The Iron Age 1923-05-03: Vol 111 Iss 18

MA: 2 (92g Chemical Library AR MAY 7 192 TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - - 1265 Tue IRon ACE Published Weekly ; NEW YORK, N. Biss MAY 3, 1923 Six Dollars a Year Vol. 111, No. 18 Batered as second-class matter June 18, 1879, at, Fost Ofe Single Copy, 25 Cents oo DOCOMO WOVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOODOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPOOOQOOOOOODODOOOODOO ODN CN "8 * FAFNIR | Double Row Radial Ball Bearings DOOOODOOOOOQOOVODOOOOODOOOODO™ DOODODOOOOS are manufactured with the utmost accuracy DQOOOOO}OOO®® from thoroughly heat 8% treated (not case hard- : ened) chrome alloy steel. 5 Deep race grooves and @ large sized balls make % ° Fafnir Double Row ® ® Radial Ball Bearings ® : heavy load carriers. 3 ° They are particularly ® 8 useful when the design §& 3 of the surrounding parts = ® of the mechanism re- 3 § quires a bearing of mini- S 8 mum outside diameter. 5 : 3 an ¢ are @ DOOQOQOE a“ XXXL SKS SSNS KOOL OK OKO OVLONE The Fafnir Bearing Company Conrad Patent Licensee exerey , New Britain, Conn. 0 CHICAGO, ILL., CLEVELAND, OHIO, . 537 South Dearborn St. 1016-1017 Swetland Bldg. @ DETROIT, MICH, id (>) 120 Madison Ave. NEW YORK, N. Y. © Room 5I1 5 Columbus Circle O NEWARK, N. J., 27! Central Ave. PHILADELPHIA, pik A., 1427 Fairmont Ave. @ ) © J ® e ® . (e) \e ® (@) (e @) S 2 ® (®) ° @ e (@) ® (e) (®) © 6 "ey ~ VOODOO OOOO OOOOOODODODOOOOOONE D®) ODHOOQOOOOOOQOOOOOQOOOOOOCMOM OM OMOOOMOOOOOOOOMPOOOOOOODOOODE) JOOOOOOUG ~ @ THE IRON AGE May 3, 1923 "Until we get that STEEL —” 6 RODUCTION held up—men and ma- P chines idle—delivery promises indefinite —until we get that steel.’’ This is the sit- uation many manufacturers are facing today. That there is a steel shortage cannot be denied. Mills are booked far ahead, deliveries are ex- tended and consumers are experiencing difficulty in securing enough steel to meet current require- ments. Meet your production schedules by getting im- mediate shipment from one of the six Ryerson Steel-Service Plants. Order from the Ryerson Journal and Stock List—If you do not have a copy, write for it now. JosePu T. RYERSON & SON tne. ESTABLISHED 1642 CHICAGO ST.LOUIS CINCINNATI DETROIT BUFFALO NEW YORK BRANCH OFFICES: DENVER HOUSTON JERSEY CITY MILWAUKEE MINNEAPOLIS NEWARK SAN FRANCISCO TULSA ‘I THE IRON AGE New York, May 3, 1923 ESTABLISHED 1855 VOL, Ill, No. 18 New Wire Mill Has Unusual Features Automatic Coiling and Conveying System—Slow Start for Motor-Driven Wire Blocks—Continuous Wire-Drawing Machines BY J. E. MC DONALD NUMBER of new and interesting developments in A the rod-rolling and wire-drawing industry are encountered in the new mills of the Whitaker- Glessner Co. at Portsmouth, Ohio, which are now in operation. These include, in the rod mill, a near return in principle to the original type of Morgan continuous mill, employment of seventeen passes instead of the conventional sixteen, and the division of the four finish- ing passes into two separate roll trains of four strands each, allowing individual treatment and adjustment of each strand. Another radical development—and the tirst to be installed in any mill—is a coiling and con- veying system, automatically controlled, which moves intermittently instead of continuously, a conveyor serv- ing each reel. In the wire-drawing room the greatest advances made in wire-drawing equipment in years are noted, including individual motor-driven wire blocks which give a slow start and variable speed instead of an abrupt start and fixed speed; also continuous drawing machines, in which the bugbear of “slippage” is en- tirely eliminated. These, as well as many other interesting developments, are more completely de- scribed in the following paragraphs, prepared from information secured from the officials of the company at Portsmouth. The rod and wire mills are located on a triangular site of approximately 25 acres. One corner of the tri- angle is connected with the other finishing mills of the steel works, so that the new mills are served by the same inter-mill system of railroad tracks, which en- Wire - Drawing Blocks with Individual Motor Drive Are Installed, Marking a Most Im- portant Advance in the Design of Wire- Drawing Machinery (Below) Assembly of One Section of Indi- vidually Motor-Driven Wire - Drawing Blocks Before Installation 1246 ables the present crews and motive power to handle all the required switching. Of concrete, steel and brick construction, the new buildings cover a total area of 365,000 sq. ft. The ar- rangements of the various departments is sufficiently flexible to permit future expansion, limited only by property line boundaries, so that each department may be considerably enlarged without encroaching upon the adjacent departments. The buildings are practically all of the Aiken roof type, which insures a maximum of natural light. Owing to the triangular shape of the property, it was not practicable to have the progression of manu- facture in a straight line. That was overcome by what is best described as a “horseshoe layout,” which means that material, in going through the various manufac- turing processes, will actually travel after the fashion of a horseshoe or loop. This method of manufacturing progression has numerous advantages over the straight General Layout of the Rod and Wire Mills. line arrangement, one of the principal ones being that all departments are more nearly contiguous to the various shops, store rooms and other maintenance de- partments. The center of the horseshoe has been left entirely clear for future development, and each department also provides a considerable area of available floor place for the immediate addition of a large amount of machinery that will permit the operating organization to meet, without undue delay, the peculiar needs of the respective territories of the sales branches of the com- pany. Such needs usually develop immediately after the starting of almost any new enterprise of this character, immediate expansion of its facilities for increasing its output of any desired »product, is following a far- sighted policy. Rod Mill The rod mill proper is housed in a building 70 x 475 _ft., which connects with an electric substation building 45 x 200 ft., of which length the roll shop occupies (75 ft. These buildings are directly connected and ap- > proximately at right angles to the rod storage and THE IRON AGE Owing to the exigencies of the land, a and the company, in providing room’ fore May 3, 1923 shipping building, which measures about 80 x 682 ft. This rod mill can best be described as being prac- tically a return in principle to the original type of Morgan continuous mill, in that the repeater system, which has been used more or less in recent years in continuous rolling, is considerably modified. There are, however, a number of novel features incorporated that were not present in the old direct type of continuous rod mill. Seventeen passes are employed, thus enabling the mill to produce more easily from a 30-ft. by 1%-in. square billet a more uniform product, as the mill is rolling a No. 5% gage (0.200 in) instead of the customary No. 5 gage (0.207 in) rod. The advantage of such a product will be obvious to those familiar with the manufacture of wire and wire products. Another departure from the conventional method is the division of the four finishing plants into two separate roll trains of four stands each. This can be better described by saying that the mill is what is farna STREET ROD STORAGE BUILDING “horseshoe” arrangement was necessary known as a_ two-strand mill, each set of rolls carrying two strands up to and including the thir- teenth pass. After leaving the thirteenth pass the strands separate into the form of a “Y,” after which each strand is individually finished in its own last four passes. This installation offers a marked ad- vantage in enabling the roller to treat and adjust each strand individually without interference from the com- panion strand. This method of finishing—the first in- stallation of its kind—is now working successfully, and marks a most advanced step in continuous mill con- struction. Another radical improvement is the coiling and conveying system for transferring the rods from the mill to the rod storage. Each reel is served by its own conveyor and, as six reels are provided for coiling the rods, there are six individual conveyors. These con- veyors travel intermittently instead of continuously. When the roll is discharged the conveyor automatically moves forward about 4 ft., comes to a positive stop, and remains at rest until another bundle is produced and the cycle repeated. All of the conveyors are of the muffle type, which, coupled with the intermittent pro- May 3, 1923 THE IRON AGE bi eee ieee. ~ =" le ee od ee eee PTA In the Nail Mill (Above) Are _ In- stalled 141 Ma- chines, Mostly of the Tiffin Type. All are belt driven from motor - driven jack shafts Rod Pickling De- partment at Right Showing Several of the Fourteen Track Bakers. Seven pick- ling vats are served by the steam jib crane in foreground (Below) Nail Pol- ishing and Packing Department, Show- ing the Tumblers 8 exer. Td neta _4- yil 1248 gressive features, offers what would seem to be the last word in producing a rod free from oxidization, and at the same time guaranteeing a uniform softness, free from hard and brittle spots. The roughing stands are driven by a 2800/1400-hp. 400/200-r.p.m., 600-volt, d.c. motor, and the inter- mediate and two finishing stands are each driven by an 800/355-hp., 706/320-r.p.m., 600-volt, d.c. motor. Speed regulation on these motors is obtained by means of field resistance on the motors and also by means of voltage regulation on the generators which supply the motors with power. The mill motors take power from a 3000-kw., 2200- volt a.c. to 600-volt d.c., 600-r.p.m. synchronous motor- driven generator set, consisting of two 1500-kw., 40- deg. temperature rise, 600-volt d.c. generators mounted on a common bedplate and direct connected to one 4200-kva., 2200-volt, 3-phase, 60-cycle, 0.80 per cent power factor synchronous motor. The d.c. mill motors and the d.c. generators are excited by a 90-kw., 2200- volt, a.c. to 250-volt d.c. motor-driven exciter set. All of the above equipment, together with the neces- sary switchboards and control boards for the motors, two 750-kw., 2200-volt a.c. to 250-volt d.c. motor-gen- erator sets, and three 400-kva., 2200-volt to 220-volt, single-phase transformers are installed in the brick substation building, 45 x 125 ft., located adjacent to the mill building. The two 750-kw. motor-generator sets are used for driving the individual motor-driven wire blocks in the wire-drawing department, electric cranes and other direct current surface motors. Power is transmitted between the substation and the various points of consumption by eight circuits of 1,000,000- ¢.m. wire, installed in fiber conduits run under-ground and set in concrete. The three 400-kva. single-phase transformers furnish the power for the various a.c. service motors throughout the plant. Rod Storage In the rod storage building, which covers an area in excess of 54,000 sq. ft., is installed a hook carrier which picks up the bundles of wire from the conveyors installed in the rod mill proper. The carrier can con- vey the rods the full length of the rod storage building, thus permitting of a most convenient method of dis- tribution for storage, shipping or for further working in the wire-drawing and finishing mills. While in transit on this carrier the rods are gaged, culled and bundled. The rod storage is served by an overhead electric traveling crane, which covers the entire area, and which is used for shipping and such other handling as may be required. Pickling is done in double rectangular tanks of the latest design, served by two 16-ft. radius steam jibs. Ample provision has been made for the storage of acid and lime. An improved 14-track baker has been in- stalled, each track holding eight buggies of rods, giving the baker a total capacity of 112 buggies. This building measures 101 x 175 ft., with a 24-ft. addition the full length for storage. Wire-Drawing Department Connected with the pickling department is the wire- drawing room, 128 x 250 ft., which provides ample space for drawing the entire tonnage of rods produced by the rod mill. It is here, perhaps, that the greatest advances have been made in the development of wire- drawing machinery as typified in the installations. It may be permissible to digress to a certain extent, in order to enumerate some of the more important prob- lems facing the designer of wire-drawing machinery. It can be stated that little or no progress had been made for many years in the principles of wire-draw- ing machinery, for while there have been some refine- ments in design, the fundamentals have been un- changed. It is, therefore, a matter of general interest THE IRON AGE May 3, 1923 that the wire-drawing equipment of this new plant represents a great and forward step in the development of this class of machinery. The finer gages are pro- duced by means of the Morgan-Connor continuous ma- chines, an English invention which in recent years has been more fully developed and refined in this country. Many efforts have been made unsuccessfully to draw wire continuously from the rod to the finer gages of finished sizes, but such efforts have not met with commercial success. The basic reason for failure was in every case the same—slippage around the drum —hence mechanical compensating features were invari- ably used, and always with the same disappointing re- sults. The Morgan-Connor system is unlike any of these previous methods for the reason that “slippage” is entirely eliminated and the compensation for irregu- larities is effectively provided for by the fact that each drum in the train serves as a magazine to either pay off or take on the wire as may be required by the com- panion drum. Individual Motor-Driven Blocks The coarse wire blocks, or what in wire mill ver- nacular are known as “ripping blocks,” are also of an entirely new and improved design. Instead of the blocks being driven in groups from one large motor, each drum is provided with its own individual motor. The many advantages of this arrangement are almost too numerous to describe here, but will be fully ap- preciated by the wire-drawer. It would be well to dwell for a moment on perhaps the most important one—the elimination of the quick-starting drum—long regarded as one of the greatest nightmares of the wire-drawing business. For many years it has been the ambition of de- signers of wire-drawing machinery to produce a slow- starting block—one that not only starts slowly, but which continues in its slow rotation until everything is working smoothly and thus permits the operator to accelerate at will the speed of the drum, and to proceed with such acceleration until physical limitations have been reached. With the new individual motor-driven block it is possible, by means of a conveniently placed electrical control, actually to start the block at 4 r.p.m., and to continue at this slow speed just as long as may be required for a smooth and successful start, after which, by a further manipulation of the control, the drum may be brought gradually up to any desired maximum speed. There is also an entire absence of cams, clutches, pulling-in devices and other accessories which have heretofore not only been indispensable, but which also have always been looked upon as necessary evils and adjuncts. What the substitution of the slow- starting block really means in the wire-drawing in- dustry will be appreciated by officials who have been put to the annoyance and expense involved in labor turnover, due primarily to the hazard of the quick- starting drum. The Nail Mill Provided with an initial equipment of 141 machines, mostly of the Tiffin type, the nail mill department is so arranged that this number can be almost doubled, An improved method of anchorage for these machines has been provided so that a regrouping of the sets, or a respacing of the machines, can be most conveniently made. This is made possible by the fact that the founda- tion scheme is of a continuous design, which permits of almost unlimited flexibility. This department measures 91 x 325 ft. From the machines the nails are conveyed to the polishing barrels by an electric overhead traveling crane, which places the containers on a mezzanine floor, where they are charged into the tumblers with the least amount of manual labor. The polishing bar- rels, of 25 kegs capacity, are of an entirely new de- May 3, 1923 THE IRON AGE 1249 Morgan-Connor Continuous Wire-Drawing Machines, for sign, and all are individually motor-driven, the power be'ng transmitted by means of worm gearing. Each polishing barrel is provided with a shaking mechanism, which means that the smallest possible size keg or container will be used in packing the nails. After packing, the nails are handled for storage or shipping by means of automatic conveyors which travel the full length of the nail warehouse. The tumbler room is 91 x 125 ft., while the nail storage measures 91 x 250 ft. Galvanizing and Other Departments While the galvanizing department is equipped now with two 36-wire galvanizing units, room has been pro- vided for a third unit to be added later, and the depart- ment can be extended easily to meet future commercial demands. The galvanizing take-up frames will be con- trolled by an electrical variable speed device which gives the supervisor a greater range of speed than has heretofore been possible, even with the modern variable-speed motors. A range of one to ten may be had without the employment of electrical resistors or gear transmission, or without interruption in the gal- vanizing process. This department measures 91 x 350 ft. In the fence department are 36 machines, thus en- abling the company to furnish practically any type of barb wire. At a later date a number of field fence weaving machines will be added. The fence and barb wire department is 91 ft. wide and 350 ft. long, being a continuation of the galvanizing building. A thoroughly modern and adequate machine shop has been provided, and was used for a considerable part of the construction work. This is supplemented by car- penter, pipe and forge shops. In addition the company has a completely equipped cooper shop and a large cooper storage. Between the fence and galvanizing department and the nail mill and storage is a shipping and bundling building, 44 x 700 ft. Steam is provided by two 500-hp. Connolly boilers, Drawing the Finer Gages of Wire Continuously From the Rod equipped with Riley stokers, and Morgan gas producers provide the fuel for the rod mill furnaces. A unique feature of the entire plant is the well worked out system of indestructible truckways, which were laid out with a view to the advantages of moving all material by means of storage battery tractors. The plant is also amply provided with overhead crane service which, supplemented by the tractor service, means that the laborious transferring of material by manual labor has been reduced to a minimum. The type of construction that has been followed throughout, both as to buildings and floors, will result in a main- tenance cost that will be practically nil. Special grad- ing and retaining walls place the mill floor levels above the flood stage of the Ohio River. The Consumers’ Power Co. has announced that it would double the size of its new power station on the Saginaw River at Milwaukee, Mich., between Saginaw and Bay City. This will increase the cost of the pro- ject by $1,500,000, making the total outlay for new work at that point $4,000,000. The original plans for this station called for a capacity of 20,000 kw. or about 30,000 hp. and an investment of $1,500,000. After construction was begun, the rapidly increasing demand for power in Saginaw, Bay City and Flint made it nec- essary to increase the initial installation to 60,000 hp. and the investment to $3,000,000. The deposits of manganese ore in the Arkansas Ozarks are described in a recent report of the Geolog- ical Survey as its Bulletin 734, by Hugh D. Miser. The bulletin describes the geography and the rock forma- tions in that region and contains many illustrations and a colored geologic map. It is entitled “Deposits of manganese ore in the Batesville district, Arkansas,” and it contains a chapter on the mining and prepara- tion of the ores by W. R. Crane, of the Bureau of Mines. Typical Cast Iron Truckway, in Rod Storage Building, Showing Also the Hook Carrier and Storage Battery Tractor and Train Used in Handling Materials Throughout the Entire Plant 1250 Oil Grooving Attachment for Lathes An attachment for use on engine lathes and de- signed to groove bearings or shafts of any diameter that can be made to revolve in the lathe has been brought out by the Mueller Machine Tool Co., Cincin- nati. Oil grooves can be cut in either single or double figure eight style without re-chucking the piece. The cutter bar of the attachment has a double-pointed cut- ting tool to permit grooving consecutively on opposite sides of the hole. The lathe spindle makes two revolu- tions to one complete stroke of the tool in the cutter bar. When used in connection with an engine lathe of the company’s manufacture, the driving shaft of the attachment enters into the lathe head directly below the back gear pinion. A rawhide pinion on the end of this driving shaft meshes with the face gear on the lathe spindle. For use with lathes of other manufac- ture a chain drive is provided, as shown in the accom-|) panying illustration. The sprocket gear is placed on Oil Grooving Attachment for Engine Lathes. either single or double figure without rechucking piece Oil grooves can be cut in eight style the nose of the lathe spindle before the chuck is at- tached and the chain on the sprocket gear connects with a sprocket pinion on the splined driving shaft. The driving shaft of the attachment is supported by an adjustable bearing and passes through the driving box which is bolted or clamped on the V’s of the lathe carriage. A worm and worm wheel in the driving box transmits the power to a splined shaft above. An ad- justable graduated cross bar at the end of this splined shaft acts as a crank to move a crosshead for any stroke required within a range of 1% to 6 in. in length. The crosshead carries the cutter bar which travels back and forth in a support bolted on top of the lathe com- pound rest. The cutting tool can be brought to any position while the lathe is in motion. Taper holes and shafts can be grooved by swiveling the compound rest slide, as the sliding block in the cross head has a ball and socket bearing. The cutter bar can be raised or lowered to correspond with the center line of lathes of various swings. Improves Mercury Thermometers A new method .of tube construction intended to overcome the difficulty of reading mercury thermome- ters has been acquired by the C. J. Tagliabue Mfg. Co., 18 Thirty-third Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. The new feature, known as the Tag-Hespe red reading column, shows a broad red line from the top of the mercury column to the top of the tube. As the mercury rises the red line is covered and as it falls a correspondingly greater length of the red line is visible. This feature is claimed to bring to the accur- ate mercury thermometer the easy readability of the red spirit thefmometer, The proposal to admit foundry laborers to member- ship in the Iron Molders’ Union of North America was defeated in a nation-wide referendum. The question was submitted in the form of an amendment to the con- stitution. A referendum on the question of holding the annual convention was submitted to a vote, and Cleve- land was selected as the place of the meeting, to be held in September. THE IRON AGE May 3, 19238 Proposed Merger of Parish & Bingham and Detroit Pressed Steel Co. Plans have been announced for the proposed con- solidation of the Parish & Bingham Corporation, Cleve- land, and the Detroit Pressed Steel Co., Detroit, manu- facturers of automobile frames and other sheet metal stampings. A new company to be known as the Mid- land Steel Products Co. is being organized to take over the two plants. E. J. Kulas, president of the Parish & Bingham Corporation, will be at the head of the new company and H. A, Flinterman, vice-president of the Detroit Pressed Steel Co., will be vice-president of the Midland company. The new company will have a capi- tal stock of 50,000 shares of no par common stock, $2,500,000 in 7 per cent first mortgage bonds, and $7,000,000 in 8 per cent participating preferred stock. The consolidation is subject to the approval of the stockholders of both corporations. A meeting of the stockholders of the Cleveland company will be held May 5, and of the Detroit com- pany May 10, to act on the merger. The two compa- nies are said to be doing $12,000,000 worth of business a year. As originally proposed, the consolidation was also to include the Hydraulic Steel Co., Cleveland, but that company finally decided not to merge in the new organization. Confiscation of Coal Declared Illegal BIRMINGHAM, ALA., May 1.—The Alabama Su- preme Court, through Chief Justice Anderson, has rendered an interesting decision with regard to con- fiseation of coal by railroads. The court decides against its legality in an action brought by a con- signee of coal taken by the Southern Railroad for its use. The court says: “If such a custom could govern the shipment of coal, it could be established so as to extend to other goods and commodities, and it would be contrary to public policy to recognize a custom which would permit carriers to convert to their own use articles they had contracted to deliver by, in effect, stepping into the shoes of the consignee.” Alabama War Rates Sustained WASHINGTON, May 1.—In a decision announced last Saturday, the Interstate Commerce Commission held that rates in effect during Federal control from June 25, 1918, on iron ore, coal, coke and limestone from producing points in Alabama to various blast furnaces in that State were not unreasonable or unduly preju- dicial. The complaint filed by the Alabama Co., and other manufacturers, was accordingly dismissed. While the rates were intrastate, the commission had jurisdic- tion during the period of Federal control, but said that it has no authority to deal with the present rates or to prescribe rates for the future. Coke Rates Suspended WASHINGTON, May 1.—The Interstate Commerce Commission has suspended from May 1 to Aug. 29 in- creases in rates on by-product coke from the Cleveland district to points in New York which have been pro- posed by the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad, and meanwhile will investigate. Existing rates to northern New York territory from Cleveland are $2.39 per ton as against proposed rates of $2.76 to Niagara Falls, $3.40 to Lockport, and $3.19 to North Tonawanda. Japanese Iron and Steel Production Figures of the Japanese Bureau of Mines show that the production of pig iron in Japan in the first half of 1922 was 341,429 tons (metric) compared with 649,- 686 tons in the whole of 1921. Ferroalloys amounted to 4633 tons in the first half of 1922 compared with 7575 tons in all of 1921. Steel ingots and castings in the two periods amounted to 430,476 tons and 832,428 tons. Rolled steel amounted to 283,217 tons and 479,- 587 tons. Steel forgings and castings, etc., amounted to 43,313 tons and 82,242 tons. New Long-Life Mold Development’ Refractory Lined Mold With a Cast Iron Backing—The Principles of Its Construction—400 Castings Possible Per Hour BY DR. RICHARD MOLDENKE HE foundryman has always felt that the destruc- tion of the mold every time a casting is poured is an inefficient procedure. Indeed, the making of molds which could be used over and over again dates back to the bronze age, when implements of warfare and domesticity were made in stone molds the two parts of which were suitably hollowed out, clamped together and poured much as our present brass ingots. These stone molds are in reality the first “long-life” molds on record. In the development of the iron industry, with molten metal at first only as an undesirable occurrence in the jected to entirely different influences than is the case with the ordinary sand mold. The rate of cooling is much faster, with consequent more sharply defined crystallization effects and production of very fine grain structure if not actual chilling of the metal to white- ness. Even where the attempt is made to approximate the rate of cooling as in the sand mold, by suitably pre- heating the iron mold, this either falls short of the desired situation if the mold is to last, or when pre- heated sufficiently pouring must be done at longer in- tervals unless the life of the mold is to be sacrificed. The consequence has been that while good castings Fig. 1- Machine operation of the small blast furnaces used, the open- sand mold was the only practical means of caring for the intermittent supply of metal. As time went by, however, and the iron foundry became stabilized, the desire to construct molds which would last more than one filling without damage asserted itself again and as early as the opening of the last century we have English patent records bearing upon the subject. Permanent or Iron Molds While the iron mold—or as we know it under the title of “permanent mold”—has been known and used for perhaps a century and a half, and is today attract- ing world-wide attention in connection with the cen- trifugal casting process, the method in its simpler forms has never found a solid footing in the foundry industry, the fundamental reason being that the molten metal when poured into an iron or steel mold is sub- *A paper presented at the Twenty-seventh Annual Con- vention of the American Foundrymen’s Association in Cleve- land, April 30 to May. 3 12 ~ Showing Gas Torch for Pre-Heating Molds, Also Showing Automatic Mold Sooter in Operation have been made with all the permanent mold processes brought out, the irregularity of product unless cor- rected by careful and costly annealing has militated against their commercial success. Stone Molds or Those with Refractory Linings For ordinary work, therefore, it seems far better to return to the old bronze age idea of using the equiv- alent of the stone mold—in other words, a mold of the refractory surface properties of sand and yet strong enough to yield a large number of acceptable castings before considerable redressing is necessary or before the mold must be discarded. This would be the “long- life” mold. Coming down to practical considerations, the following conditions would seem to be indicated in developing such a type of mold. First—The mold surface must be of a highly refractory character so that the least possible heat may be transmitted inward to affect the form of the mold as well as seriously limit the 51 1252 THE IRON AGE May 3, 1923 Fig. 2—Molds, with Sand Core in Position in Center Mold rate of pouring iron for castings into it. If too much heat passes from the surface in contact with the molten iron into the body of the mold, the very purpose of the mold is lost, as it no longer will approximate the regular sand mold. Again, a too hot mold will warp and deteriorate rapidly. Hence the desirability of having the mold light and if necessary air cooled, so that the mold body may not accumulate heat unduly and thus affect the rate of pouring detrimentally. The ideal situation is that of the heat conditions in the green-sand mold from which the casting has been removed just after setting—imagining this possible without destroying the mold. But a very small depth of sand will have been seri- ously affected by the extreme heat, and the outer portions of the mold may still be cold. Second—The nature of the mold material must be such that no gases are formed during contact with the molten metal until this has set. There is little chance for venting in such a mold. A momentary consideration of this matter, how- ever, will show that, after all, it is the fault of the mold if gases are formed which affect the metal surfaces. The chilled roll is a case in point. Here is no chance for venting whatever, and yet castings are made which machine up without a defective speck. Further, it is perfectly possible to cast against a fire-brick surface successfully, Fig. 3—Examples of Various Castings Made by Holley Process provided the surfaces are perfectly dry and pre- ferably warmed. Hence, if the casting surfaces of a long-life mold are of a finely granular and highly refractory nature there need be little fear of bad results due to lack of venting. Third—The mold surfaces must be sufficiently strong to resist the cutting action of the molten metal, and be impervious to the entrance of fine filaments of iron which on removal of the casting would take some of the mold material with it. Further, the mold surfaces must not spall off. If thoroughly dried the last named action should not eventuate. The strength of the mold sur- faces is a question of the bond, and the porosity of the material a matter of the fineness of grain or crystal. Rate of Heat Removal The crucial point in the above considerations as to the nature of a desirable mold surface is the rate of removal of heat from the molten metal—whether as slow as in the case of the ordinary sand mold, or fast enough to permit some chilling action. This rate of removal of the heat until the molten metal has safely set depends upon the refractoriness of the material in greatest measure, the temperature of the molten metal and the quantity of metal involved, as also the freezing point and other metal characteristics. For the various sections of a casting the temperature of any point of contact between mold surface and molten metal will be practically the same at first, but the depth to which the comparatively high temperatures will penetrate the mold mass will naturally depend upon the thickness of the metal which has to set against it. Thus, if in a casting, that portion % in. thick imparts, say, 1000 deg. Fahr. to a point 1/64 in. within the mold mass, another portion of the same casting, 2 in. thick may show the same 1000 deg. Fahr. at a point 1/16 in. deep within the mold mass before the metal has safely set. Practically for “long-life” mold purposes, it is the nature of this 1/16 in. or less, depending upon the thickness of the castings to be made, that must be care- fully considered and conform to the requirements above enumerated. The rest of the mold mass can be any material which is structurally safe to hold the refrac- tory surface true and well bonded, and which will ab- sorb the heat passed through the mold surface material and promptly dissipate it. In other words, a cast iron backing to a refractory mold material forming a con- tact surface for the molten iron, is an ideal combina- tion when the refractory facing of the mold is heavy enough to transmit heat at the proper safe rate, and the iron backing is light enough to dissipate the heat transmitted into it quickly. Application in Casting Carburetors With the above underlying principles involved in the construction of the “long-life” mold thus enunciated, it is the purpose of the writer to show how the problem of adapting these principles for everyday practical application have been worked out into a system by the Holley Carburetor Co., Detroit, and to show illustra- tions of the machines built for the purpose. When it is stated that by this time some of the molds have al- ready had 10,000 castings made in them and, by reason of a close daily inspection of and attention to the re- fractory facing material of the molds, not one of them has yet had to be discarded, the writer feels that here is truly a new development in making long-life molds. The term “long-life” is used advisedly as against “per- manent,” for in the latter the supposition is that no repairs are made in the metal mold; whereas in the May 3, 1923 former, repairs are possible and are carried out until they no longer pay. The system devised by the Holley Carburetor Co. has been carefully worked out in every detail and is fully patented. The several steps and the reasons for operating just that way are given in the following: As previously indicated, the primary idea has been to make a very light cast iron mold, the surface of which is covered with a layer of highly refractory material, of necessary thickness, and this refractory material so protected from abrasion and penetration of fine iron filaments, that it almost wears to a polished surface and only on rare occasions need be patched up or re- faced, For operating purposes, where the castings are not large, a group of molds is placed upon a revolving table and the several steps of the cycle can be carried out almost entirely automatically. Where the castings are larger and a table of three to eight molds would be THE IRON AGE 1253 course. In passing around, the two parts of the mold are drawn apart sufficiently to allow the setting of cores but, just before this, each mold successively passes a flame of acetylene gas which smokes the inner surfaces heavily. The idea of this is to interpose a film of carbon between the refractory surface and the molten metal of sufficient strength to prevent effective- ly any scoring action or the actual contact of metal and refractory material; this for the instant of great- est temperature effect. Most of the carbon is absorbed by the metal, but the effect is that, until the molten metal is no longer dangerous, the refractory material is protected. After passing the flame and the position where cores can be set, the two parts of the mold are made to close automatically and are held thus until poured off and the metal has sufficiently set. Then they quick- ly open and the castings are forced out by pins or in other suitable ways. Next, a blast of air at high pres- Fig. 4—Battery of Three Permanent Mold Machines in Operation in Foundry of Holley Carburetor Co., Detroit cumbersome, single molds would be operated as long as molten metal is available. The refractory material forming the mold surface consists of two items: The refractory material itself, and the binder to bind it to the iron backing. The re- fractory material can be any of the usual substances used to resist heat in the arts. Thus, magnesia, bauxite, fire-clay or kaolin will serve. The grain must be ex- ceedingly fine and, in the application, heat must be used finally so that no question of gas-forming constituents remaining in the mass may arise. The binder must be a mineral one, an alkali silicate being most convenient, so that when heat has been applied the mass is like a thin sheet of stone. The material is preferably put on in comparatively thin layers, and each one baked on before the next is applied. The heavier facings, the final layers, can be applied by transfer from what would be a metal pattern, so that the accuracy of the finished long-life mold leaves nothing to be desired. The final heating—in effect a _skin-drying at temperatures to almost vitrify—being accomplished, the molds are placed in their proper position on the re- volving table, and successively follow their prescribed sure rapidly blows the surfaces clean and the mold passes before the acetylene flame again. The men set- ting the cores or, in their absence, any attendant watches out for the mold surface condition as the molds pass by open, and any fragment of iron or core left in the mold is easily removed with a suitable tool. The iron backing of the mold has been stated as comparatively thin. This allows—particularly if con- structed with that in view—the use of air-cooling ac- tion, and where such an air blast for cooling the iron molds a little faster than they would normally do it is in use, the machine can be speeded up and thus give . a larger production. Whether pouring is done by hand or from suspended ladles; whether the man remains stationary while pour- ing as the mold passes him or a moving platform ac- companies the table; whether the molds and cupola are together or iron has to be carried from a distance; and lastly, whether molds are poured all day long or merely the usual two or three hours, depends upon the indi- vidual situation. It may be of interest to state that with 12 single molds on the revolving table, one man can pour 400 castings of a given kind per hour. With 1254 sand casting it takes eight times the number of man- hours to get an equal number of the same kind of cast- ings. Further, from the nature of the pour—top pour —it is possible to feed the molds more perfectly and hence the castings made are quite free from shrinkage, even with considerable variation in sections. This makes for denser metal and the consequent benefit to strength conditions and wearing qualities. Pistons Also Made While the process is still in its infancy and attention has naturally been given to quantity production of the comparatively light castings required at the Holley Carburetor Works, nevertheless many automobile pis- tons have been made also, and these involve somewhat thicker sections. It will become a matter of heavier refractory coatings and more frequent repair of ex- posed points in these coatings, when larger work is undertaken. Of the illustrations given, Fig. 1 shows a group of long-life molds arranged on the revolving table and ready for the pouring operation. Directly at the wooden platform at its right end the mold will be noted just closing up. The next five molds will be seen as closed. Pouring is done while the molds pass the wooden plat- form. The metal sets properly while the table brings the molds successively to the position of the one under the last pipe at the left, where the molds open for the ejection of the castings. At the next position toward the right the mold face is blown clean, then it comes before the acetylene flame, seen directly under the hood. Here the mold face is smoked, the excess smoke being drawn away with the products of combustion. The molds are now wide open and at the extreme right of the table three molds can be seen fully open for in- spection and the setting of cores. The cycle then re- peats itself. Fig. 2 shows the molds more plainly and also there THE IRON AGE May 3, 1923 is placed in the foreground a set each of a one- and a two-casting mold. The arrangemen: for pouring basin, core vents and gating is plainly shown. A core has been set in the third mold from the left. The holes in the molds directly in the spaces for the molten metal are filled with suitable pins which push inward as the molds open and thus eject the castings automatically. Fig. 3 shows some of the castings as ejected from the molds and partly machined; also a broken cast- ing with perfectly uniform fine-grained fracture, easily machinable and without a sign of chilling. The piston castings shows some thick sections, not being cored for the pin. The pair of castings connected with the gate, at the extreme right, are interesting as being taken from the right-hand mold pair of Fig. 2. The cores have been removed. Fig. 4 shows two of the tables in operation. Pour- ing off may be observed on the first table and the smoking of the molds on the first and second. Suc- cessful results have also been obtained by spraying the molds with a film of graphite in oil, the heat of the molds driving off the oil almost immediately. This method would doubtless be more economical for larger molds. It has been of great interest to the writer to ob- serve the operation of the Holley development. For many years he has advocated leaving the “permanent mold” idea in favor of the “long-life mold,” as giving promise of better results, if not as spectacular. The principles involved have also been discussed by the writer, but until the Holley Carburetor Co. had worked out the problem step by step and had provided for the several contingencies mentioned in connection with the requirements of the mold surface, nothing comprehen- sive in this line had come before the foundry industry. It is with genuine pleasure, therefore, that there has been given as the title of this paper the words, “A New Long-Life Mold Development.” Motor-Driven Twist Drill Grinder A motor-driven twist drill grinder in two types for drills from No. 52 to 1% in. has been placed on the market by the Gallmeyer & Livingston Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. The machine illustrated is the A-7-T type with a capacity for drills from No. 52 to % in. The same machine with a drill holder having a capacity for drills Motor-Driven Twist Drill Grinder. are of special design and are adjustable for either radial or end wear Motor bearings from % to 1% in. is designated style B-7-T. The ma- chines are equipped with a %-hp. motor, either alter- nating or direct current, and may be driven from the lighting circuit or a power line. In general design the new machines are similar to those of the company’s predecessor, the Grand Rapids Grinding Machine Co. A diamond truing device and diamond for dressing the wheel are provided as part This device is designed of the standard equipment. also to place the holder automatically in correct rela- tionship with the grinding wheel, so that it is close enough to give the correct grind to the drills, and a stop is provided to obviate bumping the front of the holder into the grinding wheel. Motor bearings are of special design and provide for convenient adjust- ment for taking up either radial or end wear, and thus eliminate end play which would be detrimental in a ma- chine of this type. The swivel bearings are of the bronze bushed type and turn on a ground steel stud, dust being eliminated and adequate lubrication pro- vided. A smaller machine of this type, taking drills from No. 60 wire gage up to % in. and driven by a %-hp. motor, is in progress of development. New Iron-Nickel Alloy for Electrical Use WASHINGTON, April 24.—An alloy of iron and nickel which, it is claimed, is likely to have important uses in various branches of electrical work, was described by H. D. Arnold and G. W. Elmen in a paper presented at the meeting of the American Physical Society at the Bureau of Standards,. April 20 and 21. This alloy, known as Permalloy, has recently been developed in the research laboratories of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., and the Western Electric Co. The permeability of this new alloy, it was stated, is much greater than that of the best magnet iron. It is being tried in a new submarine cable and is ex- pected to increase the speed of sending with the cable four times. It also has valuable uses in telephone and radio transformers and induction coils. In addition to its high permeability, it has a small hysteresis loss. The electrical resistance is found to vary with the strength of the magnetic field in which the alloy is placed, so that a difference, amounting to 0.3 per cent, is caused by the earth’s magnetic field, the resistance being different in the east and west position from what it is in the north and south. Its electric and magnetic properties are also changed by applying a load to it. May 3, 1922 LARGE PORTABLE RIVETER Machine for Fabricating Plates Forming Volute of Casing and Penstock for Hydraulic Turbine The 150-ton portable pneumatic riveter of 118-in. reach and 30-in. gap, illustrated, which is believed to be the heaviest portable machine in use, is employed by the Niagara Falls Power Co., for fabricating the plates forming the volute of the casing, spiral, and penstock for a 70,000-hp. hydraulic turbine. Something of the magnitude of the operation may be appreciated from the fact that the greatest distance across the volute is approximately 48 ft. and the diam- eter of the entrance for water is 15 ft. The plates vary in thickness from 1% in. at the entrance of the volute to % in. at the end, with rivets 1% to 1 in. in diameter and 7800 in number. The penstock is approximately 18 ft. in diameter with plates 1% in. thick and about long. 110 ft. Three of these penstocks are to be | Portable Pneumatic Riveter Used for Fabricating the Plates Forming the Volute of the Cas- ing and Penstock for a 70,000 Hp. Hydraulic Turbine. Side elevation with spindle horizontal, frame in the vertical plane and with riveting mechanism above is shown in view above. In view at right the frame is shown re- volved out of the vertical plane and tilted downward from the horizontal, the riveting mechan- ism being below riveted. The volute and penstock are to hold water under a pulsating pressure of about 110 lb. per sq. in., and the work must therefore be of boiler quality. The machine was built by the Hanna Engineering Works, Chicago. The portable weight of the riveter is 57,750 lb. and the weight of the frame, a one-piece steel casting, without spindle or riveting mechanism, is 33000 Ib. In. addition to the great weight of the ma- chine, the form of suspension, which is almost com- pletely universal, is of interest. It is obvious that mechanical power is necessary to move the machine into the operating positions. The supporting mechanism is designed so that when revolv- ing the frame on the spindle or tilting it upward or downward from horizontal, the center of gravity of all the parts hanging upon the crane hook is neither raised nor lowered. This is accomplished by the suspension beam at the top, the two vertical links, the spindle housing and spindle, which form a parallelogram with overhung support at the crane hook directly above the center of gravity of the entire machine. With this THE IRON AGE 1255 arrangement it is intended that the friction of the bear- ings and the inertia effects are the only forces to be overcome. Revolving and tilting are accomplished by means of two Chicago Pneumatic Tool Co.’s reversible close- quarter air dril