Foundry Trade Journal : with which is incorporated the iron and steel trades journal, Vol. 72, No. 1448

ROLLED STEEL B r i t i s h

1 0 U L D IN G 1 A C H IN EC° LTD

jJlwERSHAM, K E N T .

w i t h WHICH IS INCORPORATFD T H F IR O N A N D S T E E L T R A D E S J O U R N A L

V O L . 73. No. 1448. M A Y 18, 1944

Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. Offices:,49, Wellington Street,¡Strand,'London, W.C.2.

“Single C o p y 6d. By Post 8 Annuel Subscription, Hor and Overseas, 21 /- (Prépaie

F L U X I T O L for Perfect Castings or Ingots C U P O L I N E for Furnace o r Cupola

Repairs

E F F IC IE N T service, w ith consultation R O B S O N R E F R A C T O R IE S L IM IT E D

47, C o n lse U ffe R o a d , D a r l in g t o n

•Phone i 2441 ’G ro m s: C u p o lin e

MANSFIELD fflOULOINGSANI

• P U L V E R I S E D R E A D Y F O R U S E IF R E Q U I R E !

A L B IO N (M ansfield) S A N D CO.

~ r o f i' vAeRD°LTD Albion Works, SHEFFIELI

M a n s f e l d 37 T K O S. W . W A R D LTD.

Telephones: Sheffield 26311 (15 lines)

M o u ld in g B o x e s

M ad e in T w o T y p e s for—

L I G H T & H E A V Y W O R K W e also M anufacture—

S H A K E - O U T M A C H IN E S . P A T T E R N A N D C O R E P L A T E S . S T E E L B O T T O M B O A R D S . M O U L D I N G B O X P IN S & B U S H E S

S T E R L IN G F O U N D R Y SPECIALTIES LTD

Telephone B E D F O R D 5338 (3 lines) Telegrams: S T E R F L A S K , B E D F O R D

B E D F O RD .

T E IS E N

EW1 MCLL1N 8 MUFFLES.

Pneulec C U P O L A S

THE CUPOLA W IT H TUYERES PLACED BELOW INSTEAD OF INSIDE THE BELT

B IR M IN G H A M Built by

Ż U L

P N E U L E C LTD., Nr.

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L 3

STILL THE BEST

S P E R M O L I N

L T D .

H A L I F A X

Y O R K S .

T he f a c t th a t g o o d s m a d e o f ra w m a t e r ia ls in sh o rt s u p p ly o w in g to w a r co n d itio n s are a d v e rtise d in th is p a p e r s h o u ld not be ta k e n as a n in d ic a tio n th a t th e y a re n e c e s s a r ily a v a ila b le fo r export

4 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L M A Y 18, 1844

R . a ih v a y engineers are a lr e a d y a t work on the new p o s s i b i l i t i e s . N e c e s s a r y strength w ith b u t a f r a c t i o n o f the w e ig h t m eans sa v in g in p ow er a n d in m a i n t e n ­ ance too, both o f tr a in a n d p e r m a n e n t w a y . So, j u s t when c o m p etitio n w ith air t r a v e l b e c o m e s k e e n e s t , l i g h t a llo ys m a y solve the r a i l w a y s ' p ro b lem o f h ig h speed a t lo w cost. H e r e ’s a n o t h e r c a s e w h e r e H N T A L ’ , as m akers o f a l u m i n i u m a l l o y s f o r every conceivable p u rp o se , look f o r w a r d to h e l p i n g .

KAISER TRAINS After the W ar

San Francisco. Tuesday — Mr. Henry

i

Some of these trains, built o f new steel alloys and aluminium and magnesium, will have streamlined pisscnger coaches and wifi be so light that one engine will pull twice the num ber of cars now generally used.— R euter.

Morris fo r mechanisation

H e r b e rtM o r r is L td L o u g h b o r o u g h E n g la n d

6

R E S E A R C H B E H I N D L I G H T I N G

BTH RESEARCH AIDS INDUSTRY

B T H R esearch L a b o ra to rie s h ave m a d e a n in te n s iv e s tu d y of b o th th e p h y s ic a l a n d p s y c h o lo ­ gical a sp ec t o f l ig h tin g in w a r­

tim e in d u s try a n d th e ir k n o w ­ led g e a n d e x p e rie n ce are at th e d isp o sa l o f th e p r in c ip a ls o f in ­ d u s tria l u n d e rta k in g s th ro u g h rhe L ig h tin g A d v isory S ervice

This BTH-designed Laboratory device provides photometric information on Mazdalux Fittings. It consists of a turntable mounting two frames, each rotating on a different plane. A lighting fitting mounted in the inner frame is directed to a fixed photo-electric cell which records accurate candle- power readings at any angle. At least a thousand readings are necessary for a complete optical test of a single reflector.

O nly by su ch m ea n s ca n fittin gs be d e sig n e d for the very high s ta n d a r d o f efficiency w h ic h ch a ra cterises all B T H L ighting E qu ipm en t.

l i g h t i n g a d v i s o r y s e r v i c e L A M P S

T h e B ritish T h o m s o n -H o u s to n Co. L td ., C ro w n H o u s e , A ld w y c h , L o n d o n , W.C.2. M 4009

BTH LIGHTING

FITTINGS

PHOTOMETER

F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L 7

H O . ^{• \ 0}

sSS

T h e C o r « - for | R O N

n d H

C A S

for

i n d .

I R O N p u o H

s p e c i a l

,

« « a s » -

c a s t i n g

P . * * f p , u r J h " s H

t s

V V O ^ S 4nd s7

> A

* e . ^ e

&

S O H S

n e a r

S T O ^

C^ G^{_ p £ M 's} ,TON*

hone-

8

P N E U M A T I C T O O L S

R E F I N E D I R O N & R O L L S

C L O S E W O R K S G A T E S H E A D - O N - T Y N E A' “c" t;d Sir W.C. Arm stro ng WHjTWOiÎÎÜta °imduÎt^ sltd0

LA VCtD BLAST

STEEL CONVERTERS CHARGING MACHINES

MOULDING MACHINES

CUPOLAS ‘ F M S F007S * BLOWERS SAND MILLS ^* ETC.

f O U M J R Y E Q

G R E A T W E S T E R N W O R K S ,

SMALL HEA TH • ^BIRMINGHAM

2 .

W E S T M IN S T E L O N D O N S.W.

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L

9

SPEED AND STILL MORE SPEED

As th e tem p o o f W ar increases, O xygen and A cety len e p la y an ever m ore v ita l p art. There is n o t a p lane, a tan k , a ship or a gu n in th e m ak in g o f w hich O xygen and A cety len e h ave n o t b een used at one stage or another. W e are playin g our part b y seeing to it th a t am ple supplies o f gas are availab le. D o y o u p la y you rs b y ta k in g care th a t all em p ty cylinders are ready for co llectio n b y our lorries w h en th e y call ?

THE BRITISH OXYGEN COMPANY LIMITED

L O N D O N A N D B R A N C H E S

n o

“ Mr. Huntsman buries his ingots ”

B EN JA M IN H U N TSM A N , the Inventor of Crucible Cast Steel in its present form, suffered m any years of patient failure, before the desired result was achieved. Long after his death the results o f numerous failures and the fruits o f endless experiments were found buried in d fferent places round the H untsm an works. These ingots were found in various stages o f failure caused for many reasons, and a re in fact a memorial to the- tremendous effort o f tnis D oncaster W atchm aker who. was determined th at England should produce the finest steel in the world. B RO CKH OU SE CASTINGS LIM ITED now produce by m odern methods fine quality steels to any commercial specification, specialising in H eat Resisting Steels, made by the m odern version) o f the H untsm an crucible process.

Carburizing Box m ade in H eat Resisting Steel by BRO CKH OU SE CASTINGS Lt d.

CASTINGS IN STEEL

B R O C K H O U S E W E D N E S F I E L D T e le p h o n e :

C A S T I N G S L I M I T E D - W O L V E R H A M P T O N F a llin g s P ark 3 I22L

« n iiim ln iê r a

«¿vCOMPANY/^

Holdens

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L ||

A 90-in. diam. Table Type SA N D W IZ A R D Airless Sandblast Machine w ith Dust Extraction Plant.

Also made in Rumbler Type in a range of sizes.

Telephone:

l O N ^ I PT I I I O'Ni A I

M ID Ia n d 4753-4 I J 1 I \ U V r f l l V / l 1 A l " S T R U C T U R A L ’

V - ' E N G I N E E R I N G C ° U S ■ * -' T IT A N W O R K S , B I R M IN G H A M , 12

A i r l e s s

E C O N O M I C A L

A N D EFFICIENT S h o t b l a s t i n g !

12 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L

“ T I C Y L I M E R I C K S ” No. 4.

MAY 18, 1944

T h e F o u n d ry B o ss snarle d “ Y o u flootie ! These ca sting s w o n ’t do fo r high duty,

T h e stuff to rely on, Is T I C Y L pig iron

Th e n each job will tu rn o u t a b e a u t y ”

"T IC Y L ” is the perfect pig-iron for cylinder and high duty castings . . . free from porosity and of high tensile stren g th . O u r Technical Staff is always ready to assist users and to advise w ith regard to m ixtures.

W e cordially welcome your enquiries

’Phone: 66248/9 Bloxwich. ’C ram s^ T h o m a s, Bloxwich.

C

. & K . I n U M A O L T D . , BLOXWICH, STAFFORDSHIRE.

JOHN H ill & Sons ( W olverhampton ) Ltd.

IRONFOUNDERS, ENGINEERS, METALWORKERS

A L B IO N STREET, H O R S E L E Y FIELDS

W O L V E R H A M P T O N

Telephone: 221 07 W olverham pton T ele gram s: 2 21 07 W olverhampton

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L 13

P h o to by c o u r tjs y o j M essrs. M a r s h a ll & C o., L td ., G ain sb o ro ug h

DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY & CLEAN STRIPPING

C

m ises fettlin g costs. A part from these con sid eration s, a clean skin is o f great im portance w h en a C astin g en closes h igh ly finished tran sm ission gearing. A C asting w ith traces o f b u rn t-on sand adhesions m ay be p u t in to service, a n d in due cou rse, th e san d b ecom es detached, w ith fatal results to th e life o f the m echanism . T h e above photograp h show s a C asting, together w ith th e assem bled m ould and cores. I t is a gear case for a w ell-k n ow n R oad R oller, tran sm ittin g a considerable drive. M a x im u m m a ch in in g allow ance is

^ in ., and m o st o f th e fin ish in g is d on e

K ô r d ë K - G .B K ô r d ë IC - G B K L

G. 8- Kordek & G. 8. Kordol are manufactured under British Letters Patent Nos. 515470, 543202

C O R N P R O D U C T S C O . , L T D . , 3 5 6 - 6 0 O X F O R D S T R E E T , L O N D O N , W . l by grinding. Clearances betw een the gears and the C asting are extrem ely fine, and this requires a high degree o f d im en ­ sional accuracy, besides a clean skin.

G .B . K ordek is em ployed in all cores, and first class results are obtained w ith sem i­

skilled labour, in com b in ation w ith a very efficient system o f m anagem ent.

K ^{O R D E} 1 C ^products

for O IL S A N D • F A C I N G S A N D G R E E N S A N D • D R Y S A N D • S K IN D R Y I N G • L O A M F A C I N G • C O R E J O I N T I N G • M O U L D W A S H E S • Etc.

14 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L M A Y 18, 1944

W O R L D F A M O U S

FOR HIGH Q U A L IT Y A N D Q U IC K DESPATCH ID EAL FOR NON-FERROUS METALS

TELEG RAPH OR TELEPH O N E

M A N S F IE L D S T A N D A R D

G O L D M E D A L

M A N S F I E L D S T A N D A R D » a ^ ■ ■■ a gm m ek ■ »

sand co lie M O U L D IN G S A N D

M A N S F I E L D , " ^ W ^ ^

E N G L A N D . P U L V E R I Z E D O R U N M I L L E D A S R E Q U I R E D T E L . 201—2

B A L L A R D C 0N T IN 0™ E | C 0 R E

GAS OR COKE FIRED

U N I F O R M I T Y O F B A K E A S S U R E D S A V IN G I N F L O O R S P A C E

C O N T IN U IT Y O F O P E R A T I O N

NO E S C A P E O F F U M E S IN T O S H O P

We also manufacture Sh elf Type, Drawer Type and Bogie Type

Consult: F. J. BALLARD & CO., LTD.

T I V I D A L E * T IP T O N : S T A F F S .

P h o n e : T I P T O N 1281-3.

Illustration o f Coke-tired Continuous Core Oven

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L

15

E L E C ™ ' C H O / S T S

PULLEY BLOCKS CUPOLA LIFTS RUNWAYS ELECTRIC C R A N E S S L I N G CHAINS

STRINGER & SON

LTD.

Engineers C R A D L E Y H E A T H , Staffs.

Established 1902

H E E E i ™

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED T H E IR O N A N D S T E E L T R A D E S ¡ O U R N A L

49, W ellington Street, London, W .C.2.

W A R T I M E A D D R E S S to which all communications should be sent i__

3, A m e r i h a m R o a d , H I G H W Y C O M B E , Bucks.

'G ra m s I “ Zacatecas, H igh W ycom be.”

•Phone i H IG H W Y C O M B E J792 (3 lines).

P U B L IS H E D W E E K L Y i 21s. per annum (H om e and O versea ) O F F IC IA L O R G A N O F i

C O U N C I L O F I R O N F O U N D R Y A S S O C I A T I O N S Chairm an i FltzHerbert W rig h t, The Butterley C om pany Ripley, near Derby. Secretary i V. Delport, 2, Caxton Street, W estm instei , i. W . I.

Participating Associations i British Bath M anufacturers’ A ssociation ; British Iron fou n d e rs’ Association ; British Malleable Tube Fittings Association; Cast Iron A x le b o x Association ; Cast Iron C h a ir A ssocia­

tion; Cast Iron Heating, Boiler and Radiator M anufacturers' A sso cia tio n ’ Cast Iron Segm ent A ssociation ; Greensand Pipe Founders’ Association of Scotland; Iro n fo u n d e rs' National Confederation ; N ational Associa

Ion of Malleable Ironfounders ; National Ingot M ould Association ; N ational Ironfounding E m p lo y e rs’ Federation A sso cia tio n of A u t o ­ m obile and A llie d H ig h D u t y Iro n fo u n d e rs ; British Cast Iron

«esearch Association (affiliated)*; British <-rit Association (affiliated):

Flushing C iste rn M a k e rs’ A ssociation (affiliated) ; Institute of British F oundrym en (affiliated). _____

I N S T I T U T E O F B R I T I S H F O U N D R Y M E N P R E S ID E N T , 1943-44 : D. Sharpe, F o u n d ry Plant & M ach in e ry, L td . 113 W e s t Regent S tre e t, Glasgow.

General Secretary I T. Makem son. A c tin g Secretary, J. Bolton, Saint John Street Cham bers, Deansgate, Manchester 3.

B R A N C H E S

Birm ingham , C ove n try and W e st Midlands i A. A. Tim mins, F.I.C 33. C a rt e rs Lane, Q u in t o n . B risto l and W e s t of E n g la n d : A.

Hares, 20, G re e n b an k Road, Hanham , Bristol. E. Midlands i S. A.

H o rto n ” Three,” M ostyn Avenue, Littleover, Derby. Lancs : H. Buck*

ley Ellesm ere, N o r fo lk Ave n u e , Burnley. L o n d o n : V. C. Faulkner, 3, Am ersham Road, H igh W ycom be. M iddlesbrough (pro tern.) : J. K.

Smithson, North-Eastern Iron Refining Company, Limited, Stillington, Stockton-on-Tees. Newcastle-upon-Tyne : C. Lashly, Sir W . G. A r m ­ strong, W h itw o rth & Co. (Ironfounders), Ltd., Close W o rk s , Gateshead.

Scottish i J. Bell, 60, St. Enoch Square, Glasgow. Sheffield : T. R. W al ker, M.A., English Steel C o rp o ratio n , Ltd., Sheffield. W ales and M onm outh : A. S. W all, 14, Palace Avenue, Llandaff, Cardiff. W e st Riding of Y o r k s h ir e : D o u g la s Jepson, M.Sc., 9, Am bleside A venue, Bradford.

South Africa : B. P. Sk o k , Mutual Building, Johannesburg.

S E C T IO N S

Burnley I H. Buckley, Ellesmere, N o rfo lk Avenue, Burnley, Lancs.

East Anglian l A . N . Su m n e r, 516, N o r w ic h Road, Ipswich. Falkirk T. R. G ood w in. ” Viewfield,” Falkirk Road, Bonnybridge. Lincoln i F.

R. W alter, P h .D ., The Technical College, Lincoln.

A S S O C I A T I O N O F B R O N Z E A N D B R A S S F O U N D E R S P re s id e n t : H. Blssell, J. Stone & Co., Ltd., Lon d on . Secretaries:

Heathcote & C olem an, 25, Bennetts Hill, Birm ingham , 2 T H E I N S T I T U T E O F V I T R E O U S E N A M E L L E R S President : W . H. W hittle, W . H. W hittle, Limited, Eccles, near Manchester. Chairm an : W . Todd, P a rkinson Stnve Co.. Ltd., Stech- ford, B irm ingham . Hon. Sec. i W . Thom as, A.I.C., B ank House, H igh Street, R ickm an sw orth, Herts.

F O U N D R Y T R A D E S * E Q U I P M E N T A N D S U P P L I E S A S S O C I A T I O N

President I G. E. France, A u g u st’s, Limited, T h o rn Tree W o r k s , Halifax. H o n o ra ry S e c re ta ry : K. W . Bridges. Assistant Secretary j Miss L. C o x , 52, Surbiton H ill Park, Surbiton, Surrey.

W E L S H E N G I N E E R S ’ A N D F O U N D E R S * A S S O C I A T I O N President i W . E. Clem ent, C.B.E., Morfa Foundry, N e w Dock. Llanelly.

Secretary : J. D. D . Davis, I, St. James Gardens, Swansea.

B R I T I S H C A S T I R O N R E S E A R C H A S S O C I A T I O N Alvfchurch, Birm ingham . ’Phon e a n d 'G r a m s : R e d d lt c h 7 *6 . Scottish Laboratories o u n d ry Technical In st it u t e ,M e e k ’s R oad , Falkirk. (Phone : 332, f

16

The n eed fo r all p o s s ib le c o n s e r v a t io n o f m a n p o w e r ; th e d e m a n d fo r th e m a x im u m o u t p u t o f v ita l c a st m e ta llic p r o d u c ts ; th e in s is te n c e u p o n th e lo w e s t c o s t o f p r o d u c ­ t io n ; and th e n e c e s s ity o f m a in ta in in g , and e v e n im p r o v in g , th e q u a lity o f th o s e p r o d u c ts .

A ll th e s e c o n d it io n s c o m b in e t o p o in t to th e o n ly sa tisfa c to r y s o lu t io n t o all th e s e p r o b le m s —

MECHANISATION

b u t it m u s t b e m e c h a n is a tio n p a r ticu la rly c o n sid e r e d , d e sig n e d and a d a p ted to th e in d iv id u a l s ite c o n d it io n s ; to th e p a rticu la r p r o d u c t ; and w ith fu ll regard to a ll th e fa c to r s, e c o n o m ic , g eo g r a p h ic a l and h u m a n , w h ic h m ay h a v e an y b earin g o n th e p r o b le m .

In o th e r w o r d s c o n s u lt :—

“ The Specialists in Foundry Mechanisation”

w h o s e p r o d u c ts

“ Set the Standard b y which Foundry Plant is ju d g e d .”

’P h o n e s : 6 1 2 4 7 &. 8

HALIFAX , ^ENGLAND

Foundry Trade Journal, M a y I S , 1944

V°l- 73 Thursday, May 18, 1944 N o . 1448

Minimum Economic Manufacturing Capacity

In speeches dealing w ith post-war conditions, we have noted a tendency for the om inous phrase

“ minim um econom ic m anufacturing capacity ” to creep in. This can have no other im plication that concerns below som e unspecified size have no place in the future industrial set-up, because they can­

not either m ake direct contribution to research programmes or indeed take advantage o f published data, and therefore should cease to exist. This is pure nonsense, and makes us sceptical o f such speaker’s remarks as to the future welfare o f this country being contingent on our ability to spend more m oney on research than the other fellow . A professor from a U niversity in a country now in German occupation, recently m ade a plea for the provision o f m odern apparatus, thus re-echoing the demand o f our ow n research workers for more and m ore instruments. Thus there is a second im plication— equally ridiculous— that the value of research varies directly with the cost o f the apparatus used for its prosecution. Y et it is an undeniable fact that som e o f the m ost valuable discoveries— radium, for exam ple— w ere not made in w hite-tiled, air-conditioned, laboratories, but ill- equipped sheds. It is not only from the research angle that the efficiency o f the sm all scale indus­

trialist is being assailed, but also on the grounds that he cannot o f him self be (nor can he em ploy specialists) so adaptable as to be expert in the m ultifarious activities dem anded from a m anu­

facturing concern. Only a superman could, at one and the same tim e, be a high grade technician, a cost accountant, a publicity expert, a sales manager, a buyer, a w elfare officer, a canteen manager, and so forth.

In general, there is a belief that the back street industrialist does a few o f these suprem ely w ell and neglects others. T his is due to the assum p­

tion, n ot alw ays w ell founded, that such people fall into one o f tw o classes, the com m ercially- m inded individual and the highly skilled technician.

Y et a third is appearing, the young scientist w ho has set him self up in business, w hilst the other

classes are attracting his interest. This is a m ove­

m ent likely to gain ground. With the passing o f time, every new piece o f legislation im pacts more drastically on the small scale manufacturer than on the larger concerns, yet w ith them com e com ­ pensations. For instance, there has been, as a result, a definite increase in the value o f the ser­

vices rendered by the em ployers’ associations. In this connection we need only cite the valuable work done by the C ouncil o f Ironfoundry A ssociations for the w hole industry irrespective o f whether a firm is or is not form ally attached to one o f its constituent bodies. Through its Fuel Committee consulting services o f very great worth have been given quite freely to hundreds o f small concerns.

The greatest gains have not been reflected in a serious reduction in the actual fuel bill, but in a better technical appreciation o f the various types o f plant operated. A gain, every ironfoundry should have by now received the post-war ques­

tionnaire issued by the C .F.A . Because o f their quantity— for the small foundries vastly outnumber the larger concerns— this questionnaire should mirror the difficulties and ambitions o f the rank and file o f the ironfoundry industry. Especially im portant are the questions asked by Section V.

On com pletion, it should be interesting to com ­ pare the total expenditure deemed necessary to re-equip the ironfoundry industry w ith the five to six m illion pounds spent annually in recent years by the w hole o f the American foundry industry.

In this connection it seems desirable to recapitulate what should be envisaged under this heading.

Foundry equipm ent includes annealing ovens, wet and dry blast-cleaning equipm ent, briquetting plant

{Continued overleaf, col. 2.)

Contents

M inim um Econom ic M a n u fa c tu rin g C ap acity , 41.—C orre­

spondence, 42.—B .C .I.R .A . E lects New M em bers, 4 2 - M ech an ical Aids to Core P ro d u ctio n , 43.—C upola P rac tic e , 4 9 —U tility B riq u e tte s from W aste Slack, 55.—O b itu ary , 56.—

Iro n fo u n d ry F u el N ews—I I I , 5 6 — N ews in B rief, 5 7 - P erso n al, 57.—F .B .I. a n d I n d u s tr ia l R esearch, 57.—C om pany R esu lts, 58.—New C om panies, 5?.—Raiy M a te ria l M arkets, 60.—New P a te n ts , 60,

42 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L H A Y 18, 1944

C O R R E S P O N D E N C E

IW e accept no resp o n sib ility for th e sta te m e n ts m a d e or the opinions expressed by our correspondents.]

“ THÉ ECONOMIES OF THE SMALL CONCERN ” To the Editor of Th e Fo u n d r y Tr a d e Jo u r n a l. Si r,— I desire to challenge the statem ent m ade by M r. D. Flem ing, and published in Th e Fo u n d r y Tr a d e Jo u r n a l, d ated M ay 4, 1944, th a t “ a small business, no m atter of w hat kind, could n o t be run at a high standard of efficiency.”

Possibly many small foundry proprietors will assume that this is a rash statem ent by an inexperienced young man and think no more of it. But for many years your otherwise excellent Journal has spoken in a sim ilar strain, if not perhaps so dogmatic, and maybe it is time the other side of the question was heard.

N ow —what is the standard of efficiency?

Is it production per m an? T he sm all foundry proprietor knows his men and is able to get the best production possible. Investigation will show that G overnm ent departm ents or large firms with their own foundry for that matter, w anting a casting quickly, invariably go to the sm aller concern. The necessary organisation of large firms prevents a job being taken into the foundry and m ade and cast while the custom er w aits in the office. N ot only is a quick job more easily obtained from the small foundry, but job for job, man for man, and the small foundry will win on production. There is no room for anything “ ca-canny ” in the small shop. Alas! it is too often prevalent in large establishments.

Is is quality? Here you will find that the average small foundry makes an average casting in every way equal to the average large concern. Besides this there are as m any specialities from the sm aller foundries as from the larger ones. A dm itted most larger con­

cerns have their own laboratory staff— so have some sm aller concerns, and some others make use of private consulting metallurgists.

Is it price? Here again there are equal pros and cons fo r both large and small foundries. Personally I am of the opinion th at there are m ore price cutters amongst the large concerns than amongst the small.

The worst price cutting in times of depression comes from the large engineering firm with its own foundry which takes in outside work in order to keep going.

This brings me to the subject of economies. Here is a pertinent question: W hich foundries survived, paying 20s. in the £ during the 1930 slump? I give every respect to the large concerns that did this, but, generally speaking, it was the small concerns, with their low overheads, that w eathered th at terrible storm.

Foundries run by one m an or with the help of Lis fam ily were here before the war, are here now, and will be here after the war, yes even after many larger concerns have am algam ated for “ economic ” reasons.

Anybody can keep going during a boom —the acid test of economies is the time of depression.

I have w ritten the above from experience, having run a prosperous small foundry in peacetime condi­

tions as well as in war, and have also w eathered the storm of trade depression, even though it m eant myself being my own moulding departm ent, core-m aking de­

partm ent, furnacem en, clerical staff, dtc.— in other words, a one-m an foundry. D on’t let anyone despise the one-m an foundry.

A part from the above I have no wish to detract from the substance of Mr. Flem ing’s splendid Paper.

Yours, etc.,

V. Mo y l e.

“ W istaria,” 38, Park Road, H am pton Wick, near Kingston-on-Tham es.

May 8, 1944.

[ Ed i t o r’s No t e.— By a coincidence, we had chosen this very subject fo r an editorial before the receipt of Mr. M oyle’s letter.]

B .C .I.R .A . E L E C T S N E W M EM BERS

The follow ing firms have recently been elected members of the British C ast Iron Research Association.

The official representatives are shown between b ra c k e ts:—O rdinary M em bers: H am w orthy Engineer­

ing Com pany, Lim ited, Poole, D orset (Mr. P. F. Hall);

W illiam H arper, Son & C om pany (Willenhall), Limited, W illenhall (Mr. Fred H arper); and Horseley Bridge &

T hom as Piggot, Lim ited, T ipton (M r. A. Dyson).

As Trade or U ser M em bers: Enfield Cycle Com ­ pany, Lim ited, R edditch (Mr. R. A. W ilson Jones); the K ennedy Press, Lim ited, M anchester (M r. C. A. Otto).

At the end of 1943, A m erican producers of jobbing equipm ent had sufficient orders in hand to keep them busy fo r ten m onths. A pparently the foundry industry in the U nited States is buying between

£5,000,000 and £6,000,000’s w orth of new equipm ent annually.

M I N I M U M E C O N O M I C M A N U F A C T U R I N G C A P A C I T Y

(Continued from previous page.)

for borings, core-m aking and core-crushing m achines, borings, d u st-co llectin g equ ipm en t, ladles, m oulding m achines, conveyors, cranes, m oulding boxes, core ovens and drying stoves, sand- reclaim ing equipm ent, sand-handling and sand- preparation plant, including m agnetic separators, knock-out equipm ent, m odern tum bling barrels, core blow ers, and core wire straighteners. This list is by no m eans com plete, but any mental effort m ade tow ards elaboration w ill serve the purpose we have in mind. By co-operating to the fullest extent with the various bodies co-ordinated under the aegis o f the C .F.A ., the sm all scale fo u n ­ dry ow ner w ill find his difficulties a little easier o f solution and his industrial am bitions a little less difficult to attain.

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L 43

M E C H A N I C A L A ID S T O C O R E

P R O D U C T I O N *

By J. B L A K IS T O N , A .I.M e ch .E .

INTRODUCTION

Founding has always been a basic industry and shares with the forge the distinction of being the origin of m echanical engineering, all advancements being merely im provem ents and refinements of these methods of mechanical creation. W ith the vast mechanical advancem ent that has taken place during the last century, the necessity o f the foundry has always been apparent, but, unfortunately, in some periods this branch of engineering science has had to be dragged along reluctantly to keep up with this progress, and, while new production methods and processes have been acclaimed to the skies and pre­

dicted to be the death-knell of founding, this old and tried servant still quietly remains, and is likely to continue in some form as long as this is a mechani­

cal world.

During the last fo u r decades the founding industry has passed through three upheavals, and after adapt­

ing itself creditably to the changed conditions, has successfully survived. The first great change was occasioned by the introduction of the steam turbine and the establishm ent of the electrical age. The massive reciprocating engines, with their huge cast components, were displaced by the light and simpler turbines. The solution of cheap electricity m anufac­

ture opened the field for the specialist electrical foun­

dries, which m ore than compensated for the loss of the former bulky castings. This change saw the in­

troduction of mechanised moulding and conveyor methods in the m ore advanced plants, but influenced general ironfounders very slightly, if at all.

The second occasion of note was the universal introduction of the m otor-car, the engineering unit of which was designed from a production viewpoint, this being imperative in order to bring its selling price within the reach of the general public.

This trend in engineering led to a demand for very light, thin section, intricate cored castings; in many cases the core shop becoming the m ajor and largest section of the foundry. This period witnessed the universal adoption o f oil-sand practice, a practice which has enabled the foundry to meet the changing demands to an extent which is rarely realised. Motor- vehicle foundries are highly specialised plants fully mechanised in all sections, making as few as two or three types of intricate components at a time in thousands at extremely economical prices. Both fer­

rous and, subsequently, light alloys which were de­

manded by the rapid development of the aircraft in­

dustry have been adapted to these manufacturing methods.

* A Pap er read before the E ast Midlands Branch of the In stitu te of B ritish I’ouudrym en, Mr. W . H . Smith presiding.

in the light of mechanical advancement during the last century

The next change was more gradual and embraced a wider range of commodities, but can be summarised by the wider use of m echanical moulding and casting appliances. The most outstanding examples are the centrifugal casting of pipes with the elimination of cores, and autom atic die-casting machines working increasingly higher melting-point alloys as m etallur­

gical knowledge has advanced.

This development has eliminated sand moulds as known, but requires a technical com bination of the foundry and the tool room . The plastic industry is an off-shoot of this development, phenolic resins, etc., being substituted as a casting medium, a trio being made up by the chemist.

Transitional Period

The transition which is at present taking place will no.t fully define itself until after the war, but appears to take three courses, firstly, the extension of machine and production moulding to larger components in both specialised and general foundries. This, even now, is extended to the mass production of gun turrets in arm our steel formerly manufactured by fabrication methods. Figs. 1a, 1b and lc show line production of heavy milling machines, every casting component being designed for and m anufactured by mechanical moulding methods.

Secondly, the extension of centrifugal casting to a greater variety of components, utilising alloy steels, large gun barrels1 down to small cluster gears being produced by this method.

Thirdly, the general use of high-duty grey iron in different forms irrespective of intricacy, retaining the primary moulding methods of production, but taking advantage of m odern mechanised labour-saving de­

vices, at the same time not losing sight of the prime asset of the general foundry, namely, adaptability.

It is the object of this Paper to record various m ethods whereby advantage can be taken along these lines, particularly in the core-making section of the general foundry, a section which has in many cases been lam entably neglected, forcing many foundries into liquidation.

The present trend is such that in many cases the tonnage of cores required exceeds the final tonnage of castings obtained, reducing the foundry output, on account of lack of core-making facilities, to unecono­

mic levels.

T he older type of foundry has very limited facilities for core-making, a stove of doubtful thermal efficiency and limited capacity being placed in any convenient, or inconvenient, part of the building, small cores being carried from a lean-to shed, perhaps at the other end of the shop, the operators carrying their own cores

44 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L M A Y 18, 1944

M echanical Aids to Core Production

on com pletion into the stove, carefully avoiding their com rades dispersed about the floor in any open space available, and probably damaging their own and any other cores en route.

The above state of affairs is unfortunately not the exception, and is still tolerated in m any foundries to-day, but latterly, happily, a greater effort, probably on account of proposed industrial legislation, has been made for this black section of the industry to re­

habilitate itself. A foundry adapting itself to these new conditions should not decrease its productive mould area to assist core-making, but use available space conveniently adjacent to this area, and deliver the cores completely baked, inspected, and in sets, to the foundry proper.

ensue if an external flange was substituted. U nder­

neath is shown a n intricate interm ediate slide m achined on most faces and containing num erous pocket cores.

This casting was m ade in several foundries with little success from both the produotion and the soundness viewpoint. It is a case where a cover core was justi­

fied, and on introduction m ost of the early troubles were eliminated and a good production ra-te obtained.

A set-up of these cover cores is shown alongside with internal cores attached, so that the whole unit is ready for dropping into the mould. These moulds are made in tandem on a large moulding machine.

Internal Transport

The up-to-date core shop or portion of the foundry allocated for this purpose should have a concrete or

Fi g. 1a.— Li n e Pr o d u c t io n o f He a v y Mi l l in g Ma c h in e Ca s t i n g s.

“ Coreitis ”

The use of electric m an-operated cranes should be avoided o n account of the capital and operating costs, if other suitable lifting devices can be used; the cranes should be confined to m ould closing and casting o pera­

tions. A constant watch should be kept against

“ coreitis,” i.e., the uneconom ical use of cores to save some person the trouble of an efficient m ould set-up.

Fig. 2 illustrates this term graphically; A shows a simple cover, which, irrespective of the num ber re­

quired, will m ould quickly and strip itself. A com ­ ponent like this should not be cover or block cored under any consideration, as it will save neither pattern time, total moulding and core-m aking time, nor m ould­

ing m aterial cost; B shows a sim ilar cover with an internal return flange, and the same rem arks apply, with the exception that, if large num bers are required, a cover core m ay be justified to facilitate a moulding machine set-up, but even this would be debatable.

Perhaps in this case the designer should be tactfully told that a large reduction in production cost would

Fi g. 1b.— Mo u l d i n g Ma c h in e f o r He a v y Mi l l i n g Ma c h in e Ca s t i n g s.

plated floor, first, to assist cleanliness w hich is essen­

tial for good w orkm anship and, secondly, to facili­

tate transport, even if this is only a pneum atic-tyred wheelbarrow or platform truck. Internal transport is the key factor for speedier production, and nowhere does this apply m ore keenly than in the core shop.

T here are m any simple and well-tried systems, and in a well-conducted shop there should be no justification for skilled operators o r labourers carrying either core materials or cores any distance.

On account o f platform , pendulum an d other power- driven form s of conveyor of these types being too expensive and elaborate for the general ironfounder, it is not proposed to go into the details o f these.2

Steel Band Conveyors

Fig. 3 shows the flat steel band type of conveyor, which is about the only type of pow er conveyor suit­

able for the general foundry. This is a very simple piece of mechanism , consisting of a cork-coated driv­

ing pulley and a suitable belt pulley fo r tension. T he

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L 45 steel belt is supported on wood skids, its drawbacks

being that it will not turn from the parallel, and its susceptibility to heat which causes it to run out of alignment. It cannot be interrupted, and so form s a dem arcation line which may or may not be an advan­

tage in a building.

Gravity Roller Conveyors

Perhaps the most universal conveyor is the common gravity type of roller conveyor. This can be obtained from many sources in various sizes and quality.

Curves, right-angle bends, turntables, hinged openings and single or tandem forms can be obtained in stock sizes, and no foundry could not justify its use, no matter how limited, in one of its departments. No power is required for its operation; considerable

a slight relief at each end to sm ooth the initial roller contact. The runners are placed a little distance from the sides of the plates, so that visible evidence of the core plate being too near the side of the conveyor is seen before it drops over the roller sides.

Core Plates

It is very im portant that a correct form of core plate is used, both to conform to the conveyor system and to suit the drying methods adopted. Standard size plates are t o ' be preferred, made from cast iron so th at breakage will occur in preference to warping.

The core face of the plate should be machined as well as the runner strips, and suitably spaced holes distributed over the surface to facilitate the more efficient drying of the core. Corebox location and guide holes m ay also require to be drilled in these plates. The back setting of the runners is very bene­

ficial fo r lifting plates from the ground or benches by hand or by means of claw hooks.

The foregoing core plate details, although referred

WRONG RIGHT

Fi g. l c . — St a n d a r d Bo x Pa r t s f o r He a v y Mi l l in g Ma c h in e Ca s t i n g s.

weights can be easily pushed along, or by a slight gradient made to travel by means of gravity.

The first observation made by the core-m aker is ihat the vibration will shutter any core no matter how strong, but practice has proved that any core will stand an amazing am ount of apparent rough usage on this type of conveyor, provided that certain precautions are taken. These are:— (a) The work should be planned so that the weakest cores have the shortest distance to travel; (b) correctly designed core plates; and (c) correct spacing of rollers—all assum­

ing that the sand bond is correct.

Fig. 4 shows the spacing of rollers, which should be such th at the shortest core plate in use will span three rollers, as shown in the topm ost diagram. Too wide spacing causes the plate to strike the rollers, causing a jolting action, as in the central sketch, while too m any rollers, apart from becoming uneconomic, create an unnecessary num ber of vibrations to the core when travelling a given distance. The core­

plates should have machined runners underneath with

Fi g. 2 .— “ Co m p o s i t e ” Bl o c k Co r e s.

to in conjunction with conveyors, are vital to good quality core production. Sections of gravity conveyor can, if required, be m ounted on transfer bogies which, apart from breaking the continuity of the conveyor and permitting freer movement of personnel, can be such that novel distribution possibilities can be developed.

Light Railways

The old seemingly forgotten system of light railways, common in nearly all engineering shops several decades ago, is still an excellent m ethod of shop transport, and the decline of popularity is not easy to under­

stand. M odern ball bearing bogies, low upkeep, operating costs and low first capital cost, appear to offer every financial incentive, while the complaint that they cause congestion in the floor space is hard to substantiate, as turntable .side tracks are easily pro­

vided. Furtherm ore, the efficient operation of any system demands that the track and gangways must be kept clear. This system is incorporated into a shop layout shown and discussed later.

46 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L M A Y 18, 1944

M echanical Aids to Core Production

Fi g. 3.— Ba n d Co n v e y o r.

Fi g. 6 — Vi c e s a n d Vi b r a t o r s. Fi g. 7 .— Be n d in g a n d Cu t t i n g Ma c h i n e s.

Latterly there seems to have been a revival of this system in some of the newer A m erican mass pro­

duction foundries.3 G aps and diverting arrangem ents are m ade in a continuous bogie conveyor system link­

ing it into a shop rail system, perm itting lags in con­

tinuity to be neutralised by means of reservoir sidings.

The im portance of correctly designed core plates has already been noted. Specialised types known as carriers are often used to elim inate the sand packing of special shaped cores and to minimise shuttering where large num bers and accuracy are required. These carriers also come into the same category as metallic inserts used to support overhangings, and are removed after the core is dried.

Fig. 5 shows two types of carrier. The upper serves the purpose of a half corebox as well as that of carrier, and is drilled to m atch the m ating dowels of the other half which is comm on to all carriers for this com ponent; the lower one serves the purpose of carrier only, and that depicted is for a blast-furnace tuyere core, a very difficult core to handle on account of its shape and friability. This is placed on the top of the core as made, and after turning over to the position shown, the special m etal corebox is stripped away, leaving the core on the carrier adequately supported for drying and transport. T he accuracy of the core can be held to very close limits by the general use of these carrier plates, particularly where the core has no flat face to place on a standard plate.

Core Benches

A fter the m ost convenient conveyor layout has been established, the disposition and fittings required by the core benches have to be considered. These should be adjacent to the reception conveyor, and the supply of m aterial and core plates should be such that the operator has no need to leave his or hei work.

Benches can be very elaborately designed to cope w ith special com­

ponents, but these points are com m on, irrespective of the w ork carried out. The bench should be the cor­

rect height, dependent upon the height o f the average corebox used. It should be cut away underneath, so th at the operator can stand close over the w ork and be in a position to lift weights w ithout risk or strain. The bench m ay be fitted with shelves fo r hand tools and loose corebox pieces, and can have hoppers fo r sand, ashes, or any other m aterial incorporated in its con­

struction.

The bench m ay be fitted with small tools consisting o f : —Pneum atic or mechan-

M A Y 18, 1944 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L 47 ical vices; pneum atic or m echanical clamps; wire cut­

off machines; ro d and wire benders; jolt plates;

abrasive core-cutting machines; bench and stand vibrators; blacking spray guns; mallets; portable sanders; pneumatic ram m ers; pneum atic blow guns, etc.

Considering some of these small tools as listed;

pneum atic vices and clamps are a great time saver and eliminate damage done to wooden coreboxes by the use of dogs, which rapidly disintegrate the strongest coreboxes. Fig. 6 shows a combined clamp and vibrator known as the Ijlewman.4 This device is par­

ticularly adaptable for valve and cock cores, the two half coreboxes being filled with sand, placed together and clamped in the machine, the ends being tucked, reinforcem ents inserted, and the necessary venting com ­ pleted. The vibrator is then operated by knee pres­

sure. A fter this operation the vice is released and.

Spray Guns

Pneum atic paint spray guns will apply foundry black­

ing evenly and quickly to green cores w ithout damage, but, unfortunately, some of the spray gun m anufac­

turers have lately adopted a corrosive light alloy fo r their guns, m uch to their detrim ent for this purpose, as when they were m ade from bronze they gave years of trouble-free service. Fig. 8 shows one of these sprays in action; in the background can be seen a girl operating a bench jolter. There is some prejudice against blacking cores in their green state on account of there being no visible evidence of burning after they have been baked; this danger can be successfully overcome by pyrom eter and tem perature control of the drying stoves.

F or dressing and cutting, abrasive wheels are used on portable machines or on fixed stands. Fig. 9 shows a typical core bench fitted with guide vibrators.

These guides are in the form of a serrated plate with an angle corner against which the box is pressed when being lifted by hand, the vibrator being knee operated.

This gives a straight draw with constant rapping.

the core stripped on to a convenient plate. I t will be seen that no mechanical stripping takes place, but the hand operation of clam ping and rapping is eliminated, giving a m ore consistent core w ithout fatiguing the operator and so benefiting output.

Core rods, wire and similar reinforcem ents are con­

stantly used fo r all cores. These require cutting and bending to various shapes and sizes, and Fig. 7 shows typical m achines for this purpose. They can be fitted to a convenient shop stanchion, or to any bench direct. W here reinforcem ents are required of a con­

sistent shape, special bending jigs should be provided.

These, simple machines which are not often found in the average foundry are w onderful time savers; their first cost is negligible, being generally shillings.

T here seems to be an accepted fallacy that cores, on account of the iron and internal ashes content, can­

n o t be jolted, b u t w ith properly green bonded sands, small jo lt plates will be found to be very efficient.

Core Moulding Machines

As practically any type of the many foundry m ould­

ing machines can be adapted to coremaking, and as each type of machine warrants a Paper in itself, it is proposed only to generalise them for the purpose of this Paper. M oulding machines adapted fo r core- making need only be of the light type, but a turnover m otion is most im portant, as this saves a crane lift on the larger cores and eliminates distortion caused by this crude m ethod of turnover. There are very few machines that can give greater production than hand methods on the small cores, especially when the auxiliary aids already described are used, though strip machines are sometimes justified when a difficult draw is encountered, or in all cases when the total weight of plate, corebox, sand contents, etc., is greater than can be handled m anually.

A portable Farw ell type of turnover machine is probably the most useful unit for the general machine

Fi g. 8.— Bl a c k i n g Sp r a y a n d Be n c h Jo l t e r.

48 F O U N D R Y T R A D E J O U R N A L M A Y 18, 1944

M echanical Aids to Core Production operation is reached when the cum ulative w eight has to be handled; this generally necessitates a crane lift, which, ap art from the financial outlay, is likely to cause waiting time. A fter this turnover takes place, the norm al operations can proceed by m anual handling until the com pleted core has to be moved fo r drying.

Turnover Cages

A m echanical turnover cage which has proved ex­

tremely successful in operation is shown in Fig. 11.

A fter the core has been ram m ed and the plate has been placed on the box, the unit is pushed into the cage and two clamps are brought dow n to it by m eans of a handw heel, the m achine having a capacity fo r accom ­ modating boxes o f widely varying depths w ithout any additional setting. The cage then revolves through 180 deg. and the clamps are released lowering the plate with the core now on top to the level of the exit roller track. The corebox, if desired, can be attached before turning over, which enables the clam p release to act also as a stripping m otion. This turnover gear will operate on cores up to 10 cwts. w ith ease, and no power assistance is needed. The illustration also shows a jolter operating in conjunction with this set up, the whole unit form ing a station fo r the speedy m anufac­

ture of medium weight cops..

Fi g. 11.— Tu r n o v e r De v i c e.

shaped pistons can be readily interchanged, the core, which is ram m ed by hand, being ejected by movem ent of the lever which can be set to give any length of core within the capacity of the machine.

This machine can also be used fo r force-venting, the core already ram m ed in the corebox being clipped on the table and rods of small diam eter used in place of the pistons. These rods are forced through the core by operating the hand lever, both venting and packing the sand tighter in the corebox.

W hen a core is made, the various parts and tackle, i.e., core plate, box, sand, irons, etc., can be generally handled m anually until the turning over

Fi g. 12.—Ch a r g in g De v i c e.

The next crane lift w ould norm ally be th at required to place the core into the stove, or on to a stove bogie.

This crane lift can be elim inated by m eans-of a charg­

ing machine, as illustrated in Fig. 12. This charging machine consists of a stepped fork which can drop below the level of the conveyor rollers, or be otherwise conveniently inserted under a core plate. This fork is cantilevered in fro n t of a rack friction hoist which operates on the same principle as a crane brake, inso­

m uch th at it locks autom atically in any position. The structure is suspended from an overhead runw ay, and the cantilever portion can project some distance inside

(C ontinued on page 5 6 , col. 1.)

moulding of cores. A machine th a t can be truly called a 100 per cent, corem aking machine is shown of Fig. 10. Divers shaped dies with their corresponding

Fi g. 10.— Co r e Ma c h in e.