Los Angeles herald., 1891-03-29
HEXAGONAL POWDER.
WHY AND HOW CANNON POWDER
IS RAMMEp BEFORE 1T is USED.

u kAMmEO 6erOhE ~ 10 OoGO.
1t Is Compressed by Hydraulic Machines
Into Convenient Little Prisms-Some-
thing About the Press That Does the
Work-A Complicated Process.
A large number of persons who Wis
tied the scene Of the disastrous powder
explosion of the Du Pont Powder mills
carried away with them, as mementos
of the explosion, little six-sided pieces of
black material which they generally
supposed to be iron or some soft metal.
These mementos were six sided, about
II inches long, one inch in diameter, and
were pierced by small round hole.
They appeared to be blank six sided nuts,
ready to be tapped or threaded to make
them available on the bolts of the mill
machinery. They appeared to be inno-
cent little things, easy to pilfer and con-
venient to carry, and served nicely as
mementos of the great explosion.
In reality these innocent looking me-
mentos are Jumps of concentrated ex-
plosive energy. They are prisms or
Jumps of prismatic powder. The name
is doubtless owing to the peculiar shape
given to each piece or block, which is
that of short hexagonal prism. This
form is the result of intense pressure to
which the powder is exposed in its pas
sage through a powerful hydraulic press.
It was chosen for the same reason that
the honey bee chooses to make the cells
in it's comb hexagon economy of space.
In building cartridges for big guns out
of this powder the pieces fit snugly to-
gether.
The compression has put every possi-
BILE ounce of force into the prism, the
small size of the prisms enable the gun
ners accurately to measure the force of
each charge, and the hexagons pack to-
gether without loss of space in the load
chamber of the gun. In the manufacture
of this powder science has learned to
ram the charge of powder before putting
it into the gun barrel.
THE MACHINE
The concentration of power by means
of the hydraulic press is so great that
solid prisms of this powder loaded into
gun would probably burst it, and if not
would be wasted by ejectment from the
gun before it was all burned. The round
hole in the prisms of powder, which
makes them complete duplicate of a
blank six sided iron nut. is to secure ex-
pansion equally in all directions, and to in
sure the combustion of all the explosive.
The machines by which these prisms
of concentrated power are manufactured
are models of compact, strong and accu-
rate working machinery. One of them
stands about eighteen feet high, and will
weigh about 80, 900 pounds It occupies
a floor space A feet inches by feet 4
inches, is capable of exerting pressure
of 1876, 900 pounds on a surface of about
fifty-four square inches in area, and will
make ffty-four pris1ns of powder at
every stroke of its pistons.
The most apparent feature of this press
is its weight and strength, and its surpris-
ing characteristic is ease of movement
and control. 1t is composed of two water
cylinders and two rams, connected by
four polished iron rods about four and
half inches in diameter, standing on
rectangular foundation. The cylinders
and rams are at opposite ends of these
rods. The rams work toward each other
centrally with the rods.
Between the rams are four cast iron
plates six inches thick, feet 2 inches by
feet 6 in area, three of which move
with the ram and one is stationary. This
stationary plate is perforated with fifty
four round holes, about two inches in
diameter, that have been partially filled
with brass bushings. Through these
bushings are the six sided holes in which
the powder is compressed.
THE PROCESS.
Working directly over this plate is
similar one attached to the ram of the
upper cylinder, and guided by the four
polished iron rods which fit into half
round recess at each of its corners. 1t is
armed with six sided brass plungers,
which in its descent pass into the six
sided holes in the stationary plate. Be-
low the stationary plate is another
plunger plate similar to the upper one,
and below this is the needle plate. The
needle plate is armed on its upper sur
face with fifty-four long steel needles,
which extend up through the lower
plunger plate and into the hexagon holes
in the stationary plate. These needles
make the round holes in the prisms of
powder.
The power of these presses is generated
in the cylinders simply by pumping
water into them and behind the rams.
The cylinders are II, 10 and 13 inches in
diameter. The upper one has two com
partments-the ram filling the lower one,
and above it is cylinder with lifting
piston by which the ram is raised after
its downward stroke in COMPRISING the
powder. The lower ram is raised by
pumping water under it, and is lowered
by letting the water out, which will be
accomplished automatically.
In operation the parts of this press are
so adjusted that the p1ungers of the up
per and lower plunger plates and the
needles approach each other through the
movement of the rams. The holes in
the stationary plate are stopped on the
lower side by the ends of the plungers
and the needles entering through the
plungers extend up through the station
airy plate. The hexagon holes are then
filed with wet powder and the rams
brought together, exerting pressure of
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