawn off for final conversion in the steel furnace. If silicon be the element it is wished to diminish, the ré quired amount of lime and oxide of iron can be added, + but the slag should not be worked so basic as to cause a partial removal of the phosphorus, it being mor economical to remove the whole of the phosphorus at one operation, either in the preliminary furnace or steel furnace. With this system of storage it is claimed that a con- siderable amount of refining can be accomplished with- out any hindrance to the blast-furnace plant, or delay in providing partly refined metal for the steel furnaces. Further, there is an advantage in dividing the liquid metal from the blast furnaces into separate hearths, as the refining can thus be continued and a standard product be obtained, as is not possible with a one-hearth storage furnace plant, into which the metal from th blast furnaces must of necessity be delivered, although the hearth probably contains partly refined metal, t throwing the whole charge back in both purity an perature. Only a slight improvement in the cont pig iron is possible in such a furnace. Improved Hearths for Electric Steel Furnaces In the ordinary method of making hearths it furnaces, a complete bottom of magnesia binder is rammed in cold and then fritted in place by placing a layer of coke on the bottom and passin current through by lowering the top electrodes. The fritting penetrates only a few inches, leaving the lower part of the bottom still granular. In this condition the hearth or bottom is sometimes easily destroyed whe! the fritted surface breaks through. An improvement in making such hearths is by a patent (U. S., 1,220,839—March 27, 1917) gra to James H. Gray of the United States Steel Cor} tion, 71 Broadway, New York. In his patent proposed to introduce a layer of granular magni one or two inches thick, on the lining of magnesia bricks resting on the shell of the furnace. This layer magnesia is then brought to a molten or semi-m condition, taking advantage of the fact that magnesia and similar materials are fairly good conductors of e' tricity at high temperatures. Added layers are tus fused until the desired depth and shape is a sound ane reliable monolith. Details of the procedure are « in the patent. wit! The Municipal Civil Service Commission, New ‘ City, will receive applications until June 13, 1°! the position of mechanical engineer to perform e&"é™ neering work in connection with the mechanical ed? for Y ment of buildings, the design of machinery or !" nection with power or heating plants. TRIC RESISTANCE FURNACE* F elting go-Lb. Charges of Nickel-Silver Scrap in Crucibles ears ago the authors carried out a series of with the object of improving the a range of nickel-silver alloys currently pro heir works for subsequent rolling into sheet the electroplating trade up to two-thirds of metal is returned to the melting pot as scrap, ‘resh nickel required in the melting charges isly alloyed with copper. ation showed that the properties of these re greatly influenced by impurities, and that tions of melting played an important part in luction of material with the best working Bearing in mind the necessary utilization it is obvious that any contamination due to .g., sulphur, would tend to be cumulative. found that in the following respects gas ivantages over coke: The greater ease of the heat and maintaining a slightly reduc- phere; lower sulphur content and greater duc- he alloy. sadvantages of gas compared with coke, were: imes and hot gas when furnace uncovered for etc.; decreased life of plumbago crucible; ne losses, owing to rapid currents of gas, and ting, a point of vital importance for ordinary work. ‘uel costs of working with gas of 560 B.t.u. at per 1000 cu. ft. and coke at $6.75 per ton, iently close for practical purposes. ments tsyQ ctric furnace of the resistance type large take the usual 100-lb. crucible was ex- 7 \ J ~; SS YY - | |A B - } J | i ee stors a Arrangement of Res ve the following advantages over a gas fur- g to its quiescent state the atmosphere of would be completely reducing (since car- introduced into the pot or into the furnace while loss of spelter would be greatly much less sulphur contamination; greatly .per read before the Institute of Metals (Great ron 22, 1917 THE IRON 1373 AGE enhanced life of the crucibles, and improved quality of the metal. The general form of the f Sixteen were is shown in carbon rods 1 in. diameter and 19 in arranged in a 13-in. circle, and connected by form /urrent graphite blocks alternately at top ar two parallel sets, each of e ttom to ight rods in series, ( : was supplied to the two sides of the circle by graphite , ! i : | fe a2) my ‘pl r T | ip 74 ‘ { | }. B TASS A> B J 4 locks A onnectior n the holes in the | rods making electrical] The graphite rods terminal blocks, to which the To protect the carbon rods from « carborundum fire-sand and sodium patted round them. The insulation is rods ground into ind B, the carbon Same manner were soldered into water-cooled ; cables were bolted xidation a mixture of solution was heat Fig. 2, the inner layer A con sisting of carborundum fire-sand or ordinary sand, the outer one B of Kis : silicate recommended method of shown it al d The table below gives the particulars of a run on the furnace, using charges of 90 lb. of nickel-silver scrap: } S Curt l An I I ; ) ‘ ‘ ‘ hed i 1 ; | In the above test the times of melting were hrs and 95 min. for the first and second heats respectively, while the energy consumptions were 53.6 and 29.2 kw.-hr. respectively per 90 Ib metal melted. On the basis of five heats per day (th up cold every morning), and assuming the last three furnace being started heats to require the same energy consumption as the second, the average energy per cwt. would be 42.5 kw.-hr. Although this cost is rather high, it would be largely compensated for by the greatly increased life of the plumbago crucible. After several heats the new crucible used showed practically no change in appearance, not 1 having suffered oxidation. badly owing to the latter cause after a few heats. Remembering that one could probably considerably increase the efficiency of the furnace on which the above estimate is based, the cost of electrical melting would seem to be not prohibitive, at any rate for special qualities of nickel silver used for difficult spinnings, etc., which demand the highest possible ductility. The actual thermal efficiency in the furnace about 22 per cent, as compared with about 6 per cent, in the case of gas heating glazing or removal of graphite by Crucibles heated in gas furnaces flake very was The Hudson Trading Company, exporter of steel and iron products, announces its removal to suite 1105, 18 East Forty-first Street, New York, where it will occupy larger quarters. The William C. Johnson & Sons Machinery Company, St. Louis, Mo., has removed from 210 Washington Ave- nue to 1001-3-5 North Sixth Street. NEW UNIVERSAL MILL . 1 T) . Rolls All in One Plane and Product Free from Cracks and Flaws Starting with the charge that the p1 steel is being carried ¢ to-day ist as 1t w: ) ve more ago, particularly blooming mill work, and that all this time rolled steel has bes subject to tnose trou blesome defects commonly known as slivers, cracks and flaws, Charles W. Hawthorne, superintendent of rollin; mills, Wickwire Steel Company, Buffalo, N. Y., has sup plied to THE IRON AGE some particulars regarding a unl versal rolling mill on which he has been granted a pat ent. Mill design, he agrees, has been changed and me chanical parts, such as housings, manipulators, screw downs, etc., have been improved from time to time. but the process of reducing the steel to smaller sections, he maintains, has never been altered. mill, he asserts, blooming mill to the steel. Nowadays in the open-hearth department all sorts of schemes are tried to secure a product that be rolled into bars and present itself faultless spector’s eye. The new design of is devised particularly as a break-down prevent the cracking or fracturing of may to the in- Heating furnace and soaking pit practice has been altered to accomplish the same purpose, but, as Mr. Hawthorne expresses it, “the dirge of the chipping hammer is ever growing louder and louder as it pounds its way into the wreck and ruin and destruction wrought by the mighty crush of the rolls. A blooming mill rol] ‘ Mill Designed to Work on the Bar Putting Horizontal and Vertical Plane Fig. 2—Hawthorne Its Entire Perimeter, the One Over Vertical Rolls 1 an do more damage in 5 minutes than 5) hours.” Fic. 1 shows three bars of steel rolled from h a ch Dy do in gots. The ingots were identical in size, shape, steel and all heated at the same time it manne The rolling, however, was different. Bar N 1 was rolled in the usual manner, the manner of ro that is daily being employed. The ruptures in the there shown are pointed to as proving the destructi vrought by the rolls. Bars 2 and 3 were rolled a Fig > When a Solid Horizontal Roll Was Use the No. 1 Showed Excessive Wear, While When the 8S Compensating Device Was Employed, the Disk, ! No. 2, Showed No Wear ing to the Hawthorne idea and the photographs wer produced to show the absence of torn and fract metal. Fig. 2 shows the mill in which bars 2 and 3 we har rolled. It is purely a universal mill wherein th worked upon about its entire circumference, all the being in one vertical plane, as contrasted with the versal mill in which the horizontal and vertical rolls @ in tandem. The vertical rolls are disks beveled on the inner surfaces and held in place and self-adjusting © their contact with the beveled collar of the horizont rolls. The collars of the horizontal. rolls are sleeves backed up by bronze wearing rings, all being built up on the roll in a unique way, providing pensating arrangement for wear. Fig. 3 shows two disk rolls. horizontal roll and shows No. 2 was used with the compensating device a no wear. Fig. 4 shows the manner in which zontal roll is built up. The rolling of the bar is always of a square section. There is no slabbing and edging and disp of the particles of steel in an abnormal manner, ™ Hawthorne emphasizes. No manipulators are necess® with this mill and he points out that so-called ' downs are impossible and therefore no heavy ™4 ‘s necessary to hold the bar up in the pass. No. 1 was used wil solid excessive weal na sf My "i or odé ted or twisted bar, he claims, will naturally cor- f in this mill; all that is necessary is an ordi- e with a tumbling device. nill is for rolling symmetrical shapes such as rails, flats, etc. Fig. 5 illustrates the mill for beams. ELECTRIC ANNEALING FURNACE _ Very Long One for Strip Steel—Other Uses for the Baily Furnaces electric annealing furnace 193 ft. long is the itest development in the rapid strides now be ng made in the application of electricity to in- st ises. It is now being built for use by a large in the Pittsburgh district for annealing bright teel and it is guaranteed that the steel will come he furnace as bright as it went in. The new is being built by the Electric Furnace Com- June 7, 1917 THE IRON AGE ie tainers or where extreme accuracy of the reduction of labor cost to a minimum is desired Melting Non-Ferrous Metals In referring to the use of the electric furnace fo. melting non-ferrous metals Mr. Baily said that the tilt ing type is the one offering the greatest saving in cost over fuel fired furnaces of any type; as the metal loss is lower, the crucible cost is eliminated and the labor item is low. It was stated that the following figures may be taken as operating conditions in melting yellow brass in a plant operated 24 hr. a day: ; ir per 6 -lb t t t etal, 33 Mr. Baily furnished additional information in reply to many questions from his audience. S. T Wellman said that one of the best uses for electric fur naces of the type referred to is in melting brass and aluminum and metals along that line, especially those \lliance and Cleveland, Ohio, of which T. F. requiring only a low temperature. He said the saving president. Mr. Baily made this announcement of metal is a very important item and ought to put the —_— . ater. it Shoulder Colle . os } Loose A ~ Sleeve ™ FIG. 4 il Roll of the Hawthorne Universal Mill Is Built nt with the Beveling of the Vertical Disk Which it } ng the discussion of a paper on “Annealing and it Treating Steel and Melting Non-Ferrous Metals e Electric Furnace,” which he presented May 15 he Cleveland Engineering Society. paper was illustrated with a number of lantern showing various installations of Baily electric The speaker stated that the uncertainty of pply and its increased cost have in the past iterially aided the introduction of electric fur- ‘onsiderable scale and central stations, which showed a lack of interest in electric furnace de- t, have of late taken an active interest in their tion. The following were given as some of the which furnaces of the type referred to have Annealing steel castings and car axles, heat steel castings and shells, carbonizing, anneal- num, copper and brass, and melting copper, iminum and silver. ese Mr. Baily said will be added shortly, elec- ing pit furnaces for steel plants and rivet for structural and bridge shops and later e!ec- es for heating drop forgings when there is a r an electric furnace for this purpose. Fur erred to in the paper and illustrated included pe of annealing furnaces, continuous pusher , automatic heat-treating furnaces and ng furnaces. He said that the automatic ng furnace is being used for heat treating drawbar knuckles and large high explosive ; haces the first cost of furnaces of this type is high, shown that they approached very closely point of commercial efficiency, for they not no operation to chance, but reduce the labor minimum. He believed that it could be said these installations that hundreds of thousands had passed through the furnace without a ‘riation in the temperature than 10 deg. from ited point. This type of furnace, he said, le when the material to be heat treated is of ection or can be placed in suitable metal con- ] “ —i | KT Ne y | |" a | | “ae Za’ + a Lemme — | | | | IN | . ) | | U EN | electric furnaces in every plant that melts any quantity of these metals In reply to questions, Mr. Baily said that when a brass melting furnace was shut down from 5 p. n to 3 a. m. it took 4 hr. to get the furnace up to the working temperature of 2500 deg. Fahr. The brass furnace is operated on a powel! factor of about 9R™ per cent. He was unable to tell the average life of the lining of the furnace. Regarding the life of elec trodes, he said tha tin one furnace, operated at 2500 deg. a new pair of electrodes is put in every seven months. At another plant the average life was about three months. On a basis of 10-hr. operation, he stated that it is feasible to shut the furnace down. The tem perature will drop from 2400 to 1900 deg. in the 14-hr. cooling and it will take 4 hours to bring it up again. The average current of 400 kw.-hr. per ton was for constant operation. In ordinary industrial use, the furnace operation, where current is required to bring the furnace temperature up again. an extra 500 kw should be allowed. Without considering the metal los with current at lc. per kw.-hr. he estimated there would be a saving of $6 to $10 per ton over using $8 coke. Mr. Baily recommended that foundries having va- rieties of mixtures to melt, continue to use crucibles In case of delay in pouring and the metal is kept hot in an electric furnace, the zinc loss is increased, but not so much as in open-fired furnaces or in crucibles. The temperature cannot be kept down in this case, as it takes 15 min. to get any effect from turning off the cur rent. No attempts have been made to use electric furnaces for annealing large forgings, but it is expected that con- tracts would be placed for equipment for annealing forgings and shafts 42 ft. long. This would be an adapta- tion of the car type annealing furnace. In speaking of the large electric annealing furnace referred to and now being built for annealing bright strip steel on cars, the cars will move continuously through it. With cur- rent at lc. per kw.-hr. the cost would be approximately $1 a ton. Producer Gas and Its Industrial Use; Detarring and Cleaning by Electricity— Application in Heat-Treating Axles by the Ford Motor Company—Cost of the Gas BY F. W. STEERE NE of the greatest problems now confronting in- dustry is, undoubtedly, the fuel problem. It is the same old story of prodigal waste until we sud denly find ourselves face to face with a real shortage. The subject of this discussion is to consider the pos- sibilities of one of the methods of utilizing soft coal, that is, by converting it into producer gas. This gas is by no means the panacea for all our ills, but it has its place, and our duty now is to determine to what extent its use can be applied in conserving our natural fuel supplies. For many years producer gas has been successfully used in metallurgical work for heating large furnaces, for melting glass, etc. These operations are carried on with hot producer gas, that is, the gas from the pro- 11 ducer offtake, which is usually at a temperature of from 1200 to 1400 deg. Fahr., is led directly to the furnaces through brick-lined fiues. Producer gas made from soft coal carries large quantities of tar, soot and dust in suspension. It is impossible to keep a large part of this solid matter from being deposited in the flues betwee the producer and the furnaces. This deposit must be periodically removed by “I burning ou Types of Producers Making Clean Gas The only practical means for utilizing producer gas in the great variety of heating operations which aré found, for instance, in the automobile industry, is to clean the gas completely of all suspended matter and cool it to normal room temperatures. It then can be distributed through any system of piping the same as ordinary city gas. The big problem has always been to make a gas free from both tar and soot. This difficulty of getting clean gas has, undoubtedly, had more to do with the slow development and adoption of producer gas than all other things combined Two general types, 01 classes, of producers have been developed, the dis- tinguishing characteristics of which are the methods of cleaning the gas: oducer wl e 4 es fixe u Producer ’ ’ 5 ippal us I ‘ Suction and pressure producers are found in both of these classes. The producers of the first class are built on the theory that if the hydrocarbon vapors, tar oils, etc., which go to make up the very complicated combinations of material that are usually designated as “tar,” are brought in intimate contact with highly heated sur- faces, these tar constituents will be cracked to fixed gases. The down draft producers, double zone pro- ducers, and underfeed producers illustrate this class. In these machines the gas is made to pass through the heated portions of the fuel bed, relying on the contact with the incandescent coke to bring about the cracking. All of the simpler forms of producers, where the fuel is charged at the top and steam and air are blown in at the bottom, come under the second class. The tarry vapors which are distilled from the top of the producers, obviously, pass out with the gas and must be cleaned by some external means. This problem of re- moving tar from gas made in producers of the second class, has been attacked from almost every conceivable angle, such as washing, scrubbing, complicated spray systems, deflectors, centrifugal and whirling machines *From a paper read before the Society of Detroit Chemists, May 17, 1917, a local section of the American Chemical Society. The author is president of the Steere Engineering Company, Detroit of almost infinite variety, filtering, pressur: expansion, and precipitation by high tensi discharges. Detarring by Electricity The high tension electrical process for det was invented by the author in 1911. TI extract from a paper entitled “An Elect: for Detarring Gas,” ican Gas Institute in 1914, describes what in the “Ionizer” where the gas is passed high tension electrical discharges: which was read before \n opportunity was provided at the Detr« Semet-Solvay Company to work out thess theory on which this work is based. TI from complete, has proved sufficient] perfecting a detarring process whic}! i) ttempting to briefly outline the elect: ef in mind first that the gas mole« both positive and negative electri wi cr 4 T he eparated by X rays, beta and £ T brush discharge from point corona d raised to high potential, ultra-violet light of separating neutral gas molecules int rged parts or ions is called “ionization.’ It ope of this paper to attempt to discuss the ioni Id be noted that ions as such are very to exist, that is, recombine to form neutra t the instant they are outside the ionizing few molecules are continually splitting up e of the trace of radio-active substances well as in the atmosphere l’rofessor Millaken of the University of th movement of a small drop of il betw charged condenser plates when attacke pnerwk 1OT The drop receives a charge whel t throwing on and off the electrical field, the beat up and down between the plates The che itself to the drop the fact is mads erver by its change in speed, this change depe ign of the ion and the charge on the drop nd interesting thing to note is that with ove irops tudied in this way, the change of spee exact proportional to the number of ions att Let us recall that there are about 27 b of ordinary air and that each mole ted into at least two ions When just one + billior ions per cu. cm. attached itself t tantly caused an appreciable change il Imagine then the violence with which this d: beer throw! ibout if all the molecules surr¢ ust the condition we bring about rrel The gas carrying the minute tar gl to an intense ionizing field Billions of ga ever side are being torn apart The result bout in their effort to recombine The globules find themselves in a storm cent hurling them in every direction The n the passage of the tar particles through th: ef and it might naturally be supposed been, that an aimless to and fro movement be the result of applied energy. It would, how conceive of a condition more favorable to r particles, and experience shows that eit! impact or for some reason as yet unknow l ults and the dense tar mist is almost ted, leaving a relatively few large tar drops Chis rather figurative description will seem mor‘ who have witnessed this remarkable phenomé glass vessel filled with dense fumes or fog. T! current is turned on the whole field can be s The commercial importance of this becomes when we realize that this action can be br almost any desired temperature. No attempt is made to free the gas of these tar particles while it is still in the ionizing fi« 1376 ny 7, 1917 irranged that everything is swept on through int of mechanical extractor, where a complete remov with very little power loss ole process may be summed up in this It is pra ossible to free the gas from tar in the ext subdivision which naturally results fror ra There is no difficulty in removing relative and the electrical treatment simply converts to the large drops mous sums of money have been expended in ng to perfect a commercial process, that is, ss which would deliver clean gas of uniform power continuously. The great difficulty which ays been met lies in the fact that the success gas-making process depends almost entirely on with which it is operated. Machines and es may give perfect results in the hands of the s, or skilled operators, but when they are sold iously and are handled by unskilled, or indif- perators, the result is failure. This has been ry of the gas producer development for years th the result that all clean gas producer de- ent work is looked upon with a great deal of Gas Heat-Treating Furnace for Axles llustrate the possibilities of producer gas firing, furnaces which we have designed and built for Motor Company at Detroit, for heat treating es, is here described. Three heat treatments After the first heating, the axles are to cool in the air by radiation. After the second they are quenched. After which, they are eated to a lower temperature and allowed to These furnaces are so designed and laid out axles are pushed mechanically through the nace and kept moving for a space of about intil they reach a temperature within 50 deg. temperature. They are then mechanically fed econd furnace, pushed through and quenched. yor carries them from the quenching tank to the mechanism of the third furnace, where they their final heating and are pushed out the rear for the machine operations. be noted that the axles are handled mechan- roughout the process, and after being fed into irnace, do not stop until the three heat-treat- itions are complete. These three furnaces have ty of completely heating one front axle per \lthough the heats are different in each fur- three furnaces are duplicates, with the excep the draft and damper settings to bring about the temperatures. earth is 5 ft. wide by 14 ft. long. The axles on specially designed cast-iron ways with the ging down. When the furnace is filled with the axles themselves form a practically which moves along through the furnace over Small pieces, such as cam shafts, spiders, , ete. are piled on top of the axles and are car- igh the furnace, receiving exactly the same tment as the axles. These small parts are hand between each furnace, as no mecha- so far, been designed to handle them me- The gas and air are delivered through the F valves to the regenerators at a pressure of itely 3 in. of water. The four regenerators directly under the hearth, the gas on the the air on the outside. There is one com- : imber immediately over each pair of regen- ef nd immediately under one-half of the hearth ling under its entire length. ducts of combustion pass through flues along the hearth, sweep over the hearth, down ie flues on the opposite sides, divide after rough the opposite combustion chamber, and through the opposite pair of regenerators, the reversing valves and out the stack. The . reversed on an average of every 15 to 20 min. _ icts of combustion, while passing over the e directed by a series of jack arches placed feet at right angles to the movement of mate- the furnace hearth. A solid division wall, the foundation to the hearth, separates the iired, tr THE IRON AGE 1377 two pairs of regenerators. steel jacket with 2% in. of steel and brick work. We have built this fype of furnace with a muffle to prevent the products of combustion from coming in con tact with the steel, the idea of the muffle being to reduce the scaling to a minimum. The average gas consump tion with the muffle was 264 cu. the average cubic feet of 22,970. The fur insulating material between nace is inclosed in a ft. of gas per gas per ton of stock being The efficiency of the furnace was 14% per cent With the same type of furnace, minute, under ex actly the same temperature conditions and delivering the same amount running of stock, without the muffle, that is, the products of combustion coming in contact with the steel, we find that the average gas consumption was 73 cu. ft. of gas per minute, or 11,500 cu. ft. of gas per ton of stock, with a furnace efficiency of 26 per cent as compared with 14% per cent as stated above. By furnace meant the total the total amount of heat furnace in the gas comparisons, the greater when the muffle is this kind of stock, the same in that the temperature of the stock can easily be kept withi: val By skillful efficiency iS amount of heat put into the stock, divided by delivered to the From these much practical operation, cost of operating and the skillful both cases We find heated in the furnace ation of 10 or difficu ty very used with : results on are about ] ) deg. operation, there is no in keeping the temperature variation withir deg. These results have been obtained over tests of several months’ dura tion. The Ford Motor Company is adding six add tional front axle heat-treating units of the Steere En gineering Company design, which will probably be operation by the first of July Cost of the Gas The cost of producer gas necessarily varies with the price of coal, water, labor, investment in plant, hours operated daily, et The labor and capital charge varies also with the size of the plant. For ex ample, take a plant with a capacity of 3 million cu. ft of gas per 24 hr., with coal at $3 will cost 4%c. per 1000 cu. ft pe r ton, producer gas \ plant with a capacity of 15 million cu. ft. per 24 hr. and coal at $3 per ton, the gas would cost 4%4c. per 1000 cu. ft. On a B.t.u basis, this corresponds to 4% and 4c. cil, respe tively. It must be kept distinctly in that these figures are costs of the fuel delivered to the furnace and do not take into account capital charges of the distribution system necessary, capital charges on the furnace investment, repair of furnaces, etc. In other words, it is the total cost of the fuel ready for distribution, rather than the cost of heating stock. The following data are the result of continuous test mind, however, taken on the above described front axle furnace from April 1 to 20: ©utput of turnace tol : . Cubic feet of gas per hour Cubic feet of gas per tor { rifle power f ¢ B.t | Cost of fuel per ton meta , +f -M) Cubic feet of zg I Cost per hour for fuel for “furnace standing ~ t per M J : I d ck per hour per f r st] ) rer nt o ot he ‘ pp ‘ : s. efficiency of fur Per cent of total heat supplied furt e to stach Per cent of tota heat ipplied furna ti; rd In the above test the fuel supplied the furnace was measured by means of a station meter. This meter measured the gas supplied to two furnaces, the gas be- ing divided the two furnaces by means of Pitot tubes installed on both furnaces. The amount of heat that into the stock was determined from the rise in temperature of the stock, and its specific heat. This specific heat was determined by laboratory experiment and found to be 0.12. In the above data, special attention is called to the calorific power of the gas, which is only 127 B.t.u. per cu. ft. The reason for this low B.t.u. is that the gas was made by gasifying pea coke. This also accounts for the low cost of the gas per thousand cubic feet. This gas would be equivalent to ordinary producer gas at 4c. per thousand cubic feet. This particular test has been selected out of a great between went 1378 many run to show that a very weak gas can be effec- tively used in a properly designed furnace, which is contrary to the general.opinion that a weak gas cannot be effectively used. The results of these tests check very closely with the average of a long series of tests on gases of different calorific power. Advantages of Producer Gas Briefly, the advantages of may be summed up as follows: producer vas It furnishes a depen ble Tue upp! r < trol, that is, it is as dependable s coal l be u d fo ¢ heating A ing enan ing rl lame empel 1 N 2 \ t large, there are no intensely hot spot in the irnact with the result that repair n brick work are next t t The highest furnace efficiencié ire possible with gas In every application that we have studied we have four that the costs were les with p