IMPROVE- MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING WIRE ROPE
Year: 1885

page_text: I ROBERT STIRLING NEWALL of Ferndene Gateshead in the County of Durham.
Wire Rope Maker do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR MAKING WIRE ROPE" to be as follows:-
My improvement in machinery for making wire rope consists in so arranging a
machine that the complete rope shall be produced by one machine at one operation,
and without twisting the individual wires or laying them into strands in the usual
manner before they are combined into a rope.
For this purpose I make the machine with the main shaft supported in a bearing
at each end. It has fixed to it at right angles two sets of armis for supporting the
strand frames which rotate in bearings in the arms. Each frame is constructed to
hold the number of bubbins, each containing a separate wire, necessary to make a
strand, and there are the number of strand frames required to make a rope. Each
frame has an arrangement of wheels or other gear by which it is caused to rotate.
in its bearings once while the machine makes one rotation on its axis.
There is also an arrangement of gear for drawing the rope from the machine at
a regulated speed for each rotation of the machine.
The wires pass from the bobbins through the front journal of the strand frame
and, if a core is used, as is generally the case when more than three strands are
combined into a rope, they all unite round the core which passes through the main
shaft or, when no core is used, they simply unite together at the laying plate, the
wires from each frame being kept separate so as to form strands when combined
into a rope, but without the wires being laid together in the usual way of making
wire ropes.
CARPMAEL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I ROBERT STIRLING NEWALL of Ferndene Gateshead in the County of Durham
Wire Rope Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The Drawings hereunto annexed illustrate my invention.
Figure 1 is a side view of the machine.
Figure 2 is an end view of the front bearing wheels and frame.
Figure 3 is a plan of the drawing gear.
a, a, is the mainshaft of the machine which has a hole through it for the core of
the rope to pass through It has fixed on it at right angles the back arms b, and
the front arms c, each having six or other required number of bearings for
supporting the strand frames which rotate in the bearings. Each frame is
constructed to hold the number of bobbins, each containing a separate wire
necessary to make a strand, and one bobbin containing the core which may be
made of hemp or other material.
"
The top part of Figure 1 represents a side view of a strand frame showing the
three central bobbins which are shown in plan at the bottom of the drawing. At
the backs of the main arms b, there are arrangements of wheels for causing the
strand frames to, rotate in their bearings once for each revolution. they make round.
the axis of a. These consist of a bevel wheel fixed on the end of each bobbin
frame and a wheel of the same size fixed to the supporting pillar through which,
the main shaft a works. Two pinions of equal size communicate motion to the
frame wheels by being carried, round the fixed wheel, and, thus torsion of the wires.
and the strand is prevented while they are being laid into a rope..
The front arms c form a wheel which rotates on two other wheels d, e, supported
in a frame forming the front bearing of the machine as shown in, Figure 2. Those
three wheels are V grooved on the surface, so as to have more adhesion between c
and dand at the same time to prevent the machine being drawn towards the
drawing gear. There is fixed on the outer end of the axle of the wheel d
Figure 1 a toothed wheel. f. which works into another wheel g which is supported,
by a swing link hanging from the axle d and working concentrically with the,
wheel so as to be always in gear with it. h is one of a set of change wheels of
different diameters proportional to i by means of which the "draw" is regulated.
The change wheels h slip on a tube or sleeve, one, end, of which is fixed in g. so that
g. and h revolve together on, a pin projecting from the swing link and as h works 3
into the required speed is given to the wheel i which is fixed on the shaft i which
carries at the other end the bevel wheel j working into another k on the axle of
which is fixed the toothed wheel . which works into the wheel m fixed on the side
of the drawing drum as shown in the drawings.
On the bed plate which supports the front bearings there are four upright pillars 4
which carry the drawing rollers and drum.
On the two lower shafts are fixed two toothed wheels n. p which gear into m.
and on the same lower shafts and under the wheels rare fixed two other

page_text: wheels o q which gear into r. u and these into s. t which are fixed on the upper
shafts. On the four shafts which carry the wheels r s t u there are grooved
drawing rollers which are capable of sliding along the shafts so as to bring the
proper sized grooves in a line with the axis of the mainshaft a.
These rollers grip the rope and by the rotation of the machine and the action of
the wheels described they draw off from the bobbins a certain length of wire for
each rotation of the machine and so form a rope composed of strands of wires
which strands are not subjected to torsion as is usual in rope making.
But the rope may be drawn by taking several turns of it round the drum m.
without using the rollers, or it may be drawn by the combined action of rollers
and drum.
The wires from the bobbins pass through the front journal of the strand frame,
where they are arranged symmetrically round a core and. then separately pass
through the guides to the nozzles w which project from each frame and which
rotate in the laying plate x. The wires from each strand frame being thus kept
separate and without being subjected to torsion are laid in separate strands into n
rope without being laid or twisted together in the usual way of making wire
ropes.
I have illustrated the description of my invention by drawings of a machine in
which the mainshaft is horizontal which I prefer to having the mainshaft perpen-
dicular, but my improvement is easily applied to a perpendicular machine so long
as the strand frames make one rotation on their axis whilst the machine rotates
once, or nearly so, for a slight torsion may be given to the strand in the perpendicular
machine more easily than in the horizontal by simply altering the proportions of
the fixed central wheel and the bevel wheels on the ends of the strand frames.
But it must be borne in mind that whatever amount of torsion is given to the
strands the same amount will be given to each wire, which will be detrimental to
the rope unless it be counteracted by giving a motion to each bobbin as in my
original invention of 1840. My present invention is however much simpler for it
renders unnecessary the operation of making strands by separate machines as now
generally practised, and the rope is made at one, operation without twisting the
wires.
The drawings show a machine for making ropes of six strands each strand having
seven wires, but machines may be made having any other number of wires and
strands.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The arrangement of the machine I have described, especially the giving the strand
frames containing a number of separate bobbins, one rotation on their axes, whilst
the machine rotates once so as to prevent the wires and strands from being
subjected to torsion and at the same time laying them into a rope described.
I also claim the arrangement of the front bearing wheels as described for
supporting one end of the machine and at the same time obtaining sufficient
adhesion for actuating the drawing off gear and preventing the machine being
drawn forward, and allowing the strands to lead fair from the journal of the frame
to the point of combination in the rope.