The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1909-06-25
ELECTRICITY sUPERsEDING
STEAM

|
STEAM
al Economy In production is the mos
g vital part OF manufacturing. The in
= PRODUCTION of motor driven machin
s tools has brought manufacturers
i recognize that steam DRIVEN lin
r shafting Is comparatively expensive
5 First cost, maintenance, inflexibility
1 cost OF attendants, multiplicity q
: belts, space occupied, detriment t
!. good lighting, and, above all, the de
J creased rate OF production with re
7 sultant increase in the cost Of man
: ufacture, are objections. which are re
legating this form of drive and sup
) planting it with the electric drive
J The increasing demand for motto
, driven machine tools is therefore
healthy symptom of change in manu-
featuring methods. The Individual,
driven machine is taking the place o
the Anticipated group system of driv
| ing machinery.
The first application of electric mo
. tors to machine tools was made few
years ago, although the idea was sug
lgested blythe late John Good, cordage
manufacturer, as far back as 1898
4 In that year Mr.. Good took out pat
ent for a cordage spinning machine
driven by an attached e.ectric motor
He said at the time that the applica
ltion OF the motor would make the ma
chine spin more cord in a given time
and otherwise save in the cost of pro-
/ duction. However, his company went
into the hands Of a receiver before he
Lad an opportunity to put his inven-
ton in operation, and he was unable
afterWard to demonstrate its value.
Few persons outside of manufact-
Turing employment realize to what eX-
! tenc electricity Is now emplOye n
the operation Of machinery. Within
| the last decade it has been applied to
machine tools, and the use of tools
equipped with motors in big manu-
featuring plants OF the country is
growing SO steadily as to warrant the
assumption that it will at no distant
day entirely supersede steam with it's
group and belt methods of driv-
ing machines.
Machine tools, such as lathes, plan
ers, shapers, gear cutters, milling ma
chimes, drills, boring mills and many
others are now driven by attached
motors, and the demand for this class
has grown SO in the last two or three
years that it now constitutes 10 per
cent. of,the business done in machine
tools by one Of the largest houses in
the country.
Within the last few years the tex
tile manufacturers of the country
have thoroughly tested direct drive
in that industry with the result that
nearly every textile mill north and
south is adopting motor drive for in
dividual machines. Electric power is
used exclusively at the large plants |
of the General Electric company at
Schenectady, Pittstield and West |
Lynn and more than fifty per cent.
of the machines, from the smallest !
drills to the giant planners, are driven |
direct by powerful electric motors. |
plants, paper mills,
machine shops, and most !
1 the other industries throughout the
country have adopted motor drive.
The economies OF direct drive are
easily seen. When the machines are
idle they are using no power. There's
no loss in power transmission, no loss
in friction OF belts, gears and shaft
ing. The light is not oDstructed with
overhead shatting and connections
nor is there any danger from flying
belts and shaft ends. The power
losses in shaft and belt transmission
are considerable and are felt most in
The coal DunkerS Tor it takes fuel to
produce this wasted energy. With
electric drive all the machines can be
stopped but one or. two, which use
power only in proportion to the work
hey do, and the whole power plant
Toes not have to run full blast to
lrive these few machines. But per-
laps the greatest economy OF all is
hat advocated so long ago by John
Good, who figured that with Direct |
electric drive he could get more fout |
II his cordage machines for the 4ame |
ime and power. Direct drive bV mo-
ors connected directly with the ldriv
ng shaft runs the machines faster.
teadier and better than anyf other
Method with the result that the ma
hines, any kind of machines. pro-
uce more and better work. 4 TO in
rease the product OF a plant and at
he same time lower the pYoduction
ost means big item of profit for the