Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of Ordnance Shells or Hollow Projectiles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Feb., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 26th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1900
Date of Apprication, roth red., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 26th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 6th Jan., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of Ordnance Shells or
Hollow Projectiles.
I, THOMAS SMITH, Managing Director of Smith's Stamping Company Limited,
of Wharf Street, Aston, near the City of Birmingham, Manufacturers, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to the manufacture or production of the hollow
body parts of ordnance shells or projectiles of the cylindrical pointed type and
consists in making the said shell bodies by means of dies and pressure and
stamping or equivalent operations.
In carrying out this process, I take a solid blank of steel or other suitable
metal, of a size proportionate of the shell body to be produced and somewhat of
the figure of a conical-nosed bullet. This blank, when in a heated state, is
passed into a she-die and made hollow by the descent into the middle of it,
of a conical peg or he die, which displaces the metal at the middle and causes
it to flow up the sides of the die so as to thereby produce a conical ended-
hollow blank, having thick walls and an open end or back. This constitutes
the first process in the manufacture and the blank produced thus consists of a
hollow shell body part, closed at the nose end and containing sufficient metal
to form the shell as hereinafter more fully described.
This hollow blank is then placed upon the tip end of a mandril, with the
fore part of the same shape as that which the inside of the finished shell is to
have and at the junction of the said fore part with the shaft of the mandril
is a stop collar adapted to take into corresponding semi-circular gaps in the
opposed faces of a pair of shaping dies and thereby keep the mandril in a set
position during the fashioning of the shell blank between the said dies.
The cavity or matrix of the said dies corresponds to the outside shape to be
given to the said hollow body of the shell.
The blank, when in a heated and soft state, is placed onto the tip end of the
mandril and then brought between the pair of dies, with the collar of the said
mandril lying in the gap provided to receive it in one of the dies, which are
then made to approximate or one of the dies is made to advance to the other
by a stamp or other mechanical means, or by impact of blows delivered by a
power hammer. The metal of the thick walled blank is thereby made to flow
along the mandril, towards the stop collar and to fill up thereby the spaces in
the dies and also runs slightly forward of the nose owing to the dies not coming
close together on the initial blows being delivered. The operator from time to
time preferably between each impact, turns the mandril and the blank to
another position, thereby preventing the formation of webs or fins and the walls
of the blank are further extended and thinned by the succession of blows until
its open end comes against the stop collar, when the dies come together and
give the rough-finished shape to the hollow shell, the nose end of which is
solid or of considerable thickness relative to the walls.
The shell is removed from the dies and stripped off the mandril by any
well-known means, after which the superfluous metal at the solid nose end is

page_text: removed and the shell is finished inside and out by boring and turning in the
usual way.
As an alternative process, the shell may be produced from solid blanks or
bored steel billets partly by rolling and partly by dies and pressure.
The blank is bored to the diameter of the finished shell and placed on a
mandril and the initial stages of elongating and thinning the walls of the middle
and after parts, are performed by rolling, after which the partly fashioned
blank and the mandril, which has a stop collar as before is placed between a
pair of dies, the operation of which is to cause the metal to flow forward into
the conical ends of the die matrices, thereby producing the conical and solid
nose end of the shell.
.:
THOMAS SMITH.
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicant.
Improvements in the Manufacture of the Bodies of Ordnance Shells or
Hollow Projectiles.
I, THOMAS SMITH, Managing Director of Smith's Stamping Company Limited,
of Wharf Street, Aston, near the City of Birmingham, Manufacturers, 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:―
This invention has reference to the manufacture or production of the hollow
body parts of ordnance shells or projectiles of the cylindrical pointed type and
consists in making the said shell bodies by dies and pressure and stamping or
equivalent operations.
In carrying out my improved process I in the first stage, produce a solid
steel shell-blank, somewhat of the conical ended cylindrical figure which the
finished shell is to have, but considerably shorter and thicker.
To produce
this blank, I propose to operate upon the heated and soft end at, of a bar of
steel a, by means of a pair of dies b, and c, such as shown in longitudinal
vertical section in Figure 1, whilst the bottom die c is represented separately
and in plan in Figure 2. These dies have matrices or sinkings 62, 2, which
together comprehend the shape of the blank to be produced and also have
at 3, 3, curved collars or hunt necking parts adapted to form a groove or
annular sinking a², in the heated bar and thus neck or reduce the same at
this point, in order to facilitate the subsequent cutting of the shaped end a¹.
These parts 3, 3, which act for forming the neck are clearly shown in Figure 3,
which represents a cross section of the dies without the metal between them.
Thus, the end of the soft heated bar is placed between the dies, which are
worked by a drop stamp or the like and a succession of blows are delivered,
which both fashion the end of the bar to the desired shape and reduce the
diameter of the bar at a², concurrently or at the same time.
The dies, with the shaped end of the bar between them, are shown in longi-
tudinal vertical section in Figure 4 and in transverse vertical section in
Figure 5, and after being thus shaped, the bar is removed and the fashioned
part of it cut off through the neck, thus producing a solid blank such as that
represented in end and side elevations in Figure 6 and marked A, containing
sufficient metal to form the finished. shell, as hereinafter fully described.
In

page_text: the second stage of the process, the solid blank A is again heated, if necessary,
and is then dropped into a she die such as that represented in transverse section
in Figure 7 and marked d, and having a matrix d' deeper than the blank
itself, which is then made hollow by the descent into the middle of it, of a
conical peg or he die such as e (Figure 7) which displaces the metal at the
middle and causes it to flow up the sides of the she die, and around the peg
as represented in vertical section in Figure 8 and in horizontal section upon
the dotted line a, in Figure 9, thereby producing a conical-ended hollow
blank B (represented separately and in section by Figure 10, in elevation by
Figure 11 and in topside plan in Figure 12 having a solid nose or front end b*,
thick sides 65 and an open back 66.
In the next stage, the blank B (after another heating, if necessary) is placed
open-end uppermost, within the mouth of a she-dief (represented in vertical
section in Figure 13) having a matrix f, which is both narrower and deeper
than the said blank, which is driven into the she-die by means of a succession
of blows delivered against the inside of the closed end by a rising and falling
he die or peg g, worked by a drop stamp or the like, and whereby the blank is
further elongated and reduced in diameter its side walls 65, thinned, and the
thickness of the solid end 64, reduced whilst the internal chamber 66, is also
lengthened, as represented in vertical section in Figure 14, and in horizontal
section upon the dotted line in Figure 15, which said views show the shaped
shell driven fully home into the she-die, with the male die or force lying
within the cavity. After being removed from the said she-die, the blank has
the configuration represented in vertical section in Figure 16, in elevation in
Figure 17 and in plan in Figure 18 and marked C.
In the fourth stage of the process, the blank C is placed upon the tip end h¹,
of a bar mandril h represented separately in Figure 19, which said end is of
the same shape as that which the inside of the finished shell is to have, and at
the junction of the fore part h¹, with the shaft 2, of the mandril is a stop
collar 3, adapted to take into corresponding straight gaps i, j, in the opposed
faces of a pair of shaping dies i, j to keep the mandril in a set position during
the fashioning of the shell blank between the said dies. The bottom die j,
is shown separately and in plan in Figure 20, whilst the pair of dies are
shown in longitudinal section in Figure 21, with the mandril and blank C
in position between them.
The cavities or matrices 2,2, of the said dies together correspond to or
comprehend the outside finish shape to be given to the hollow body of the
shell. After the blank, when in still a heated and soft state, has been placed
onto the tip end of the mandril and then brought between the pair of dies,
with the collar of the said mandril lying in the gap provided to receive it in
one of the dies, as represented in the said Figure 21, the said dies are made to
come together, or one of the dies is made to advance to the other by a stamp
or other mechanical means, or by impact of blows delivered by a power hammer.
The metal of the thick walled blank is thereby made to flow along the mandril,
towards the stop collar and to fill up thereby the spaces in the dies and also
runs slightly forward at the nose end, in order to fill up small end cavities 220, 20
left for the purpose of forming a nib or tip k to facilitate the subsequent
chucking of the shell in a lathe for turning and finishing.
The operator from time to time preferably between each impact-turns the
mandril and the blank to another position, thereby preventing the formation of
webs or fins and the walls of the blank are further extended and thinned by
the succession of blows until its open end comes against the stop collar, or nearly
when the dres come together as represented in longitudinal vertical section in
Figure 22 and in transverse vertical section in Figure 23 and thus give the
rough-finished shape to the hollow shell, the nose end of which is solid or of
considerable thickness relative to the walls.
The shell is removed from the dies and stripped off the mandril by any well-

page_text: known means (when it has the shape represented in Figure 24) after which it
is finished inside and out by boring and turning in the usual way and finally
the tip end k, is cut off or removed, when the shell body is completed.
As an alternative process, the shell may be produced from solid blanks or
bored steel billets partly by rolling and partly by dies and pressure.
In such a process, the blank would first. be bored to the diameter of the finished
shell and placed on a mandril and the initial stages of elongating and thinning
the walls of the middle and after parts performed by rolling, after which the
partly fashioned blank and the mandril, (the latter having a stop collar as
before) are placed between a pair of dies, which operate to cause the metal to
flow forward into the conical ends of the die matrices, thereby producing the
conical and solid nose end of the shell.
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:-
First: A process of producing or forming the casings or body parts of pro-
jectiles or shells, consisting in operating upon a block of steel or other suitable
metal, or upon the end of a bar of steel or other suitable metal, by a pair of
dies, or by drop stamping, as represented in Figures 1 to 5, thereby forming
a solid blank, such as A, which is subsequently hollowed and elongated by other
dies or tools, such as represented in Figures 7, 8 and 9 into a hollow blank
such as B, substantially as described and set forth.
Secondly: A process of producing or forming the casings or body parts of
projectiles or shells and from a hollow blank, such as B consisting in forcing
the said blank into a die, or acting upon the same by tools, such as shown in
Figures 13, 14 and 15, which both reduce its diameter and elongate the walls
of the same, thereby forming a further blank, such as C, which subsequently
placed upon a mandril which is rotated during the time that the blank is being
operated upon and finally shaped by dies such as those shown in Figures 19
to 23, substantially as described and set forth.
:
Thirdly Producing or forming the casings or body parts of projectiles or
shells by a succession of processes, consisting in first fashioning a block or bar
of steel or other metal by dies and pressure, or by drop stamping, into a solid blank,
which is hollowed and elongated and reduced in diameter-if necessary-by
further dies or tools, and finally placed upon a mandril on internal support and
rotated during the time that the final shaping is being effected by other dies
and tools, substantially as herein described and set forth.
Dated this 25th day of October 1800.
THOMAS SMITH.
By Henry Skerrett,
24, Temple Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.