MACHINERY FOR MAKING BALLS OR SPHERICAL ROLLERS
Year: 1885

page_text: We WILLIAM HILLMAN WILLIAM HENRY HERBERT and GEORGE BEVERLEY
COOPER, trading as Hillman, Herbert and Cooper, of Premier Works, Coventry
in the County of Warwick, Velocipede Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature
of said Invention for MACHINERY FOR MAKING BALLS OR SPHERICAL ROLLERS
to be as follows:-
This invention consists of an automatic machine or automatic machines for
making balls or spherical rollers and the action is such that if a straight rod of
round metal or other material (slightly larger than the size of the balls required to
be made] be properly fixed in the machine and the latter is put in motion a
certain number of balls can be made with so little attention on the part of the
operator that he is able to attend to and to keep a number of similar machines in
constant operation..
The body of the machine consists of a bed similar to that of a lathie, preferably
of T shaped section, mounted upon any ordinary or suitable legs or standards, a
table or tray being fixed between such standards to hold and to catch the oil or
other lubricating fluid used and to receive the turnings.
. .
A running headstock with hollow mandrels is fitted to slide along the bed,
the mandrel holds the bar or rod of metal by means of a set pin or chuck and
rotates it.
Two brackets are bolted one to each end of the bed and carry, in suitable bearings
a feed screw, a cam shaft and a main driving shaft.
The driving shaft has on it a fly wheel which may be used as a hand wheel,
ordinary, fast and loose pulleys and a long drum pulley or sliding pulley which
communicates motion to the headstock mandrel by means of a belt or chain.
The cain shaft is rotated at the necessary slow velocity by suitable genring and
means are provided for stopping the forward motion of the running headstock when
it arrives at a given point,
'
.The feed screw works in a nut which is attached to the headstock and it has an
intermittent motion imparted to it by a segmental toothed wheel which gears into
a spur pinion keyed on the feed screw.
The disc is keyed or otherwise fixed to the cam shaft and is like a spur wheel
with some of its teeth removed.
The teeth of such segmental toothed wheel are preferably made adjustable on
their carrying disc.
The pitch of the screw is preferably equal to the length of metal required to
make one ball, that is to say if the machine is arranged for making balls of

page_text: " diameter, the feed screw should be a pitch and the intermittent gear should
give it exactly one revolution for every ball that is made so as to advance the rod
or bar the required distance.
The pitch of the screw and the method of giving it the above nained intermittent
motion may however be varied provided that the screw is caused to give the
required feed to the bar or rod of metal or other material within the limit of time
during which the cutters are not in operation upon the work.
The balls are formed by a row of cutters which are mounted on slides and are
moved to and from the work by links and duplex levers or by other suitable
means.
There are two pairs of slides, two at the back and two at the front of the work;
they are fitted in the usual way to a suitable slide rest which is fixed to the bed of
the machine at right angles with its length.
The levers have for their fulcra studs fixed at the end of the slide rest one on
each side; their power ends rest upon cams on the cam shaft which are shaped to
give them the necessary slow feed for cutting, quick return and dwell, whilst the
feed to the rod or bar is taking place, weights keep the levers in contact with the
peripheries of the cams, loose friction or bearing pieces are fitted to the levers
where they rest upon the cams and set screws are fitted through the levers to act
upon these loose friction or bearing pieces to adjust the traverse of the slides.
Each pair of slides carries two pairs of cutters. The two first pairs of forming
cutters are flat, somewhat similar to ordinary slide rest lathe tools in form and
method of fixing to the slide rests, those on one side of the rod being fixed with
their faces downwards and on the other side with their faces upwards, all the
cutting faces being on a line with the centre of the work.
The third pair are hollow grinding cutters they are held in and rotated by
spindles which are driven by belts or by other suitable means from the driving
shaft.
The fourth pair of cutters are also hollow grinding cutters held in and rotated
by similar spindles to those of the third cutters and geared with them by spur
pinions.
These cutter spindles are preferably hollow and a "spring push" piece is
inserted in each so arranged as to press against the ball while it is being cut off
from the rod or bar and thereby prevent its being jammed into either of the
cutters.
The bar or rod of metal or other material rotates between the cutters in a bearing
or steady which is fixed to the slide rest and which has slots or cavities to admit
the cutters where they act upon the work.
In addition to the above described forming cutters a pair of finishing cutters are
arranged on the bed at a lower level so that when the ball is cut off it runs down
a suitable way and falls between them and between a pair of oscillating planes by
which latter they are rotated in every possible direction so as to cause the finishing
cutters to act upon every part thereof. This finishing apparatus further consists
of a slide rest having a pair of slides which are moved to and from the work by
similar mechanism to that which operates the slides of the forming cutters.
On the slides are mounted in suitable bearings a pair of rotating shafts, one on
each slide and in a direct line with each other. Each shaft has on its front end a
disc in which is fixed a crank pin on which the boss of a lever freely works the
end of such lever being so controlled as to give in combination with the crank an
oscillating eccentric motion to the boss thereof.
The faces of the bosses of these levers form the pair of oscillating planes herein
before referred to and they are preferably slightly grooved with an annular groove
or race to ensure a firm grip of the ball.
The diameter of the race should be equal to the stroke of the crank pin.
The crank carrying shafts are rotated in the same direction as each other and
also at the same speed by suitable gearing from the drum or main shaft and their
arrangement in respect to their crank pins must be such that one crank pin is

page_text: always half a revolution in advance of the other crank pin the ball in process of
being finished will then be rolled by the oscillating plane of one lever in diame-
trically opposite directions to the other, that is to say, if the face of one lever is
rolling the ball in directions which may be described as up, and to the right, the
face of the other lever will roll it down and to the left the consequence being that
the ball is kept revolving in one spot irrespective of the cutters which act
upon them and will continue to so revolve if the finishing cutters be removed
altogether.
The finishing cutters do not necessarily revolve, they are cylindrical and are
caused to separate from each other, or one may be fixed and the other caused to
move away therefrom by means of a lever or levers actuated by a cam or cams on
the cam shaft at the moment when the ball is cut off by the last forming cutter
thereby allowing the finished ball to fall into a suitable receptacle. In this
position of the parts a ball coming from the last forming cutter is enabled to drop
into position between such finishing cutters, a suitable support being placed
vertically underneath the said ball to hold it in position till the parts are again
pressed forward so as to bear against the same.
The moveable finishing cutter is held in a mandrel and is pushed up by a spiral
spring and is drawn back by the means before described whilst a screw stop
determines the distance between the two cutters.
If desired the finishing mechanism may constitute a separate machine.
The machine is provided with a pump which is automatically operated to pump
the oil or other lubricating fluid to the various cutters and where a number of
these machines are employed, one pump may be employed to supply the whole.
The operation of the machine is as follows:
The running head stock is first placed at its extreme position at the left hand of
the bed, a rod or bar of metal or other material is then passed through the hollow
mandrel and fixed in position so as to rotate therewith, the right hand end of the
rod or bar is in position to be acted upon by the first pair of cutters which make
a groove in the same representing a space between a pair of balls or rollers, the
second pair of cutters roughly shape the balls or rollers, the third pair nearly
complete the formation leaving only a small neck or connection between them, and
the fourth pair of cutters further finish the ball and cut it off from the rod or bar
when the ball runs down the inclined way before referred to, and falls between a
pair of hollow grinding cutters and oscillating rolling planes where the small pro-
jection left thereon which formed the connection with the rod or bar is removed,
and the ball or spherical roller finished in readiness for the subsequent processes of
hardening grinding and polishing which are conducted in the ordinary manner
except that as balls or spherical rollers made by my machinery are truer and more
uniform in size than those made by the ordinary methods, less grinding is
required after the hardoning thereof.

page_text: We WILLIAM HILLMAN WILLIAM HENRY HERBERT, and GEORGE BEVERLY
COOPER all of the Premier Works, Coventry in the County of Warwick, Velocipede
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement:-
The invention consists of an automatic machine or automatic machines for
making balls or spherical rollers, and the action is such that if a straight rod of
round metal or other material, slightly larger than the size of the balls or rollers
required to be made, be properly fixed in the machine and the latter put in motion
a certain number of balls or rollers can be made with so little attention on the part
of the operator that he is able to attend to and to keep a number of similar
machines in constant operation.
Our invention is represented in the accompanying drawings of which the
following a description.
Figure 1 is a front elevation, Figure 2 is a plan: Figure 3 is a left band end
view, and Figure 4 is a right hand end view of machinery constructed according
to our invention; Figure 5 is an end elevation; Figure G is a back elevation ;
Figure 6 is a similar view but with the lever as removed, and Figure 7 is a plan
of the running head stock and parts carried thereby, and Figure 8 is an underside
view of parts of the same; Figures 9 and 10 are two opposite side elevations;
Figure 11 is a plan; Figure 12 is a cross section drawn on the lino 1, 1, of
Figure 10; and Figure 13 is a front end elevation of the forming apparatus.
Figure 14 is a separate sectional view of the last pair of forming cutters ;
Figure 15 is a side elevation, Figure 16 is a plan of the finishing apparatus and
Figure 17 is a front elevation of the latter with the front slide, front wheels and
some other parts removed.
The body of the machine consists of a bed A similar to that of a lathe, preferably
of T shaped section, mounted upon legs or standards B, which may be of any
ordinary or suitable form, a table or tray C, is fixed to the standards B, to catch
the oil or other lubricating fluid used, and to receive the turnings.
.
A running head stock A with suitable hollow mandrel a¹ is fitted, to slide along
the bed A, the mandrel holds the bar or rod x of metal or other material by means
of a set screw a² as shown (or it may be by a chuck) and rotates with it.
Two brackets D are bolted to the bed A one to each end thereof, and they carry
in suitable bearings a feed screw b, a cam shaft c and a main driving shaft d.
The driving shaft d has on it a fly wheel d¹ which may be used as a hand wheel,
ordinary fast and loose pulleys d³ ³, and a long drum pulley d (or it might be a
sliding pulley) which communicates motion to the mandrel a¹ of the running head-
stock a, by means of a belt or chain d³ passing partly around the pulley d' and
partly around the pulley a³ fixed to the hollow mandrel a¹.
The cam shaft c is rotated at the necessary slow velocity in the following manner.
On the main driving shaft d is fixed a chain wheel d' which by means of a chain d

page_text: gives motion to a chain wheel d³ revolving loosely on the cam shaft c; to the chain
wheel is fixed a toothed pinion do which takes into a toothed wheel 10 on which
is fixed a toothed pinion du which takes into and gives motion to a toothed wheel c¹
fixed on the cam shaft c.
The toothed wheel do and pinion d are mounted on a stud or axle d¹³ fixed to
an arm or lever d which is mounted on a stud D' fixed to one of the brackets D
by which means the motion of the cam shaft c can be instantly stopped by turning
the arm or lever slightly on the stud. D'. Other suitable means may however be
employed for communicating the necessary slow motion to the cam shaft c.
The feed screw works in a nut at which is attached to the headstock and
which is constructed and operated as follows. The nut a' is formed in two halves,
each of which is formed on or fixed to a slide a, which half nuts and slides are
capable of sliding in reverse directions to each other on a guide bar as fixed to the
running headstocks a.
To this guide bar a is fixed a stud or axis a on which is mounted a lever a³
which is formed with two slots a, one on each side of its axis a' these slots a°
receive studs or pins a fixed one to each slide a³. Thus when the parts are in the
position shown in the drawings the two parts of the nut a' are in the position to
receive motion from the feed screw b, but when the longer arm of the lever as has
been depressed by the cam b¹ on the feed screw b, the two parts of the nut a are
separated from each other so that the feed screw b no longer acts upon the same
and the motion of the running headstock a is thereby stopped.
Other means may however be adopted for arresting the motion of the running
headstock when it has arrived at a given position of its traverse.
The feed screw b has an intermittent motion imparted to it by a segmental
toothed wheel e which gears into a spur pinion 61 keyed on the feed screw b.
The segmental toothed wheel e is keyed or otherwise fixed to the cam shaft and
is like a spur wheel with some of its teeth removed.
The teeth of such segmental toothed wheel e are preferably made adjustable on.
their carrying disc.
The pitch of the feed screw bis preferably equal to the length of metal required
to make one ball, that is to say, if the machine is arranged for making balls of
of an inch in diameter, the feed screw should have a pitch of of an inch and the
intermittent gear should give it exactly one revolution for every ball that is made
so as to advance the rod or bar x the required distance.
The pitch of the screw b and the method of giving it the above named
intermittent motion may however be varied provided that the screw b is caused to
give the required feed to the rod or bar x of metal or other material within the
limit of time during which the cutters are not in operation on the work.
The balls are formed by a row of cutters 1. 2. 3. 4 which are mounted on
slides ff. g. g. and are moved to and from the work by links f¹ g¹ and duplex
levers or by other suitable means.
There are two pairs of these slides, two at the back and two at the front of the
work, they are fitted in the usual way to a suitable slide-rest i which is fixed to
the bed A of the machine at right angles with its length.
The levers / have for their fulcra studs fixed at the back end of the slide rest,
one on each side thereof, their power ends rest upon cams c¹ fixed on the cam
shaft c which are shaped to give the slides and consequently the cutters the
necessary slow feed for cutting, quick return and dwell, whilst the feed to the rod
or bar is taking place, weights h¹ keep the levers h in contact with the
peripheries of the cams c¹ and loose bearing or friction pieces h³ are fitted to the
levers h where they rest upon the cams c¹, and set screws h³ are fitted through
the levers h to act upon these loose friction or bearing pieces h³ to adjust the
traverse of the slides f. f. g. g.
Each pair f. g. of slides carries two pairs of cutters. The two first pairs of
forming or roughing cutters (1. 2.) are flat, somewhat similar to ordinary slide rest

page_text: '
lathe tools in form and method of fixing to the slides, those on one side of the rod
or bar x being fixed with their cutting faces downwards and on the other side with
their cutting faces upwards, all the cutting faces being on a line with the centre of
the work:
The third pair (3) are hollow grinding cutters they are held in and rotated by
spindles mounted in suitable bearings carried by the slide and driven by
belts g³ which pass around pulleys g* and thence around pulleys ¹ fixed on a cross
shaft which receives its rotary motion from the driving shaft d by means of
bevelled wheels d¹, 2, or such spindles g² may receive their rotary motion in other
convenient manner.
The fourth pair of cutters (4) are also hollow grinding cutters held in and rotated
by spindles similar to those g² of the third pair of cutters (3) and geared with
them by spur pinions g³.
These cutter spindles 9 are preferably hollow as shown more clearly at
Figures 10 and 10* and 14 and a spring push piece g is inserted in each which is
so arranged as to press against the ball while it is being cut off from the rod or
bar x and thereby prevent its being jammed into either of the cutters (4).
The bar or rod x of metal or other material rotates between the cutters 1. 2. 3. 4.
in a bearing or steady which is fixed to the slide rest i and which has slots or
cavities to admit the cutters 1. 2. 3. 4 where they act upon the work.
In addition to the above described forming cutters 1. 2. 3. 4. a pair of finishing
cutters 5, are arranged at a lower level so that when the ball is cut off from the rod
or bar it runs down a suitable way y and falls between them and between a pair
of oscillating planes ¹ by which latter they are rotated in every possible direction
so as to cause the finishing cutters to act upon every part thereof. This finishing
apparatus further consists of a slide rest fixed at right angles to the bed A and
having mounted thereon a pair of slides m n which are moved to and from the
work by means of links m¹ n¹ and duplex lever o mounted on a stud or axis
fixed to the slide rest / the power end of which lever o rests upon a cam c² fixed on
the cam shaft c and such lever o may in some cases be provided with a loose
friction or bearing piece where it rests upon the cam c² and with a set screw to act
upon this loose friction or bearing piece to adjust the traverse of the slides m n;
weights o' are fixed on the levers o to keep them in contact with the cams c².
On these slides m n are mounted in suitable bearings a pair of rotating
shafts m² m²; one on each side, and in a direct line with each other. Each of
such shafts man has on its front end a disc m³ or n³ in which is fixed a crank
pin m' or n' on which the boss of a lever k freely works, the end of such lever k
being controlled by the arm thereof (which is suitably slotted) working on a fixed
stud so as to give in combination with the crank pin m³ or n an oscillating
eccentric-motion to the boss thereof.
The faces of the bosses of these levers form the pair of oscillating planes kl
hereinbefore referred to and they are preferably slightly grooved with an annular
groove or race to ensure a firm grip of the ball; the diameter of the race should be
equivalent to the stroke of the crank pin.
The crank carrying shafts m² n² are rotated in the same direction as each other
and at the same speed by suitable gearing from the main driving shaft d as follows.
On the shaft d is fixed a bevelled toothed pinion which takes into a bevelled
toothed wheel pl fixed on a cross shaft p on which are also fixed toothed
wheels p which take into and give motion to toothed pinions m³ n³ fixed on the
shafts m². n. The arrangement of the shafts m² n² in respect to their crank pins
must be such that one crank pin is always half a revolution in advance of the other
crank pin, the ball or roller in process of being finished will then be rolled by the
oscillating plane ¹ of one lever k in diametrically opposite directions to the other,
that is to say, if the face of one lever is rolling the ball in directions which may be
described as up and to the right, the face of the other lever will roll it down and
to the left, the consequence being that the ball is kept revolving in one spot,

page_text: irrespective of the cutters which act upon it, and will continue to so revolve,
if the finishing cutters be removed altogether. The finishing cutters (5) do not
necessarily revolve, they are cylindrical and may be caused to separate from each
other, or as shown in the drawings one may be fixed and the other caused to move
away therefrom when required by means of a lever q actuated by a cam c³ on the
cam shaft d at the moment when the ball is cut off by the last pair of forming
cutters (4) thereby allowing the finished ball to fall into a trough ŕ which conveys
it to a suitable receptacle.
In this position of the parts a ball coming from the last pair of forming
cutters (4) is enabled to drop into position between such finishing cutters (5) a
suitable support & being placed vertically underneath the said ball to hold it in
position till the parts are again pressed forward so as to bear against the same.
This support s as shown in the drawings is a fixture, but when the machine is
used for turning comparatively large balls such as billiard balls, the said support is
a moveable one, and is moved out of the way when the finished ball is ready to
drop out from between the oscillating planes ¹.
The fixed finishing cutter (5) is held rigidly, but with capability of adjustment
in a bearing formed in a standard fixed to the slide rest and the moveable
finishing cutter (5) is held in a mandrel which is mounted with capability of
sliding in bearings formed in a standard fixed to the slide rest such moveable
finishing cutter (5) being pushed up to its work by a spiral spring 15 acting against
a boss on the mandrel 13 and it is at the required times drawn back by the means
before described whilst a screw stop 16 determines the distance between the two
cutters (5). If desired the finishing mechanism may constitute a separate machine.
Where one machine only is used it is provided with an ordinary pump having
suction and delivery valves and as operated by an eccentric on the drum shaft
automatically, to pump the oil or other lubricating fluid from a well C in the table
or tray C to a reservoir from which pipes convey it to the various cutters and
where a number of these machines are employed one large independent pump,
mounted in the ordinary way, may be employed to supply the whole.
We have not shown this arrangement in the drawings as such will be readily
understood by the above description.
The operation of the machine is as follows: The running headstock a is first
placed at its extreme position at the left hand of the bed A, a rod or bar x of metal
or other material is then passed through the hollow mandrel a¹ and fixed in
position by the set screw a² so as to rotate therewith, the right hand end of the
rod or bar x being supported by the bearing or steady and being in position to
be acted upon by the first pair of cutters (1) which make a groove in the same
representing a space between a pair of balls or rollers, the cutters then separate
and the said rod or bar x is then advanced to the second pair of cutters (2) which
further act upon the same so as roughly to shape the balls or rollers the cutters
again separate and the rod or bar a is again advanced to the third pair of
cutters (3) which nearly complete the formation leaving only a small neck or
connection between them, after which the cutters again separate and the rod or
bar x is advanced to the fourth pair of cutters (4) which further finish the ball and
cut it off from the rod or bar x when the ball runs down the inclined way y, and
falls between the finishing cutters (5) and the oscillating rolling planes ¹ where
the small projection left thereon which formed the connection with the rod or bar x
is removed, and the ball or spherical roller finished in readiness, (when made of
steel) for the subsequent processes of hardening grinding and polishing which are
conducted in the ordinary manner except that as balls or spherical rollers made by
our machinery are truer and more uniform in size than those made by the ordinary
methods, less grinding is required after the hardening thereof.
After the finishing cutters have completed their action on the ball or roller, they
and the oscillating planes are caused to separate from each other when the ball
falls and is conducted by the trough r to a suitable receptacle as hereinbefore
described.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the. same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claini is
1. The peculiar combination, arrangement and mode of operation of machinery
or apparatus for making balls or spherical rollers from an intermittently advancing
rod or bar of metal or other material substantially as herein shown and described.
2. The peculiar combination, arrangement and mode of operation of machinery
or apparatus for making balls or spherical rollers from a rod or bar of metal or
other material held at one end. in a hollow mandril al carried by a running
headstock a and supported at the other end in a bearing or steady i substantially
as herein shown and described.
3. The combination of running headstock a forming cutters 1. 2. 3. 4. way y
finishing cutters (5) and oscillating planes k¹ all constructed and operated substan-
tially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose stated.
4. The combination of running headstock a non-rotating and rotating forming
cutters 1. 2. 3. 4 carried by slides f: f. g. g. all constructed and operated substan-
tially as hercin shown and described, and for the purpose stated.
5. The combination of finishing cutters (5) and oscillating planes /³ constructed
and operated substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose
stated.