The Iron Age 1926-08-05: Vol 118 Iss 6

THE IRON ACE New York, August 5, 1926 STABLISHED 1855 These Three Magnesite Bricks Are Worth One Dollar. If a workman saves one, he Saves 33!/sc. Locock, assistant director of the Federated Brit- ish Industries, after an exhaustive study of Amer- ican manufacturing methods, reported among other pertinent observations that “American industry is faced today with increased capital values and the necessity of earning a return on them, but the producer has been unable to raise his prices because if he did so he could not sell his product.” That brings us hard against one of the greatest problems with which industrial managers are faced today—thrift. Stimulated and perfected by American engineering ingenuity, American production has startled the world. It is the industrial lesson of the ages. The outcome is that with such tremendous output there has come a definite limit to the price the producer can get. Yet capital must enjoy a fair return. Workers must re- ceive a fair wage. The wheels of industry must be kept moving. What is the answer? Cu F. VERNON WILLEY, president, and Guy wor manager American Rolling Mill Co., Middletown, Ohio. AONAMASNPMANLE NS HUAALURNNATLD HUNELSNDUDDAcERTEEUONDRESAG HOES A ALASGULL! BESS SS "TMA EE VOL. 118, No. 6 Large Saving of Small Wastes American Rolling Mill Co. Puts on Thrift Campaign Among Workmen — Discarded Bricks Used in House Building—Inven- tory of Supplies Greatly Reduced BY M. E. DANFORD* The wisest economist that ever lived could not state it in few words. It is a composite affair. But looming prominently is this one hard and cold fact: Industry must find its profits largely within its own walls. In other words, industrial thrift must be practiced re- lentlessly. Cultivating Thrift Habit Among Workers Thrift is as essential to industry as it is to personal security from financial worry. Essential as it is, an in- centive to industrial thrift does not come home to some workers as does the necessity of personal thrift. They do not see their money going out for wasted oil. Why should they worry about an inefficient gas burner? What does it matter if the company has two spare parts in store when one is all there should be? It is not their money that is paying the bills. This, then, is the attitude that must be overcome. And American ingenuity is overcoming it. Today the worker is often a stockholder in the company. He shares in the profits, if there are any. He knows, too, that there can not be so much profit as there would be if there were no waste. So his own selfish interest is ri 2A A a RR eee How Steel Company Saved Thousands of Dollars by Eliminating Small Wastes ACH workman was told that a saving of 5c. per day per man would mean $50,000 a year. Every department was given a quota—eventually the full quota was obtained. The maintenance department, for example, cut its operating costs 10 per cent. : The open-hearth department, by adopting a new method for drying newly lined ladles, stop- per rods and spouts, saved 38,000,000 cu. ft. of gas, equal to $17,000. A new schedule for relining of —— furnaces and other necessary repairs was worked i [ i rom idle equipment. oe eee dee io 25,000 to 15,000—with 10,000 the goal for end of this year. Dump pile combed for reclaimable material. Discarded bricks used for building of work- men’s homes and for construction of retaining walls and certain foundations in the plant. GTA | © = ah a Al eS aera 337 Sea aay aa Ne tM Ht Nt ty ypc ts pinta ~e Seer OE Ee F oo , ADRS Cate iat eb nt sean i ‘ ‘ oe pet hh i i S. ees el MEME nS $9 En a © hcg oe ree pense, EF Hen Ye ARISEN SS RR ERE eats LLIN OTN e adden enemes.y a > every last one of ’ ti ( emphasized the abso- ee : | any years. We have m the workmen. Yet, ry the necessity for econ- regularity with which men We have never become so rget our thrift. t gone through one of our intensive nd the results are—I was about to they are not to one who has problem for years. ard for our year’s effort we have to our This Long Luminous Flame Was Once Used for Heating Ladles. It was expensive. A new burner was designed to eliminate this waste credit a sum of money that would make any man very comfortable for the rest of his days. It is large enough that the hundreds of men who helped save it are proud to know they put it on the credit side of the ledger. Employees Taught Meaning of Thrift We went about it this way: We brought the men together and talked with them in heart-to-heart fash- ion. We knew that unless each worker accepted his responsibility nothing would be accomplished. So we told the men what we were doing; why we were doing it—that the present industrial conditions demanded thrift as never before; and finally we told them just how we intended to go about our war on waste. When the men learned that in an organization of, 3500 employees, the number at our Middletown works, a saving of 5c. a day by each man would total $50,000 a year, they began to think intently about that dc. daily. Then, when they learned that one silica brick and a clay brick saved each day would mean dc. saved, and that a chrome brick a day would mean 30c. saved, they began to think where they could save a brick. say And when one stops to think that 20 per cent of the material that goes into an open-hearth furnace goes there as scrap, one realizes that a saving of only 1 999 THE IRON AGE August 5, 1996 per cent would mean hundreds of thousands of dollars saved in a year. Men working around an open-hearth department assume quite a different attitude when they understand that two and one-half months of the year are unproductive. Just such simple illustrations as these drove home a lasting appreciation of industrial responsibility, So the plan in detail was gone over. It was then put up to superintendents and foremen to carry through with the plan; but the men, those who were actually making the plan work, always knew just what was being accomplished. That was a very important part of our plan. Plan Worked Out for Each Department Each department was given a quota. I based these quotas on records of what had been accomplished in the past, and the proportion of the goal each depart- ment was expected to deliver. Standards were set up for each department. By conforming to these stand- ards, each department could reasonably expect to reach its quota. This part of the work called for a careful analysis of the main divisions of costs—labor, fuel, service, supplies, repairs, and yield of product. Mr. Reinartz, assistant general superintendent, worked out this latter detail. With these factors established, the contest was on. At first considerable difficulty was encountered in meet- ing the quotas, because the yield was low or extraordi- nary expenditures occurred. However, by constant campaigning the yield was increased, supplies were curtailed, and losses were stopped, so that the quota was attained. An outstanding record was made by the maintenance department, which reduced its operating costs 10 per cent. The open-hearth department saved 38,000,000 cu. ft. of natural gas. Gas costs 45c. per 1000 cu. ft. Here was $17,000 to the credit of thrift. This $17,000 worth of gas was used for drying newly lined ladles, stopper rods, and spouts, and for heating ladles. Ladlemen thought that proper results could not be secured with- out a long luminous flame. Our betterment depart- ment and the general pit foreman believed that proper combustion might get the same results and save a lot of gas. The outcome was a new burner designed for complete combustion, covers for the ladles, and the tidy sum of $17,000. We lay special emphasis upon repairing defects as soon as discovered, because it is human weakness to put off little tasks, even though they may grow into big ones. Workmen in the power division stopped the slightest steam leak. No chances were taken, because leaks in a power division mean a waste of fuel and 4 possible interruption of service, which would be very costly. If an open-hearth furnace is shut down, the loss of production is reflected in the cost of the finished product. And if the shut-down is longer than the minimum time for necessary repairs, production costs take a decided upward trend. To keep down cost, time must be productive. Lost time is lost tonnage, and lost tonnage is increased cost. Open-Hearth Furnace Relining on Schedule Out of our thrift campaign came a new schedule for the relining and repairing of open-hearth furnaces. It is more dependable than any previous schedule. Ex- perience had taught us that an open-hearth furnace would be non-productive a certain number of days # year and that repairs came with almost absolute reg¥- larity. So our repair crews were carefully timed, and furnaces were repaired before they reached the point where they had to be nursed and constantly favored. No longer does the melter try to get the last possible ton of metal before the furnaces are repaired. This practice saves thousands of dollars. Our soaking pits are on the same repair schedule. __The matter of inventories has been quite a problem with us, as with industry in general. The end of the World War found us with a large investment in sUP- plies. This had already been cut in half by 1921. But August 5, 1926 our campaign for thrift further reduced our store stock from 25,000 to 15,000 items and another survey reduced it to 13,500. Our goal for December, 1926, is 10,000 items. The decrease has been accomplished by nar- rowing the range of sizes of materials. All stocks eliminated were sold by our purchasing department. And so our campaign of thrift has gone along. Everything is rigidly scrutinized. Even the dump had to prove its right to be called a dump, for this rather unprepossessing part of industry can give up some in- teresting thrift skeletons. Waste Bricks Used for Home Building For instance, a superintendent of a plant making a drive on waste was giving the dump a casual once- But the super- intendent noticed some brick houses that had recently over. It was clean—unusually clean. been built just across the road. Those bricks had a familiar look about them. And here is what had hap- pened: the bricks had been picked up from the dump. Although they were badly burned and scarred from use in checker chambers, they made substantial houses. No bricks go to that dump any more. Instead they go into retaining walls, and certain foundations. In the round-up, along with the more important items, 35,000 ft. of old crating, 5000 old ties used for heating the finishing building, 150 tons of sand, 23 tons of paper, 16 tons of metal barrels, 71 tons of old iron, 7500 tons of boiler house ashes and checker dust, and 6400 pounds of scrap rope contributed to the grand total, enough to pay us splendidly for all our time and effort. : But it seemed to me that the greatest result is the lesson in thrift that has been driven home to the rank and file of our organization. At the final meeting, when all of us were together talking over the good work that had been accomplished without in any way interfering with a person’s productivity, there was ; spirit of genuine enthusiasm for the elimination 0 waste. And I could not help but feel that those _ would carry the lesson into their own homes and app y the principles of industrial thrift to their persona affairs. If so, we have accomplished better a ao hoped. And in doing so, we shall have the atin of knowing that our workmen are doubly conscious 0 THE IRON AGE 339 the responsibility resting upon them to help find some profit within our own walls. Stoker Burns Part of the Coal in Suspension A stoker combining the burning of coal in suspen- sion as well as by the spreading and coking methods has recently been developed by the CoKal Stoker Cor- poration, Wrigley Building, Chicago. It is termed the Pulverzone CoKal stoker because of a feature that as coal is fed over the coking table a blast of air or steam passes through it separating out the fines and burning them in suspension. Standard 1%-in. screenings are This Pile of Bricks Is Being Inspected to Determine Where and How They Can Be Re-used The Walls of This House (Above) Were Once Old Checker Chamber Brick Thrown Upon the Dump Here Is a Four-Family House (Left) of Sturdy Con- struction, Made Principally of Old Checker Chamber Brick placed in the stoker hopper, from which they are fed either by power rams or manually to a coking table which is subjected to the heat radiated from a sus- pended arch. The coking table is constructed of a se- ries of shapes through which are openings allowing the passage of either an air blast or steam. Some of the volatile matter is distilled off on the coking table and then as the coal falls over the edge of the table it passes in front of the blast openings and the lighter particles are blown out into the combustion chamber. By this method the particles which are small enough to be consumed while in suspension are burned in the same manner as is pulverized fuel and the larger particles are automatically distributed over the grate surface in accordance with their weight. That is, the large lumps will fall close to the forward end of the stoker and the lighter particles near the dump grate. The grate is hand operated and slopes toward the rear of the furnace. The operation of the stoking levers progressively feeds coal from the front end to the dump plate, which is hand operated. The flexibility of this unit is illustrated by the fact that it can be operated as a stationary grate when fire doors are pro- vided, as a shaking grate by spreading the coal with a shovel through the fire doors, as a standard hand-fed Ree, as a standard hopper-feed stoker and as a pwer-feed stoker. This stoker is made in sizes rang- ing from 50 hp. to 2000 hp. Approximately 2 per cent of boiler rating is used for creating turbulence, for power feed and coal distribution. is Seperate = rar 4 he generis a ress “ye AR on ELENA EE ERE Ree eertaent HA . Case Hardening with Nitrides New Process, Not Widely Known, Developed by Krupp Low Temperatures and No Quenching or Drawing Deformation Slight—Suited to Special Steels rm \ G. of Essen, Germany, pub- a slight stain, is characteristic of the nitride harden agazine, the Kruppsche Monats- ing and may be removed if needed with a light polish. 1ins articles of technical and ing. eeping with the reputation of that Annealing Before Treatment In the February issue of this year, one of the research workers, Dr. It is evident that this treatment will not bring es the company’s new nitride case-hard- about deformation, if the pieces to be treated are fre While e the article is mainly of general from internal strains. It is therefore recommended throws son rht on the technical details that complicated pieces be given a careful annealing 3s, h is very little, if at all, known in before treatment. However, the process does bring about change in volume, which is fourd to obey regu- lar laws, and the paper gives details of these laws ne ilg esent method ol case-carburizing is briefly ee oe eo a - ‘1h dhe added TR 8 @ meas \,e 6 = ,¢@;s , ee Fig. 2—Nitride Hardened Chain Drive Depth penetration, mm. ti Comparison of Hardness, Nitride Process and . , bans . Fig. 3—Nitride Hardened Gears Hardening. The nitride hardening curve starts g at 950 at the surface of the specimen ae. “nell Hard By Fig. 1 C outlined and some of its defects mentioned, such as the which are of the utmost importance in the treatment deformation usually experienced, the production of of ring-shaped and thin-walled pieces. The paper also hardening or quenching cracks, and the difficulty or gives interesting examples of the very small amount impossibility of using the process for delicate parts. of deformation brought about, by comparing spiral In order to overcome these objections, the method shaped pieces after ordinary case-hardening, tool steel nitride case-hardening has been developed and is after quenching and special steel after the nitride protected by patents in Germany and other countries. case-hardening. The process is carried out at comparatively low tem- An approximation to the hardness-depth curve of peratures and no quenching or drawing is needed. The the outer layers of steel is given in Fig. 1, the method hardening element, nitrogen, commences to diffuse into of determining the hardness not being given in detail. iron as low as 250 deg. C. and the special steels suit- It is stated that it is determined by different testin able for the process are invested with great surface methods, and its correctness established by practical hardness. tests. The original paper also shows photomicro- . graphs of the corresponding outer layers. The hard- Li ness of the nitride surface is shown to be far greater process is carried out as follows: The pieces _ that of the ordinary case-hardened — hi to be treated are made of special steel and completely : _— 900 Brinell as compared with about 630 en at finished. Final grinding after the process is usually ermined by the Herbert machine). This drops - quite unnecessary because of the small changes in di- ea rapidly, the inner layers being below — mensions. If required in exceptional cases, only a few hardness. Ordinary case-hardening gives a case which hundredths of a millimeter need be removed. The ‘|S hard to a greater depth than with the nitride proc- pieces for treatment are exposed to the influence of ot How the Process Is Carried Out The . ess and, if needed, the case can be made more than ! ft . a9 n ick thie ae sent . nitrogen in a nascent condition at temperatures below a a W hich has not been done up to the pres¢ : 580 deg. C. (1076 deg. Fahr.), the time varying with me with the nitride method. Hy the depth of case desired. The pieces are then removed Pract ¢ i "yf from the furnace and slowly cooled. No quenching is ractical and Operating Results Ria done. As a rule the pieces are completely ready for A practical res : 5e8 : : , : : : ical result of th i in cases } use after the slow cooling. A slight tinge of gray, or ese tests is that, 7 where there are particularly high surface pressures, the 9 340 August 5, 1926 ordinary case-hardening method is to be chosen. On the other hand, with ordinary pressures, the new method is better, because of greater resistance to wear and maintenance of exact size. Surface pressures for nitride case-hardened pieces can reach 100,000 Ib. per sq. in., according to present experience, varying with the kind of steel used. Corners should be rounded. The process is not suitable for the production of cut- ting tools. Operating results have shown that machine parts treated by this process show much less wear than or- dinary case-hardened parts. A nitride hardened crank shaft in a truck after a year’s operation showed only one-fifth of the wear of a case-hardened crank shaft in a similar truck and in the same work. Nitride hard- ened chain drives for trucks, as shown in Fig. 2, show little wear after 10 months, while ordinary case-hard- ened drives in the same trucks have to be replaced in six months. Soft spots, which are common with the ordinary process, are practically unknown with the Fig. 4—Nitride Hardened Worm new process; also sudden changes of section are not to be feared, because there are no hardening cracks. The hardness of the nitride layer is held up to at least 500 deg. C. (932 deg. Fahr.), and even at 500 deg. C. the surface cannot be touched with a file. This is important for parts that may reach a high operating temperature, because ordinary case-hardened parts lose their hardness to a marked degree at 250 deg. C.; at 500 deg. C. they are comparatively soft. Suited to Only Special Steels It is important to note that only special steels are suited to the process, steels that may be obtained from Krupp’s or their licensees, which steels correspond in all their properties and cost to chrome or chrome- nickel steels. The physical properties of four of these steels are given in a table in the original paper. Ten- sile strengths alone will be mentioned here: Steel FP 11, 121,000 to 178,000 Ib.; FP 13, 106,700 to 142,300 Ib.: FP 15, 92,500 to 113,800 Ib.; and FP 17 78,200 Ib. per sq. in. The latter is suitable for use in automatic ma- chines. The steels can be forged or rolled into bars or rolled into sheets, pressed or drawn. The process has passed the experimental stage. Over 10,000 pieces are in actual operation and giving excellent results, and the paper gives a list of places and parts. Some of these are shown in Figs. 3, 4, © and 6. The paper also gives a few figures on costs under German conditions. Special apparatus is neces- sary, and direct current is needed. The firm of Krupp sot Also Pistons, Gages, etc., Case-Hardened by Nitride Process Fig. 6—Parts for Textile Machines, THE IRON AGE 341 furnishes its licensees the complete apparatus, the total cost being about as follows: For 2 tons finished product per month $4,250 For 6 tons finished product per month 6,000 For 12 tons finished product per month 8,000 For 35 tons finished product per month 12,500 The operating costs are low, two to four men are enough for the 35-ton plant and skilled labor is not Fig. 5—Nitride Hardened Locomotive Link With Block required. The process is of decided interest in places where alloy steels are now used or where thin-walled and intricate shapes are required. G. B. W. American Exhibits at Leipzig Trade Fair The United States will have 700 exhibits of indus- trial products at the Leipzig Trade Fair which will be held at Leipzig, Germany, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 4. More than 15,000 exhibitors will show their products, and a score of countries, including the United States, will be represented. The displays will occupy 4,000,000 sq. ft. of floor space and will be housed in 100 perma- nent buildings. The metal wares division will embrace about 1500 exhibits, and the largest display will be of textile machinery with 2500 exhibits. Last year the fair was visited by 180,000 buyers as compared with 20,000 in 1914. More than 1500 buyers are expected from the United States this year. The fair has been held for 700 years. American headquarters are the Leipzig Trade Fair, Inc., 630 Fifth Avenue, New York. New Refractory Cement or Mortar A new refractory for the maintenance of brick or monolithic furnace walls and arches has been brought out by the Plibrico Jointless Firebrick Co., 1130 Clay Street, Chicago. It is offered under the trade name “Plibrico Stucco.” It is applied to the wall or arch as often as a boiler is taken off the line and the ma- terial is intended to replace that part of the furnace wall which has been eaten away during the last service period. It is applied in thin coats, or several coats, if necessary, and is put on in a similar manner to ordi- nary cement or mortar. The manufacturers point to one case where the wall, after being repaired with the new material lasted 12 months, as against a previous life of not much more than 14 weeks at the best. The material can be used only where very high furnace temperatures obtain. ovement: te tmiealinc\s pare cabin 56 vee Hot Galvanizing Steel Burial Vaults City Gas Reported to Effect a Saving—Special Forming Presses Employed BY J. B. NEALEY | ) iry vault has caused the 1 J ture of a steel vault, or tructible and permanently made by the Sozonian Burial On10 ring steel sheets are cut to size and run er press, which forms ribs across their % in. apart, which add stiffening and the sheets. Another press panels the en- t that part of the ribs or seams oss the selvage of the panel, shears edges corners. A mechanical folder turns flanges iges of the selvage. These panels are to form des and ends of the finished vault. A single power ne, now under construction, will be installed y, designed to do these five operations at a single This ribbed construction is covered by patents i Dy the company Corners Are Lock Seamed The top is formed in a similar manner to the sides ends but, in addition, it is given a rounded or rown shape in press with the proper shaped -die. Rounded steel corner pieces are formed in presses and flanged in the mechanical folder to fit the flanges of he panel lhe sides and ends are then set up to form the rounded corner pieces fitted in and the anges forced together to form a double-lock seam very nearly watertight, and quite so after gal- anizing. The entire top edge is then flanged and urned over and under a heavy steel angle iron, thereby adding more strength to the construction. The top is then put on and double-lock seamed into the sides and ends. his forms the bell of the steel vault and it is made down and onto a steel bottom-piece on which the rests rhe strength of this construction et was ombustion Co., New York T ih rT \& r i" Al Galvanizing Kettle at Plant of recently demonstrated by placing weights totaling more than 5 tons on top of one of the bells, without causing distortion. The average weight of burial earth is only 5500 lb.. The handles are then riveted on. The bottom is formed of a 12-gage galvanized steel sheet, the edges turned down on a bending brake and then turned out and up for a stiffening flange. Thus is formed a 3-in. wall all around to hold the bottom floor of the vault off the ground. Four buttons are then put on the floor of the vault on which to rest the casket, and four malleable iron handles are riveted on the outer edges. Permanent Locking Device Now comes the construction by which the vault, after the casket has been placed therein, is locked. On each corner of the base a casting, housing a locking device, is fastened. The lock member consists of one part only, a weighted steel casting held in place by a cotter pin. When this cotter pin is removed, the lock member swings outward of its own weight and engages the flange on the bottom edge of the bell, making a positive lock without the use of springs or other mov- ing parts. As no keyway is required or provided, and as the lock is completely closed and hidden from view, once the cotter pin is removed, the vault is permanently locked. This lock is patented. The next process in the construction of these vaults is rust proofing by galvanizing the bells. These are first pickled in vats containing a 10 per cent solution of sulphuric acid for some 15 min., to rid the steel of scale. They are then washed in a bath of water and dipped in a 15 per cent solution of muriatic acid to clean off grease and prepare for galvanizing. The bells are then hot dipped in a galvanizing bath of melted zinc for about 5 min. The tank, or kettle, is of forged steel 12 ft. long, 5 ft. wide and 5 ft. deep; the sides are 1 in. thick and the bottom 1% in. This kettle weighs Sozonian Burial Vault Co., Toledo, Is Heated by asm Means of Gas ote August 5, 1926 THE IRON AGE 3 atari oe Presses, Folders and Other Sheet Metal Machinery Form the Ribbed Construction of the Steel Vault Shown in Foreg rou nd 19,000 lb. and it takes 138,000 lb. of zinc to fill it; it is ricked in solidly with a 5-ft. brick wall. City Gas Used as Fuel As these kettles are expensive, the choice of fuel and combustion equipment was made with an eye to prolonging its life. The installation firing this kettle was designed and manufactured by the Surface Com- bustion Co., New York, and city gas is the fuel used. With this equipment and using city gas, a saving of ‘3 1/3 per cent is reported over the old method of firing with natural gas. High and low-pressure gas burner systems are made for this purpose, the type being governed by local conditions. In both systems the volume of gas flow and degree of temperature are regulated by a single valve. This single valve control is made pos- sible through the use of patented inspirators or Ven- turi tubes. By means of these inspirators, the air and gas are 1utomatically proportioned, in the ratio for complete combustion, regardless of volume of flow. In the low- pressure system, as used by the Sozonian Burial Vault Co., air is raised to about 1% lb. pressure by a pressure blower, and gas, which has been dropped from line to atmospheric pressure by a governor, is entrained in the inspirators. In the high-pressure system gas 1s Carnegie Steel Co. to Start Work on Houston Warehouse Plans are almost completed and bids soon \..1l be asked for the construction of the new warehousing plant of the Carnegie Steel Co. on the ship channel at Houston, Tex. The site, which comprises 100 acres, 1s advantageously located for its purpose and adjoins the big docks of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The plant will be used not only for the storage, fabricating and distribution of steel products throughout the Texas ter- ritory, but also as a transfer terminal for shipments from the mills by water from Atlantic, Gulf and Mis- sissippi River ports for reconsignment by rail. The construction plans call for eight buildings, all under one roof. Seven will be 80 ft. wide and 480 ft. long, and the other 85 ft. wide and 480 ft. long. The buildings will be of heavy steel frame construction, covered with galvanized sheeting, and in each building will be installed a high-speed electric traveling — for the rapid handling of the heavy materials. Also boosted to about 10 bb. pressure and air sucked in by the inspirators. In obtaining the full effects of the heat liberated by the gas combustion, two methods are used. In one method the gas is fired into a porous refractory mate- rial, while in the other, the burner nozzle is located in the axis of a cylindrical tunnel, the walls of which are formed of a highly refractory material, which is brought up to incandescence, promoting radiation. Tunnel burners, some ten in number, are used in this installation and the heat is radiated through flues or combustion chambers running through the entire length of the brick walls on both sides. As the zine must be maintained in a molten state the year around, some ten square tile or atmospheric burners, which consume less gas, are provided to keep up heat when the kettle is not operating. When dipping the bells, the temperature of the bath is raised to 850 deg. Fahr., as the cold steel cools it off materially. In a day’s run of 9 hr. 60 bells can be galvanized in this kettle. During such a run 2700 lb. of zine are usually added, which means that 45 Ib. of zine have gone into the coating of each bell. When not in use, the bath is kept at a temperature of 800 deg. Fahr. As a matter of economy, the company is about to install a gas-heated oven to preheat the steel before it goes into the galvanizing kettle. there will be massive punches and saws to facilitate the preparation of the heavy steel products for the con- tractor’s specifications. Auxiliary buildings will house the general offices of the plant, an electric substation and a large store room; while for the comfort of the employees there will be shower baths and locker rooms, and an adequately equipped emergency hospital, with a graduate nurse on duty during all working hours. This Jatter feature is part of the policy of safety of the Carnegie Steel Co. A dock on the ship channel frontage of the plant will be 300 ft. long and will accommodate ocean-going steamers, while on the west side of the property there will be a slip 10 ft. deep, for the river and other shal- low draft boats and barges which will run into the slip directly beneath cranes in the building. This will per- mit the unloading of the mill shipments from barges into the warehouse with but one handling. In this warehouse the company will carry a stock of heavy rolled steel products, wire products, and black and galvanized sheets. 438 RE MREEIIE AI Rei BO ABI inc se Bie apis Sh ists abd SINE Ta) in BG UBGE AN tent one Ne eo lek pve, Pee! oS 1 ly bushaciatcioiaes herp a ss ee: & SAPD Sar ante iE ARE ly II ER Ret ae aint CAE Fa I pa? ere a8 so = ne pe RRR SOG DAS oe co ae Westinghouse Elect step in the engineering study 1 ft ‘ are welding for building construction, Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co. on July 28 and monstration in the materials laboratory, Carnegie Institute of Technology, is bound to stimulate the interest of rs. contractors and engineers in the sub- ip to this time nothing quite so compre- r informative as this series of tests had been There was a registration of about 100 men, epresenting almost that many companies engaged her the actual fabrication of structural steel or \ Hall a} n 1S€ erection or design. No fewer than 22 tests were .de on a vertical testing machine with a capacity of 000 Ib. Engineers of the Westinghouse company for some been studying the uses of arc welding and ne nave ery early in their studies arrived at the conclusion structural steel offered the broadest field for de- men It was not long afterward that it was nd that in order to gain all of the advantages of e proce ms, columns and joints should be de- gned especial r welding and that welded sections a n standard riveted practice had little if any ner ver riveted members. It was frankly stated Dr. G. D. Fish, structural engineer, New York, who : been retained by the Westinghouse company as a nsulting engineer arc welding for building con- ructio hat research had not yet gone far enough if welding that could be done and insure the same strength as riveted steel and that columns and joints for the tests there probably a stronger and heavier weld than later studies would disclose had been necessary. The purpose of the tests was to show the proper onstruction that should e employed. Some of tt strength of the | ility of lighter when lisciose the mini ; n tne beams, peen be used when welding is to > tests were designed to show itself: others to show the construction when the joint is riveted and others to show a direct wel omparis f the strength of riveted and welded mem- bers of the same size. In view of Dr. Fish’s statement as to the strength and weight of the weld in the test pieces, some allowance should be made for the rela- vely poor showing of the riveted specimens. But on the other side of the picture is the claim that, in spite he heavy weld, the cost is much less than that for riveting and there is the additional saving in steel hrough the use of lighter steel sections and the elimi- nation of rivets, clip angles, fish plates, etc. To Erect 5-Story Building of Welded Frame It w: is brought o steel was of it during the tests that the welding ordinary mild steel analysis; that the elec- not coated and that the welding had not The American cooperated with the Westinghouse engineers BS n the studies and experiments. trodes were been done by specially trained welders. Peescd ’ Bridge Co. ; Sustaining it S engineers in their findings was an announcement that the Westinghouse company was to build two are-welded structural steel buildings. One to be a one-story building to be used as an iid f them engineering laboratory at East Pittsburgh, and the other a five-story mill type building at Sharon, Pa., to be part of the transformer plant. A feature of the } East Pittsburgh building is that it will be erected pas partly of scrap roof trusses, this in emulation of a plan & followed in the construction of a building for the Chi- } ago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Eola, Ill. nh ; ‘It was brought out that in the steel fabricating " mill the arc-welded members will entail a decided change in the process of assembly. The present sys- tem includes the design of thousands of angles and bracing plates, all of which, together with the beams, are laid out and punched, before being delivered to the Arc Welding for Building Construction ric & Mfg. Co. Stages Demonstration at Pittsburgh—Will Weld Frame of 5-Story Building 344 riveting gangs for assembly. Im the new process the work will be laid out on the floor, where the arc- welders will supplant a gang of riveters. Structural steel fabrication costs, it was also emphasized, have been reduced to a minimum so that new arc-welded processes will hardly effect savings in the assembly. The savings will come, as stated, with the elimination of angles and braces. The specimens tested included the following: Canti- lever beams supported on typical H-column sections, differences in design being in the size of the landing brackets and reinforcing plates. Typical examples of beam to column joints, some riveted and others welded. Examples of floor beam connections to main girders, hangers, etc. Among Those Present Among those present were the following: G. S. Baldwin, Midland Steel Co., Midland, Pa.; Georgé Balion, sales manager, J. E. Moss Iron Works, Pittsburg E. H. Pacy, president Pittsburgh Welding Corporation, |! burgh: A. J. McGough, structural engineer, Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Va H Caskey, J. A. Roebling’s Sons Co., Pittsburgh; A. W. baru Aluminum Co. of America, New Kensington, Pa asic Allen, McClintic Marshall Co., Pittsburgh; G. Lewis T r chief engineer, McClintic Marshall Co., Pittsburgh; ©. A Hughes, Truscon Steel Co., Youngstown, Ohio; D. Davis superintendent, McClintic Marshall Co., Pittsburgh; J. P Walton, Bridge Department, Pennsylvania Railroad, P'tts- burgh, J. H. Edwards, assistant chief engineer, American Bridge Co.. New York; George F. Bateson, Truscon Steel Co., Youngstown, Ohio; John R. Harrison, J. E. Moss [ron Works, Wheeling, W. Va.; John N. Marshall, McC Marshall Co., Pittsburgh: A. C. Leigh and George F. Wolf: Dravo Contracting Co., Pittsburgh: G. W. Shem, president Alliance Structural Co., Alliance, Ohio; A. D. Graves Morgan Engineering Co., Alliance, Ohio; Edward Godtrey Robert W. Hunt Co., Pittsburgh; H. E. Rossell, Burea Construction and Repair, U. S. N., Washington; Georg* I Christy, Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co., Pittsburg! C. E os, American Bridge Co., Ambridge, Pa.; Rober' MacMinn, McClintic Marshall Co., Pittsburgh; V. W. Cod g Lakeside Bridge & Steel Co., North Milw: “ H. W. McMillan and F. P. Shearwood, Don ge Co Ltd.. Montreal; Samuel Fray, Jr. gie Steel Co., Pittsburgh; Kenneth Campbell, Blaw Knox ‘ Pittsburgh; J. R. Conley, Heyl & Patterson, Pittsburé! M. Eastman, Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, Pitts rel Kk. E. Shann, Petroleum Iron Works, Sharon, ! _ EE. D. Giberson & Co., 40 Rector Street, New York, n il ave been appointed exclusive representatives in the United States for Ferrostaal G.m.b.h., of Essen, Ger- many, an export organization dealing with French, Bel- gian and Luxemburg mills. Ferrostaal is also sole agent in foreign trade for Gutehoffnungshiitte, which has mills at Oberhausen (Rhine), Gelsenkirchen and Osnabriick in Germany. Hans Cortner, who was pre- viously in charge of sales with William H. Miiller & Co., New York, former representatives of Ferrostaal, ‘ontinues in the same capacity. American industrial machinery has the advantace in Mexico over that from Germany and Great Brita’, according to a report to the Department of Commerce, Washington. However. German-made industrial ™@- chinery gave American machinery a closer race in 192°. for which figures are now available. Im 1925 Mexico imported about $2,000,000 more machinery than in the year before. The United States secured in 1925, 81.2 per cent of the total Mexican import trade in machin- ery for industrial purposes as compared with 83.1 pet cent in 1924 and 82.6 per cent in 1923. 1—Photomicrograph of White Cast : : Fig. 2—Network Structure in Gray Iron Fig. 3— i i ; Ligne : tel aie soe _% Thin Sopions: Boundaries, Ferrite; aa ae ee Saip divided ns, Pearlite, ched wit ark Sections, Pearlite with Graphite Parti- ite. speci i : mtric acid, Magnified 100 diameters cles. Etched with 2 per cent Mcittte acid =~ thas unencoe Chilled Iron Resembles White Iron Discussion of Chilling and Consequent Hardening in Thin Gray Castings Such as Piston Rings BY R. D r HE change of gray iron into mottled or white irot is an extremely fickle one in the case of thin cast- ngs. Where this occurs the resulting difficulty in nachineability is only too well known. In this article an attempt is made to show, by means of a photomicrographic study, the similarity between chilled gray iron and typical white iron. The type of castings under consideration is smal! piston rings of approximately % in. cross section. Moldenke, Sauveur and Hatfield, who are authori- ties on the subject, agree that good gray iron castings, which contain about 3 per cent graphitic carbon and 0.40 to 0.60 per cent combined carbon, are best pro- duced by (4) a slow rate of cooling through the period f solidification and (2) the presence of silicon. The latter element causes graphite to separate by lowering its solubility in iron. On the other hand, mottled or white iron is obtained by quick cooling and low silicon content. A high percentage of manganese and a high percentage of sulphur also exert a hardening effect upon thin castings. In addition to the two principal factors necessary) for the production of soft castings, namely silicon con- tent and slow rate of cooling, the total carbon content is an important constituent. For thin castings, pig iron with a total carbon content of 4 per cent is being used with success. This high total carbon naturally *Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa Fig. 4—Specimen of Mottled Iron Resulting Fig. from Chilling White Iron Result'ng from Oxida- war in First Part of Heat 345 BILLINGER* allows more graphitic carbon to be formed and insures soft castings. However, this always produces a de- crease in the strength of the castings. The presence of a large quantity of graphitic car- bon means soft iron and easy machineability. In large castings the graphite appears in long flakes, due to a slow rate of cooling, time being a necessary factor in the separation of graphite. Excessive amounts of graphite materially reduce the strength of castings. On the contrary, when carbon is present in the cast iron in the combined form known as iron carbide, Fe,C, the castings are hard. In a quickly cooled casting, this form of combined carbon is known as austenite and is extremely hard. This is the case in white iron, which is used for making plates for coke conveyors, where a hard surface is desired. To produce this effect a low silicon pig iron, mixed with steel scrap, is used, and a rapid rate of cooling. Fig. 1 shows a pioto- micrograph of a typical white iron in which the carbon is practically all in the combined state. The microstructure of good gray iron in thin sec- tions should look similar to that represented in Fig. 2. In such castings only about 0.50 per cent of the carbon is in the combined form and it is uniformly distributed. This network structure makes a strong casting which is also easily machined. The presence of small par- ticles of graphite are more readily seen in the unetched specimen shown in Fig. 3. Certain errors in the melting or molding practice . &—Mottlied Iron Produced Sudden rns < of a, Metal in Si Brine ution ~ + elite AL PCL. te aarp remake 8 RIES oF 346 THE IRON AGE August 5, 1926 F « ; } . tings. Photo- iron was in an oxidized state before melting, due to a i pres — in Fig. 4 or poor pig iron from the blast furnace. The remedy, of f See = mottled iron of course, is to use high-grade pig irons and to study the : in ae mposition as the cupola melting practice carefully. ‘4 ere ciiicies treated. The error A peculiar case of oxidized iron in the first part of os ling caused by mold- a heat was once noted, while the subsequent meta! soon cee) bad been too wet, or it may have been became normal. Upon investigation it was found that ts | ; ns which result in oxidized the melter had started off his fire with wood from an a e investigated because cast- old barrel of red lead. There was evidently enough 1 .ctically impossible to machine, red lead present to cause the oxidation of the first m lent annealing to remove hard- metal, and naturally so, because red lead is a good oxidizing agent. , f ment will arise around a foundry as There are a number of processes in which piston ‘which are too wet, really develop rings are first cast in metal molds and then annealed On several oceasions, however, the for machining. One annealing treatment for which ' served that wet molds, in which the mois- great claims are made is that of A. K. Schaap, which nt of the sand was over 15 per cent, were the ‘was described in THE IRON Acs, Jan. 3, 1924, by Prof. hard castings. When molten iron is poured Bradley Stoughton. The process provides for heating ich a mold, the sudden rate of cooling. will not the castings in a wrought iron cylinder to a tempera- sufficient time for the carbon to separate in the ture above the first critical point, where there is a loss rm of graphite. An extreme case of rapid cooling of magnetic properties. During the annealing, the jtained by pouring the molten metal into an ice castings are carefully protected from harmful gases. ne solution. This produced a hard, brittle iron with After being subjected to this treatment for a period microstructure as shown in Fig. 6. The structure of less than an hour, thin castings can be bent and that of mottled iron and its similarity to that of twisted like malleable steel. E Fig. 4 can easily be seen. In general gray iron foundry practice, hard cast- [f the metal is oxidized when it comes from the ings are always a source of worry and trouble. Hence cupola, it is in a state quite conducive to hard castings. the evil effects of chilled cast iron should be avoided This may be caused by a low coke bed in the cupola by proper melting and molding conditions, rather than furnace or an excessive blast. It may also be that the subsequently relieved by annealing. ) S iority of the American Boiler’ ) German Speaker Analyzes Underlying Differences in the Two Countries—Employer } and Employee és MERICANS have surpassed us considerably in the construction of large boilers, together with complete accessories necessary to maintain them,” says Friedrich Von Muenzinger, in an address delivered be- for the Society of German Engineers at Augsburg, Germany. He goes on to say “this superiority is espe- cially evident in the construction of boiler accessories, in the execution of large forced draft furnaces, chain grates, under-feed stokers, devices for removal of ashes, automatic feeding and construction of the brick work for large boilers.” But in the case of vertical boilers of less than 1000 square meters (10,760 sq. ft.) heating surface, Mr. Von Muenzinger believes that Germany is considerably in the lead, with regard to the technical shop execution, and that the boilers are more carefully designed than the American types. He attributes America’s lead in the construction of large boilers, in no small degree, to the fact that the boiler industry of the United States has been working under much more favorable conditions than that of Germany. Quoting further from Mr. Muenzinger’s address: Not Altogether Materialistic “The United States is a rich country and has had a victorious war, its economic status is on the up trend, the electrical power system has been expanded on a large scale, and throughout the country optimism is dominating. However, it would be erroneous to con- clude that American progress is based solely on mate- rial causes. Spiritual causes have had, no doubt, con- HM siderable influence. The American is a master in the % handling of employees and workmen and the natural, . yet respectful, conduct between superior and employee stands out favorably when compared with European t ‘ practice. *Partial translation from an Vereines article in Zeitschrift des deutscher Inge nieure “This pleasant relationship is facilitated by the fact that the American workman has no class hate and does not regard his superior as his enemy. On the contrary, the American worker has the desire to obtain as quick- ly as possible, by his ability and education, a higher income and tries by all possible means to broaden and deepen his knowledge. This results in excellent co- operation between employer and employee. Workmen and employees frequently express their pride in be- longing to the same establishment. Buyer and Seller Cooperate “But between manufacturer and customer there also exists a good relationship. They help each other and this kind of cooperation seems to be typical of the whole country. It avoids much friction and saves an enormous amount of money and time, which we in Ger- many have to spend. It seems that almost everyone, whether high or low in position, is penetrated by the consciousness of the responsibility of the big task to make America happy and wealthy. “Several skilfully edited popular periodicals have made engineering activities, so to speak, common prop- erty of the people who take active interest in all its achievements; whereas in Germany a considerable part of the population looks upon the world of machines not exactly disparagingly, but patronizingly or even indif- ferently. The average American, if not an engineer himself, is much more conscious of how much his exist- ence is dependent on the results of engineering. And the interest of the greater public in engineering fea- tures is a strong incentive for workman and engineer. Profits Must Be Made "As home we find, even in engineering circles, fre- quently little understanding of the fact that an indus- trial machine factory cannot flourish and produce effi- August 5, 1926 y without a reasonable profit. The German ten- y to criticize foreign achievements easily overlooks endable parts and makes shortcomings appear tly exaggerated. Especially engineers who have designed or sold machines make this mistake, ise they do not know how difficult it is to create mething better and to manufacture it with a profit h will carry on the enterprise. “When technical disputes are treated like religious mas, the resulting exchange of opinion does not rify the situation but makes it more confused. The ling thought in some cases does not seem to be the re to exting