The Iron Age 1917-07-26: Vol 100 Iss 4

"A. ; New York, July 26, 1917 VOl a No. 4 Pee, ERR Se Equipment for Expediting Shell-Forging How the Curtis & Co. Mfg. Co., by a Unique Com- bination of Rollways and Cranes, Doubled Its Plant Capacity for Making Rolled and Cast-Steel Shells ESIGNED and equipped to establish general 1) efficiency, the two forge-shell plants of Curtis & Co. Mfg. Co., St. Louis, whose process and patented shell-forging press were described in THE IRON AGE of July 5, are of particular interest to engineers as incorporating ideas which have been put in practice within the past year and are ap- plicable to steel works. In no small measure the company’s proficiency is due to the successful appli- cation of features in steel-handling methods, plant lesign, heating furnaces, etc., which have added to the ease with which its workmen have done their tasks and speeded up its production. Xollways constitute an important part of the equipment for handling material, as demonstrated in the original shell-forging plant. What is known as forge plant No. 1 was at first equipped with light overhead travelers to carry the blanks from the furnace to the presses and the forgings away from the presses. Its capacity, with this apparatus, was 600 forgings per day, but experience soon showed that the plant, outside of the conveyor equipment, had a capacity of 1000 forgings a day, and that the overhead carrier system was the only obstacle to a considerable further increase in ¢a- pacity. Rollways, therefore, were substituted for overhead carriers, and this enabled adding a fourth furnace, doubling the number of cooling chambers, and increasing the capacity to approximately 2000 8-in. forgings per day, even though one of the origi- nal forge presses was removed. Forge plant No. 2 was designed after plant N¢ had been in operation for seven months, and the arrangement is considered more efficient than that of the latter. The floor level at the heating fur- naces of plant No. 2 is 2 ft. higher than the floo1 level where the presses are situated, making the application of gravity rolls to the presses very eas) Also, the ground space available for this plant was ample, whereas plant No. 1 was built in a constricted space. The capacity of plant No. 2 in 8-in. forgings is from 2200 to 2600 per day of 20 hr., or in 9.2-in. forgings from 1800 to 2200 per day of 20 hr. The manner in which the workmen have been protected from excessive heat during the hot sun mer months in St. Louis is considered by the man agement to be most successful. In the months of July and August, 1916, the thermometer, for many t Overhead Cranes Do All Lifting and Cross-Traveling While Rollways Transfer Blanks Lengthwise of the & Outside the wall are jib cranes which transfer blanks through open windows to the rollway at the right 183 re, A J 184 THE IRON AGE July 26, 19:7 ngots Are Moved Le Platform by ngthwise of the Receiving are rolled fron forgings easily days, reached a maximum of 95 to 105 deg., and plant No. 1, which was turning out 1000 forgings a day of 20 hr., did not lose an hour because of shut downs on account of the heat. A few men whose backs were turned toward the furnaces were pros trated, but when it was discovered that the heat on the spine was the dominant factor in heat pros tration the working positions of the men were changed to eliminate this cause. The company believes that the freedom from heat difficulties is due to the combination of the following factors: First, high buildings with re movable insuring ventilation in hot weather, when the sides are removed; second, pow erful electric fans sucking in cool air from a shady place and creating a draft toward the furnaces; third, efficient hoods over the furnaces, with ven tilators opening in the roof; fourth, water shields front and back of the furnaces; fifth, automatic chain screens in front of the furnaces, which lower as the furnace door opens and raised the furnace door closes; sixth, powerful air-blast cur sides, good are as Satisfact« i The Made Clean. Mirror e { the Rollwa ind Piled by Movable platform to box cars Wall Jib Cranes. Finish shipping tains in front of the furnaces blowing upward and rearward to co-operate with the water shields; sev- enth, efficient preliminary cooling chambers, so that hot forgings are cooled in brick chambers with good ventilating stacks; eighth, brick or concrete cooling tunnels with good stacks, in which the hot shells from the normalizing furnaces are cooled. The hydraulic system of each plant is provided with shock absorbers to protect the piping. Also both accumulators are fitted with overtravel control at both ends of travel in addition to being equipped with a centrifugal device which prevents the accu mulator lowering at an excessive speed. The com- pany attributes its good fortune in not having had an accident of any kind to the hydraulic piping, to the use of shock absorbers, and the non-use of ele trically-driven pumps. The combination of rollways and overhead car riers, shown in an illustration of the heating fur naces of forge plant No. 2, has proved very efficient for handling the blanks which are to be pre-heated previous to being forged. The blanks ready for heating are piled at the back or receiving end of the furnaces. When these blanks are to be trans ferred to the furnaces one of the overhead hand propelled traveling cranes, which carry air hoists and magnets for handling the blanks, is brought over a pile, and remains there while the light, eas) running trolley goes forward and backward fron the pile to the rollway until the entire pile has been transferred to the rollway in front of the heart! Che hoists and trolleys, therefore, do the lifting and ross traveling while the ingots move lengthwise the shop on the rollways. Ingots are also stored in a receiving shed out side the wall of the furnace building, along the side of which runs a rollway, shown in the | tration. When these ingots are to be passed the furnaces they are picked up by the jib cranes n the outside wall, placed on the rollway, and the! transferred by the hoist and trolley of the overhea bridge cranes to the rollway in front of the furn: hearths. Also, when a heat of ingots just received being piled back of the furnaces, the wall crane transfers the ingots to the rollway and uly 26, 1917 THE IRON AGE Simple Unloading Shed Is Well Protected ther and the Light Tongs of the Air Hoist Rapid, Safe and Dependable from the Have Proven ngot moves up or down this rollway until oppo- site the space where the heat is to be piled, and is then picked up by the trolley and the hoist on the bridge crane and piled, the heavy bridge remaining stationary while the light trolley and hoist do all the moving. The two traveling cranes shown were at first used without the rollway, but their capacity was entirely inadequate, so the two rollways were added. The combination of the rollways and cranes has a capacity far beyond the capacity of the four fur- ces. The receiving hearths on these furnaces ire 4 ft. deep and extend entirely across the width the furnaces, and have a large storage capac- The small diameter bars shown on the rear of the rollway next to the furnaces are used r separating the heats in the furnace, and are termed separating bars. The scheme of handling material in plant No. 1 liffers materially from that of plant No. 2, as shown one of the illustrations. The blanks are carried on trucks and piled on hearths by a magnet or ngs and hoist on light overhead bridge cranes. s arrangement, though satisfactory, does not ipare with the arrangement for feeding the rnaces at plant No. 2 as to capacity or cost of eration. The discharging ends and hearths of furnaces in plant No. 1, however, are similar those of plant No. 2. lhe company believes that it has obtained satis- tory service from its furnaces and greater out- vith the least inconvenience to the men. It never had a single cracked forging due to too heating of the blank, and has never had a blank; and also the total forgings rejected ise of eccentricity is but a very small fraction per cent. By having a short but wide furnace believed that all the benefits of a long and v furnace are obtained without any of its de- he cutting of long blooms of forged or rolled nto short blanks, which was at first a trouble- problem, has now been reduced to a very process. The first method used was by pow- Ingots Are Received for nd insferred to Bit Inspected Inspection Through Oper her Inspection Table b gots re removed } erful hacksaws designed and built for this Mechanically, these saws purpose were very satisfactory. A single saw would cut through a Gothic bloom 74 in. across the flats in 20 min., and made average, including handliug, 40 cuts in 20 hr. A battery of 32 saws was required to cut 1200 blanks a day. As the hacksaw wide, compared to a on the made a cut only 3/32 in. ve-in. kerf of a modern rotary saw, the saving in steel by the use of hacksaws was considerable. The saws, now no longer used, were designed and built by the company, were 16 in. center to center of hole, 1% in. thick, having six teeth per inch. The total stroke of the saw blade was 6 in. Two saws were placed side by side on a common base, making two cuts simultaneously. three heavy screw clamps. from wide, and 0.065 in. long The bloom was held in place by Each battery of four saws was served by a rollway and a steel-topped table leading to each pair of saws. Two batteries of saws were driven by a 20-hp. motor. The cuts _ 186 THE IRON AGE July 26, 19 Bla s Are Brought in on Trucks and Piled on Hearths by with the Arrangement of Plant No made by the hacksaws were clean and mirror-like, showing up the slightest imperfection in the steel, and were, therefore, very satisfactory from the viewpoint of inspection. When the doubling of the forging capacity was undertaken, the company resorted to the use of the oxy-acetvlene torch for nicking the blooms and a The “Ingot Hospital.” The tlting cradle under the rinder is upright to facilitate eg ling ve rhead Cranes in Plant No. 1, But This Does Not Compare t ( it\ rr Cost of Operation press for breaking them. After using several de- signs of torching machines it finally adopted the machine shown in our illustration, which proved very satisfactory. The blooms are inspected and marked for length of blank to be cut, then passed along a rollway to the torching table. Two rolls of the rollway are equipped with hand wheels, s that the bloom can be accurately moved along these until the mark on the bloom comes directly under the torch. The torch is moved up and down by screw, and in and out by a rack and pinion. The bar is nicked about “*, in. deep on one side onl and as soon as the nick is made the bloom is moved one length and the nick cooled by cold water, afte: which it is rolled to the breaking press, nick down, and accurately placed so that the breaking blade is directly over the nick. The power is then turned on and the bloom broken clearly and squarely. Thi press has 300 net tons capacity, which is sufficient to break 814-in. Gothic bars. The lower breaket anvils on the press are adjustable in and out witl a maximum distance between anvils of about 20 In and a minimum distance about 6 in. An unusual shed is used for unloading individua cast ingots from the cars in plant No. 1. It box-shaped structure, open at both ends, and bridg ing tracks so that cars can easily be run in and ou Under this shed 2000 ingots can be unloaded 20 hr. Two light tongs, similar to ice tongs, eac! operated by an air hoist, are used, each tong catch ing one ingot at a time A man standing near the end of the freight car, on a board running fr the side of the car to a ladder at the side of shed, has a full view of the interior of the car as well as the receiving platform, and operates the alr- hoist valve. This arrangement is well protected ‘ from the weather, and has proved to be safe, rapi¢ and dependable. The tongs have been found bot! quicker and safer for handling ingots than magne: when unloading cars. Adjacent to this unloading shed is the inspect! Air Bl Heat Hot Luring the om, an interior view of which is shown. As the gots are lowered by the tongs from the freight they land on an iron shelf just outside of the pen windows. They are then passed along the roll- ivs to one of the inspection benches, where they examined to see that each ingot bears the foun- examiner’s acceptance stamp, that the steel ture shows no piping, blow holes, segregation sponginess, that the surface is free from cracks, ts or other defects, that the surface is free from ron from the ingot molds adhering to the face of the ingot, and that the weight of the is within specified limits. If the ingot passes ection it is placed on one of the trucks. If ctive, it is put in a scrap heap at one side. If light in weight, it is put into a reclaimer pile, to be forged into a special small-diameter making a thin-walled forging. If the ingot iires grinding, chipping or torching before it be forged, it is put on a truck and sent to the pital,” described later. The inspection room three tables, and a capacity of 100 ingots an he receiving, inspection and storing of all steel it plant No. 2, and, in addition, the shipping the forgings from this plant, is done in a e shed. This shed has a long central platform, in one of the illustrations, with railroad on either side, and on this platform the in- are unloaded and inspected. At the left of atform is a long rollway for transporting the lengthwise. Ingots that fully pass inspection oved along the rollway to a point opposite to they are to be piled, and then piled by means small magnet on an air hoist carried by a e wall jib crane. These jib cranes are read- vable without a load from one piling position ther. ts that require hospital treatment travel to end of the receiving platform, and are car- THE IRON AGE sts Directed Upwards and Rearwards, Chains and Water Shields Protect the Wor Summer Day f St. Le ried by a wall jib crane located there to the open ing in the wall leading to the hospital Any re jected ingots are held on the receiving table tem porarily and then loaded by the overhead crane on a truck on the industrial track taken to the scrap yard. The wall jib cranes also carry ingots from the receiving plat a wall jib crane or by and torn ~] Twin Magnets on Overhead Cranes Expedite Finished Forgings nto Cars for the Loading of Shipment 188 rollway to receiving doors in the forge-sHop wall, where they pass on to the rollways inside the build- ing for storage back of the furnaces. Rollways are used by the principal longitudinal movement of the ingots, while the wall jib cranes take care of the piles, leaving the traveling bridge cranes free for other work. The loading of cars with forgings for shipment is done principally from the shipping platform. A gravity rollway passes underground and carries the forgings from the storage floor of the furnace build- ing to a pit under the shipping platform. From here a pneumatic hoist elevator lifts three forgings at a time to the shipping-platform level, after which they are rolled from the platform into the cars. The crane in this shed has a capacity of 3 tons, and is equipped with a pair of 24-in. magnets. These arrangements for receiving and shipping, it is claimed, have proved very satisfactory. Ingots which inspection has shown to have re- movable blemishes are sent to the so-called ingot hospital, there to be remedied by grinding, chipping or burning, as the need may be. Grinding of an ingot is principally confined to the nose, where cast iron from the ingot mold is likely to adhere. This cast iron must be removed before forging, or it is said a non-machinable nose will result. It is also necessary to remove all lumps appearing on the nose of an ingot, though in some cases these lumps are steel, being formed in the depression made in the mold by the breaking away of the cast-iron part adhering as a lump to an ingot. The nose of the ingot is ground with the ingot standing free on a tilting cradle. This cradle, when horizontal, is vir- tually a portion of the flat table as shown under the middle emery wheel. When surface blemishes can best be removed by grinding, the ingot is rolled on the cradle, but both the ingot and the cradle are kept in a hori- zontal position during the grinding operation. Some ingots may have cracks or blemishes that can be removed by pneumatic chipping hammers, and oth- ers have blemishes or fracture irregularities that are best removed by the oxy-acetylene torches. Such ingots are carried by the rollway to the tables where they are chipped or torched. When ingots leave the hospital they pass to the rollway next to the wall and move down this rollway until opposite the pile in which their heat is located, which may be either inside the building or under the receiving shed. The view of the ingot hospital shows in detail the rollways used throughout the plant for moving blanks, ingots or shells. These rolls are 4! in. at their largest diameter, are 10 in. long, operate on a 1-in. shaft, and are placed 6 in. center to center. When it is desired to roll the blank sideways off of the rollways the side angles are 3 in. by 4 in., and when high sides are wanted on the rollway to prevent the ingots or blanks rolling off, the side angles are 3 in. x 5 in. For ordinary flat rollways the rolls have plain drilled bearings and turn di- rectly on their shafts, but for inclined rollways they are bushed with a simple ball bearing, and turn with low friction, so that the ingot or forging moves by gravity. A slope of 1 in. in 12 in. is required for these rollways. For the purpose of obtaining test specimens from their 8-in. shells the company makes use of a hol- low drill, the design of which was suggested to them by the British Inspection Department. The test core, remaining in contact with the shell after the drill is removed, is easily broken off by a few blows from a sledge on a handled cold chisel, and it THE IRON AGE July 26, 19) is claimed that one man can cut 45 test blanks a 9-hr. day. In order to obtain test specim« from the 9.2-in. forgings a l-in. ring is cut fri a long forging by means of a cutting-off lat} These rings are cut into bars 1 in. square, by mea of a milling machine. This method was used as the were not sufficient numbers of scrap 9.2-in. forgin, to provide vertical test specimens, and a horizon} specimen enables the use of a forging which longer than the required finished length, and is } damaged by cutting. A series of 12 tests were made on 8-in. and 9.2 forgings made from cast ingots of various analys: by cutting two vertical and two horizontal spe mens from each forging. The vertical specime: were taken, one near the outside and one near t inside of the forgings, separated 90 deg. The ho» zontal specimens were cut at 90 deg. to each oth: These 48 specimens were pulled one after the oth: by the same man on the same machine, so th conditions were as nearly uniform as possible, an in every one of the 12 forgings the results obtain: from the four specimens were practically identica and the company’s conclusion is that for forging made from cast ingots test specimens taken hor zontally or vertically, inside or outside, all give ide: tical results. The vertical test specimen is prefe: able from a production viewpoint, as the horizont: specimen requires more expensive machinery and longer time. Previous to undertaking munition work the Cur tis & Co. Mfg. Co. manufactured sawmill machiner and saws, pneumatic machinery, and iron, brass and steel castings, the major part of the steel castings being heat-treated manganese steel for use in rail road frogs, switches and crossings. The technica! inen and executives were experienced in the de sign and manufacture of a wide variety of machin ery, in the metallurgy of iron and steel, the tem pering of saws and heat treating of manganese-stee! castings, but were not experienced in making shel! forgings. The first contract was taken October, 1915, for 150,000 8-in. shells, on which work was begun in February, 1916. At the present time the company has 1400 employees, occupies 12 acres of ground, and has a normal capacity of 4000 8-in shell forgings per 20 hr., or 3200 9.2-in. shell forg ings. Many Reservations Reservations made to date by exhibitors who expect to have exhibits in the Mechanics’ Building, Boston, in connection with the convention of the American Foun- drymen’s Association, Sept. 28 to 29, total between 500 and 1000 sq. ft. more than last year’s exhibit at Cleve- land. An average of 320 sq. ft. each has been reserved by 120 exhibitors and that number of exhibitors ten weeks prior to the opening day is also a record. It is announced that a part of the new rolling capacity of the Mark Mfg. Co. at Indiana Harbor, Ind., will go into operation this quarter, the open-hearth de- partment in the fourth quarter of this year, and the 600-ton blast furnace, now building, in the first half of 1918. Its new Bessemer plant is in operation. Ref- was made to these improvements in THE IRON AGE of June 28, erence The Vilter Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, maker of ice an refrigerating machinery, Corliss engines, etc., has bee’ awarded several large contracts by the Government for the equipment of refrigerating plants at military encampments of the United States and at the French front. The contracts aggregate about $375,000 | value. ‘oke-Oven Gas and the British Fuel Problem iscussing the economical use of coal in Great iin aS a war measure before the Incorporated cipal Electric Association, J. A. Robertson said ibstance regarding coke-oven gas: distillation of coal at low temperatures for the pri purpose of producing metallurgical coke and ielding t of surplus gas of high calorific value in additior by-products has beer idvocated as i iniver the fuel economy problem The low temperat the coal js distilled permits of the recovery of by vhich are lost in the produce ysten A however, shows that means of produc coke oven can have only a mited application. The or electricity n the form of ght, power and 1 to exceed enormously the demand for coke l nd while tne surplus heat from coke-oven gas y utilized, either in independent power convenient in conjunction with larger power S- process cannot be looked on as more than f the fue econon problen ° June 1- PROGRESSIVE STAGES IN THE BUILDING OF BLAST FURNACE NO. 11, CAMBRIA STEEL CO. INNULATATONVREGTAOTOOAOGTTVOLONCUUSVANEOULRUGUSUSEALUTVNENAAUATON TST PENTA aimed that instead of metallurgical coke, a soft fuel can be produced, whic! suitable for do- poses, and proposals have been put forward to tallation for producing such a fuel with a wer station, the surplus ga being employed to lers An arrangement of this kind can have only d temporary application and the burning of fuel tic purposes must ultimately be superseded by o set up a process with the object of producing cing and heating is to perpetuate a custom which eed should be superseded, not ¢ for reasons ol omy, but also with the object of saving labor now unnecessary domestic drudger Shepard Electric Crane & Hoist Co. has found essary to procure larger offices in New York, and ove from its present location at 50 Church to 30 Church Street on Aug. 1. The Philadel- fice of the company will move for the same rea- m the Stephen Girard Building to the Bulletin HAVQQOUUUULYUQNULLUNQON LUUL4ONNSO0NSEQUSOG00OUULESUODOLUEHNYOODUAALEOARUUVAAASOOULUALANE UU 26, 1917 THE IRON AGE 189 CAMBRIA’S NEW RECORD Completion of No. 11 Blast Furnace with Its Stoves in Fifty-seven Days Since the record breaking construction of Cambria Steel Co.’s No. 9 blast furnace, which was started March 12, 1916, and completed in 85 days, two add tional furnaces, Nos. 10 and 11. with ‘ent rely new equipment, have beer ished to completior The erection of No. 11 blast { irnace, with its fou <U x 100 ft. stoves and stack, was started May 7 on the foundations, as shown on photograph dated May 6, 1917, and or July } the furnace was put in blast, es tablishing the marvelous record of constructing a 500 ton blast furnace in 57 days, a tated in THE IRON AGE of July 12 These furnaces are.of the same general design as No. 9 blast furnace, a description of which was pul lished in THE IRON AGE, June 15, 1916 UVTVVQNTAVASNUUALINUOAAAAAAANAAS OOOO HD \j May 29 WN The equipment of Nos. 10 and 11 stacks differ from that of No. 9, inasmuch as they are provided with gas washing equipment for supplying clean gas to the stoves, and in addition to this, these furnaces are blown by three 40,000 cu. ft. General Electric turbo blowers, one of which is a spare. The stock is sup plied to the stacks by the Otis Electric skip hoists. Steam for the furnace plant is generated by 10 768-horse power B. & W. boilers, which are fired by blast furnace gas. Nos. 10 and 11 blast furnaces are located at the Franklin plant in direct line with Nos 7. 8 and 9. The construction of Nos. 10 and 11 was under the supervision of John C. Ogden, general super intendent. No. 11 furnace was lighted by Edwin E Slick, Jf. The Southern Foundry Co., Owensboro, Ky., ha begun installation of a new cupola of replacing the present 10-ton cupola. 20 tons capacity, —_— War Tasks of the German Steel Industry Law for Technical Materials and Substitutes—Plans Research — Post-War Economic Contest—Manganese in Slags N important meeting of the Association of German Ironmasters (Verein Deutscher Eisenhutten- leute) held in Diisseldorf, Germany, on March 4, 1917, and detailed reports of it are just reach- ing this country. The most important discussion cen- about the notable efforts the German iron and steel industry has put forth during the war and the steps that are being taken to prepare for the future struggle for the world’s markets. Sir Robert Hadfield has translated a report of the meeting which has been printed in pamphlet form and throughout which the organization is referred to as the German Iron and Steel Institute. In an introduction to the translation he says: “It can hardly be imagined that the speakers at the meeting could have thought that within a short time afterwards their views would be read in this country, so probably they were freely expressing their opinions. “The translation represents statements well worth careful reading, not only because of their direct but also of indirect bearing. “In the proceedings there is apparent a fear that Germany after the war is going to lose or have her trade seriously crippled, also that she must so organize her empire as to be independent of outside supplies. It also appears to be admitted that our enemy has become aware of the fact that in the future she will not be allowed to prey upon other countries’ trade and that she recognizes what a serious difference will exist after the war, quite apart from the question of tariff or no tariff in other countries. This is probably the reason why Germany is fighting so desperately, and why she is so uneasy, and prepared to go to any lengths in this great struggle. “The article indicates shortage of essential ma- terials, as is evidenced by the urgent necessity of pro- viding substitutes in many branches of technical re- quirements. It is interesting to note, one might say with some surprise, seeing how Germany has been held up as a pattern of organization, that she is suffering from the same ailment as ourselves—that is, the multi- plication of commissions and committees.” The Institute’s War Tasks The principal paper of the meeting was a report by Dr. Otto Petersen on “The War Tasks of the German Iron and Steel Institute.” A translated abstract fol- lows: The speaker in the first place pointed out that he had to confine himself to dealing with the war tasks of the institute per se, as these tasks, in their wider connection with the activity of the iron industry during the war, could not be reported upon until after the records of the war had been completed. was tered Supply of Raw Materials Among the war tasks of the institute the question of the supply of raw materials was a very wide one. More especially the supply of coal lately played an im- portant part, above all other questions, concerning the supply of raw materials for the iron industry. Luckily it was only during the very last few months that hitches occurred which were not due to the natural conditions of the mining industry or to lack of labor, but solely attributable to difficulties of transport and to the ex- ceedingly severe winter which completely paralyzed coal traffic on the waterways. Moreover, the extraction of lignite, which for about 10 years past has been used in increasing measure in the western industrial establishments, was greatly impeded by the frost. Iron and Manganese Ores.—A more gratifying as- pect than that of the coal supply is presented by the supply of iron ore during the past year, in so far as it may be considered assured under present conditions. On the other hand, the supply of manganese ore ag: called for further efforts, which, notwithstanding go progress realized partly by increasing the home p duction and partly by endeavors to utilize all mangar ferous substances to the utmost extent, cannot yet considered to have fully achieved their end. The supp of ferrosilicon promises, subject to certain reservatior to become very satisfactory in future. Electrodes and Aluminum.—The efforts towards the capabilities of output of the electro works by standardization of carbon electrodes, have | to a satisfactory result through the co-operation of a concerned. As regards the supply to steel works « aluminum for the deoxidation of steel, the institute has continued to act as an intermediary, Magnesite and Refractories.—The institute has also co-operated towards regulating the importation of magnesite from Austria and will continue to exert itself in this question. Similarly, the institute has e deavored to assist, conjointly with the representative bodies of these branches of industry, in the solution of problems confronting the German manufacturers of rx fractory bricks, etc., and the limestone and dolomit« quarries in matters concerning labor, transport and raw material, more especially by recommending the utiliza tion of available refractory materials lying in the occu- pied territories. creasing Lubricants.—A troublesome question was the supply- ing of our works with suitable lubricants, more es- pecially seeing that certain sources of supply of oil, which seemed to be available, cannot yet be used at present. However, by the manufacture of briquettes of mineral wax, the rolling-mills at least have obtained a lubricant serviceable for war-time purposes, ard fur- ther experiments at obtaining, in our gas-producers, so-called “low temperature tar” have led to a successful result which imperatively calls for the widest possible application of this process in practice. The importance of supplying the iron industry with lubricants in suffi- cient quantities has induced the association to establish, in conjunction with ‘he Mining Association of Essen and the northwestern yroup of the Assocation of German Iron and Steel Manufacturers, a department specially entrusted with the solution of the multifarious ques- tions in the domain referred to. This so-called Office for Advice Concerning Lubricants and for the Control and Licensing of Supplies Thereof for the Rhenish- Westphalian Mining and Metallurgic Industry will, above all things, give advice to the works by specialists sent to the spot. The question, which was becoming serious for a time, as to how oil for large gas-engines could be procured for the works may be considered to have lately been solved satisfactorily by suitable meas- ures taken by the War Lubricating Oil Company. Vitriol of Copper.—Although during the past year it was found possible to supply the wire-drawing mills satisfactorily with vitriol of copper—a task in which the institute took part under the distribution scheme— further attempts have been made at reducing the con- sumption of vitriol of copper, and also at the same time replacing vitriol of copper by other wire-drawing me- diums, and they give good grounds for hope that per- haps a tangible result may still be attained hereafter. Calcium Carbide-——The measures taken for safe- guarding the supply of calcium carbide led to the in- stitute being entrusted with the distribution of this material to the western iron industry, and this function is being taken up by the institute, commencing from April 1. Supply of Special Alloys——In the work which our institute had to perform for the Association of German High-Grade Steel Works, it was afforded an oppor- tunity of co-operating in the meritorious discharge of the tasks of the war raw materials supply department 190 26, 1917 THE IRON AGE 191 the Aktiengesellschaft Kriegsmetall (War Metal td.) for the purpose of supplying the works with for alloying. Hitherto it has been possible, thanks to the fortunate co-operation of our com- U-boats, to meet the requirements of alloy such as chromium, tungsten, molybdenum, etc. er, it became necessary to create quite a special ation in order to regulate the consumption of speed tool steel, which organization is as yet too to admit of forming a definite judgment. At any the efforts of the industry at effecting economies onsumption of high-speed tool steel have been cessful. Provision of Steel exceedingly large place among the war problems institute was taken by the provision of steel e various branches of the war office and the shell es. The statements made by the speaker on this showed what enormous efforts had to be made part of the iron industry in order to cope with reasing demands of the army, that various or- itions had to be created in order to carry out rge program drawn up, and that, in the course numerous functions fell to the share of the ite as an intermediary agency between the pub- thorities and the works concerned. In this con- n, attempts have recently been made to relieve dditional strain to which our engineering works otherwise have been subjected by the extra work red for the enlargements of plants—by resorting utilization of iron-works plants existing in the ed territories—with regard to which measure the tute has again offered its co-operation. Suggestions made by the institute with a view to roving the arrangements for the husbanding of the so-called economy metals have led to the result that a decentralization has been adopted as regards the pre- liminary examination of applications for licenses for the supply of such metals, which has fully met the ex- pectations, more especially as the departments carry- ing out the tests of experiments as regards these econ- omy metals at the works have co-operated in a whole- hearted and intelligent manner, Replacing of Copper Tuyeres.—The question of re- cing copper blast-furnace tuyeres by iron ones has busily occupying the institute, and has led to the ndardization of their dimensions with a view to the advantageous production of blast-furnace tuyeres o the extension thereof to the tuyere box (blast ) as well. Other Substitutes —Besides serving as adviser to ndustry in general the institute in many cases ed individual works who consulted it on various al questions, more particularly as regards bearing tals and substitutes for rubber and leather. Also the sity of interpretations of the regulations concern- the traffic in economy metals led repeatedly to the vention of the institute between the public authori- ties and the works. Similarly the institute was fre- tly requested by the authorities to investigate pre- arily and give an opinion on applications for es for supplies of copper articles required by the a task which was not always easy of solution istice was to be done from all points of view. The large dimensions gradually assumed by the n the department for the control and licensing of of belting, induced the institute, in conjunction the Mining Association of Essen, to contemplate tablishment of a special branch office of this con- lepartment (similarly as done with regard to ants) for the district of the Rhenish-Westphalian g and metallurgical industry, in order to be able et more promptly the requirements of this in- stly, the executive of the institute has volunteered vice in connection with the new arrangement for | of the consumption of iron and steel. The Institute’s Activities e president of the institute, Dr. Fr. Springonum, senting his business report, had the following to garding the activities of the organization: Use of Blast-Furnace Slag The labors, mentioned last year, of the Blast-Fur nace Commission, concerning the uses of blast-furnace slag, have been continued. As may be known to you, the Minister of Public Works has, on our petition, ap pointed a commission which is to inquire into the ap- plicability of lumpy blast-furnace slag as a material for addition in the preparation of concrete, and bedding material At the last meeting of tl ommission, last Féb ruary, the Royal Institute for Tests of Materials in Lichterfelde, which wes entrusted with the carryin o } out of the experiments, submitted a report which will shortly appear in print. This report ys, as regards the final results: With | r I propert Oo ‘ cre i A itt S I ive riai pe Dp ed * } % h rovead i Dé i | t repared witl I g ‘ gards tl 2 ( I may also point out, in this connection, that there exists In our Institute a department for the investiga tion of bad results obtained in the use of blast-furnace slag, to which any such cases should be reported. In vestigations made by this department have already been able to pronounce in several cases of complaint of alleged unfavorable results produced by slag crete, that the slag was unexceptionable. In order to test the suitability of slag as a bedding material for permanent way formation-levels, experi mental track sections will probably be laid down this In con year in order to ascertain in an unexceptionable man ner to what extent the State Railway Administration may reckon with slag as a bedding material. The Blast-Furnace Commission has, moreover, oc- cupied itself with the question of replacing copper by iron as material for blast-furnace tuyeres and with the standardization of blast furnace tuyeres. This also ap plies to the experiments for rendering Siegerland man ganese slag-sand lumpy. Steel-Works Tar The question already discussed at length of steel works tar was once more taken up on the initiative of the technical committee of the Sales Association for Tar Products, in Essen on Ruhr. As the former labors had shown that it was impossible to lay down generally applicable data as regards a suitable composition of steel-works tar, on account of the varying local condi tions, it is now intended to develop, in joint consulta- tion, fixed methods of analysis for the examination of steel-works tar, in order that the results of tests ob- tained in different places may be comparable with each other. The activity of the Chemists’ Commission has, as hitherto during the war, been continued on the former lines. The first part—dealing with gravimetric meth- ods of analysis—of the critical revision of the processes for the determination of phosphorus in iron and iron ores, has been completed; the experiments for the second part, dealing with volumetric methods of analysis, are progressing satisfactorily. Mild Steel for Copper Fire Boxes The technical commission of the Association of Thick Iron-Plate Rolling-Mills, whose business we are transacting, has repeatedly met in the past year. Their deliberations continued to deal chiefly with the substi- tution of mild steel for copper as a material for fire- box plates for locomotives. The results hitherto ob- tained with iron fire boxes may be called satisfactory, although a longer period of trial will be required before a definitive judgment can be found. As regards promoting the home production of an- chors and chains, we have repeatedly negotiated both with German manufacturers and with the consumers, more especially the Association of German Shipyards, Pig sit) pe "gens 192 in order to secure for our home industry the supply of our requirements of anchors and chains after the war. I think I can hold out hopes of a satisfactory solution of this question, in which respect we are fur- ther relying on intelligent co-operation of the con- sumers, more especially of the shipowning concerns and also of the inspection societies. Union of Technical Societies The war has intensified the need, already felt be- fore, of closer co-operation of the German technical societies, and preliminary negotiations on this question have led to a combination of the technical societies into a German Union of Technical-Scientific Associa- tions. We have gladly joined this union and promised our co-operation, feeling sure that the purposes and aims of the union are the right ones. The union leaves to its individual members complete liberty in the special domain which each association has hitherto been dealing with, but wishes to insure joint action of the associations (whose number has eleven) on all important questions. now risen to Organization for the Future The titanic struggle of nations has confronted our iron industry in every direction with particularly great difficulties, and I hope that some day, when the war- time records of our works and our associations may be more freely disclosed, not only the full tribute of recognition will be paid for the great things which have been achieved, but that it will also be possible, immediately, to find ways and means of further pur- suing, in the interest of the Fatherland, the thousand- fold problems which, arising from the emergencies of war, could, perhaps, be solved only in part during the war. We shall, after the war, far more have to rely on our own strength. Accordingly, the demands on us will be enormous. Industry will only be able to meet them by strenuous work, and will, above all, have to study better utilization of fuels and the further perfecting of the metallurgical processes. Co- ordination between metallurgical practice and metal- lurgical research, which has always been insisted on and promoted by us, will in future be imperatively needed. The necessity of promoting with all energy, by scientific research, the progress of metallurgy, with an eye to the exceedingly keen competition in the world’s market to be anticipated after the war is recognized. The only divergency of opinions still existing is as to how such promotion can be effected in the best and most effectual manner, whether by the establishment of a special research institute, possibly attached to the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, or by the expansion of an already existing similar institution, or by studying the problems of research, as they arise, in one or the other scientific laboratory, but always while maintaining the requisite relations with the practical working estab- lishment. than hitherto, Discussion of the Report Captain A. Thiele, manager, of Esch, said in regard to the creation of an Institute for Metallurgical Re- search: Quite a number of research institutions, both at our German academies and at the great iron works, are continually engaged, and with good results, in laboring to perfect our processes for the production of iron and steel. Nevertheless a want in this respect— the lack of a very wide-ranged, all-embracing research institution—has never made itself felt more strongly than just now, during the war, when a large number of new problems has confronted us which, sprung from an emergency, had to be tackled there and then, and which, in fact, have partly been brought to a certain provisional solution, but for want of the necessary collectedness and calmness are still awaiting a definitive solution. Very rightly, attention has been drawn just now to the gravity of the fight which our German iron indus- try will have to carry on on all fronts after the war. And I think no one can doubt any longer to-day, that after the victory of our arms our enemies will en- THE IRON AGE July 26, 1917 deavor with all their strength to inflict on us sy quently an economic defeat of the severest po nature. Hence let us mount guard, in order that machinations of the enemy may be countered fror outset with the requisite energy. Problems to Be Approached A plethora of problems will confront the Inst for Metallurgical Research about to be founded. A: them are the desulphurization of blast-furnace and the saving entailed thereby of manganese in | furnace working, the elimination from the ores of their water of crystallization and of chemically comb water, as well as the mechanico-chemical dressing our ores in general, the development of the mixer to make it serve as a preliminary refining apparatus, th desulphurization of and elimination of manganese fron Thomas slag, and the better utilization of the wast products of metallurgical working in general, the im- provement of the deoxidation hitherto known, thermic control in roll-n working, and other matters. process as steel-works and Loss of Manganese and Iron in Slag Permit me to discuss briefly, in particular, one these many problems. Just picture to yourselves that, with the present utilization of our Thomas slag, we are causing each year 300,000 tons of iron and 150,000 tons of manganese, in the form of their oxides to be scat- tered on the fields and meadows of foreign countries, which is not particularly gratifying to these, nor can it afford any gratification to our economic life, seeing that it represents an annual loss of 20 to 30 million marks. If we can succeed in abstracting the man- ganese aud iron from the Thomas slag we shall not only save a great part of this loss, to the benefit of our national economy, but in consequence thereof we shall, moreover, reduce by many hundred thousands of tons the quantity of manganese and iron ores to be ex- tracted from our mines by us per annum. I will only mention incidentally that in the end this will also afford some relief with regard to the whole labor question, which after the war will confront us in an accentuated form. Every practical man will clearly understand how important the solution of these questions is for our whole economic life. And, thanks to the high esteem in which we hold science, we may confidently hope that we shall find the key to the solution of most of them. In conclusion I would once more second the urgent wish of our president that, as soon as possible, funds should be rendered available for creating such an in- stitute for metallurgical results, and this already dur- ing the war, as the raising of very considerable funds will, after all, be easier to the iron industry now dur- ing the war than later on after the war, under the in- comparably more difficult economic conditions likely to exist then. Taking all in all, what is in question here is an intellectual mobilization of our particular in- dustry. Large Vanadium and Tungsten Exports The United States is fast becoming a large source to foreign countries of two new important steel-making alloys. The exports of both ferrovanadium and ferro- tungsten and tungsten metal have grown to surpris- ingly large proportions since the war started. The May exports of ferrovanadium were 311,360 Ib., the largest with one exception ever recorded, when they were 358,639 Ib. in March, this year. The May exports of ferrotungsten were 463,680 lb., or the largest ever reported, the next previously large total this year hav- ing been 169,583 Ib. in April. The following table shows the extent of recent exports in pounds: 11 Months May, Ended 1917 May 31, 1917 Ferrovanadiun 311,360 2,412,072 Ferrotungsten and tungsten 463,680 1,612,122 Previous to the war practically no tung ten was exported. Vanadium exports before the war zere !ess than one-quarter the present outgo. 26, 1917 THE IRON AGE 193 Solenoid Operated Field Switch \ line of double-pole field switches arranged for oid operation has been brought out by the Gen- Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y. The Ground Is No Obstacle to the Caterpillar Tractor Whi or a Substitute for the tches are similar in construction to a non-auto- itic solenoid operated air circuit breaker and are signed to be mounted on a base near or attached the field rheostat, or on the exciter board which is ated some distance from the main control board as i rule. They differ from the circuit breakers in having the carbon secondary contacts omitted and a field dis- harge switch added, the latter to introduce a resistance sufficient value across the field to prevent injury to the field coil windings by the inductive kick which fol- ws the opening of the circuit. If it is desired to trip switch by hand an insulated button attached to Pole Solenoid Operated Field Switches for Remot Are Opened and Closed by Push Buttons on the Main Boards, the Switch Itself Being Mounted Some Dis- Away on the Field Rheostat or the Exciter Board ripping coil plunger and easy of access can be while removable handles are provided for closing switch by hand. Small Industrial Caterpillar Tractor For hauling in and around factory buildings the Cleveland Tractor Co., Cleveland, has developed a small tractor of the caterpillar type. It is designed as a h Can Be Employed in Manufacturing Plant Aid te substitute for the narrow gage industrial railroads operated in connection with large plants The fact that the tractor does not require roads or tracks for its operation enables it to pass obstacles and move material rapidly from one department to another The tractor is of the conventional caterpillar type that has come into extensive use for agricultural pur poses in this country. As it does not travel on wheels but lays its own track the surface over which the tractor passes, it is emphasize