A Process or Method of Producing Metal Barrel Bodies or other Articles of Circular Form, and the Machinery for Carrying the same into Effect.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Apr., 1892
Complete Specification Left. 20th Jan.. 1893-Accepted. 15th Apr.. 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Process or Method of Producing Metal Barrel Bodies or other
Articles of Circular Form, and the Machinery for Carrying the
same into Effect.
We THOMAS CRITCHLEY BARRACLOUGH of 20 Bucklersbury in the City of
London Engineer and THOMAS TANNETT HEATON of New Whittington Steel
Works, near Chesterfield in the County of Derby, Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention consists of a new process or method of producing metal articles of
circular form and is more particularly intended for producing barrel bodies of steel
or similar inetals, but is also applicable to producing other circular articles of either
convex or concave exterior.
We will describe the invention as applied to producing a steel barrel body, and
in this Specification the word " curve relates to the bellying of the sheet cross-
ways and the word "bend" to the bending of the sheet lengthways.
The sheets of steel or blanks are previously cut to dimensions of which the length
represents the circumference of the barrel plus an allowance for an overlap for
welding, while the width represents the length of the barrel.
In order to form the barrel body the sheet is passed between two rollers, one of
which is of convex contour and the other of concave contour.
These rollers which may be either horizontal or vertical are not turned or formed
parallel to each other in their contour, but their form is of such a character that
when the sheet is in the nip of the rollers it is pressed and receives a rolling action
in the centre while the two sides or edges are free to assume the shape which the
process naturally brings about.
When the sheet has been passed two or three times between the rollers it receives
a curve and begins to bend and further passages between the rollers cause the curve
to set and increase the bend so that by the time the sheet has been passed a
considerable number of times between the rollers (the number varying according
to the thickness of the material, the shape of the rollers and the contour
of the curve) the sheet has assumed the form of a barrel body, and all that is
required is to weld the two ends together after they have beem trimmed and so
form a complete barrel body.
When it is required to make, instead of an article with a convex or bellied
exterior like a barrel body, an article with a concave exterior or with what may
be called an "in-belly" we apply the pressure in the opposite way, that is to say
we turn or form the two rollers so as to be nearer each other at their ends than at
their centre so that the sheet is nipped and rolled at its two edges and not in the
centre.
For producing either convex or cancave articles we preferably do not let the
sheet pass completely out of the rollers but reverse them and thus cause the sheet
to pass constantly from end to end and back. As soon as the bend is nearly
complete the reversing motion is put out of gear and the bent body or sheet runs
continuously; this gives it a finish and removes all trace of buckles which may
have been formed during the rolling process. The pressure applied to the rollers
should be given gradually, as too rapid a change to heavy pressure has a tendency
to cause the sheets to buckle and crack. When a sheet is nearly completed and
the reversing motion has been put out of gear it is better to use only a light pressure
and to run the rollers quickly; this gives a smooth surface both externally and
internally to the bent sheet.
The bent sheet is removed from the machine by hand as it has sufficient spring

page_text: in it to allow it to pass the convex roller; a swinging roller such as is customary in
plate rolling machines is thus unnecessary.
The machinery for rolling the sheets or carrying out our process or method consists
essentially of the convex and concave rollers hereinbefore described, their faces not
being parallel with each other, and it comprises suitable housings or side frames
for these rollers, the bearings of one of them being attached to screws which are
worked by worn and wheel gearing, and there is a reversing motion of any
suitable construction; a reversing motion is, however, not essential as in some
cases it may be convenient to pass the sheets completely out and to return them
between the rollers, or to use three-high rolls. The machine should have adjustable
guides to keep the sheet with its centre in the centre of the rollers; these guides
are preferably free to revolve so that when the sheet touches them the two surfaces
will move together.
When the rollers are horizontal either of them may be the upper one, but in
making barrel bodies we prefer the convex one to be at the top.
When desired the barrel bodies or other articles can be rolled with one or more
circumferential corrugations by having circular ribs on the one roller and corre-
sponding grooves in the other.
Dated this 21st day of April 1892.
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Process or Method of Producing Metal Barrel Bodies or other
Articles of Circular Form, and the Machinery for Carrying the
same into Effect.
We, THOMAS CRITCHLEY BARRACLOUGH of 20 Bucklersbury, in the City of
London, Engineer, and THOMAS TANNETT HEATON formerly of New Whittington
Steel Works near Chesterfield in the County of Derby but now of 40 Freelands
Road, Bromley, in the County of Kent, Engineer, 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 :-
Our invention consists of a new process or method of producing metal articles
of circular form and is more particularly intended for producing barrel bodies of
steel or other metals, but is also applicable to producing other circular articles of
either convex or concave exterior.
We will describe the invention as applied to producing a steel barrel body and
in this Specification the word " curve relates to the bellying of the sheet cross-
ways, and the word "bend" to the bending of the sheet lengthways.
The sheets of steel or blanks are previously cut to dimensions of which the
length is such that when increased by the rolling process it is equal to the
circumference of the barrel plus an allowance for an overlap for welding, while.
the width represents the length of the barrel.
The process of forming a barrel body consists in simultaneously bending and
curving a steel sheet or blank by passing it a number of times varying according
to the thickness and nature of the material and the contour of the rollers, between
two horizontal or vertical rollers one of which is of convex contour and the other
of concave contour, the curve or contour of the concave roller corresponding
approximately with the curve, contour or belly required in the barrel body. The
convex roller in its contour is not turned parallel to the concave roller, but their
relative form is of such a character that when the sheet is in the nip of the rollers,
it, while forced to assume a curved form crossways, undergoes simultaneously a
rolling action chiefly in the centre. This rolling action causes the sheet to increase
in length, but in consequence of the nip being greatest at the centre of the sheet
the increase in length is naturally greater at its centre than at its edges.

page_text: Having already been forced into a curved form crosswise the effecting of increasing
the length of the sheet at its centre is to cause it to gradually bend round the
convex roller and assume a circular form having a greater circumference in the
middle than at the ends. The sheet having thus assumed the form of a barrel
body its ends are trimmed by means of suitable apparatus, then welded together
and the complete barrel body is thus obtained.
When it is required to make, instead of an article with a convex or bellied
exterior like a barrel body, an article with a concave exterior or with what may
be called an in-belly, we apply the pressure in the opposite way, that is to say we
turn or form the two rollers so as to be nearer each other at or near their ends than
at the part where we wish the maximum concavity to be, so that the nip is greatest
at or near the edges of the sheet, which therefore receives the most rolling at
these parts. In this case the sheet will bend round the concave roller.
For producing either convex or concave articles we preferably do not let the
sheet pass completely out of the rollers but reverse them and thus cause the sheet
to pass constantly from end to end and back. As soon as the bend is nearly
complete the reversing motion is put out of gear and the bent body or sheet runs
continuously; this gives it a finish and removes all trace of buckles which may
have been formed during the rolling process. The pressure applied to the rollers
should be given gradually as too rapid a change to heavy pressure has a tendency
to cause the sheets to buckle. When a sheet is nearly completed and the reversing
motion has been put out of gear it is better to use only a light pressure and to run
the rollers quickly; this gives a smooth surface both externally and internally to
the bent sheet.
The bent sheet is removed from the machine by hand as it has sufficient spring
in it to allow it to pass the convex roller; a swinging housing such as is customary
in plate rolling machines is thus unnecessary.
Our invention includes the machinery for rolling the sheets or carrying out our
process or method, the characteristic feature of our machinery being the convex
and concave rollers hereinbefore described, their faces not being parallel with each
other and the machinery comprises suitable housings or side frames for these
rollers, the bearings of one of them being attached to screws which are worked by
worm and wheel gearing, and there is a reversing motion of any suitable
construction; a reversing motion is, however not essential as in some cases it may
be convenient to pass the sheets completely out and to return them between the
rollers or to use three-high rolls. The machine should have guides to keep the
sheet with its centre in the centre of the rollers; these guides may be made
adjustable so as to adapt the machine for rolling various lengths of barrel bodies.
When the rollers are horizontal either of them may be the upper one, but in
making barrel bodies we prefer the convex one to be at the top.
When desired the barrel bodies or other articles can be rolled with one or more
circumferential corrugations by having circular ribs on the one roller and
corresponding grooves in the other.
If considered advisable for certain classes of work auxiliary rollers can be
attached to the machine at back or front to support or guide the sheets. This,
however is not essential and in the case of barrel bodies is not required.
In the accompanying drawings
:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed according to our invention
and adapted for rolling a barrel body or other article of circular form with a
"swell" or "belly" at the middle.
Figure 2 is a plan and, Figure 3 an end elevation of the machine.
The tables and sheet guides are not shown in Figures 1 and 2 and part of
Figure 1 is sectional to show the gearing for adjusting the height of the bearings
of the lower roller.
Figure 4 is a detail view showing the disc p in section, one of the dogs t and
part of the lever g.
Figure 5 is a plan of the tables and guides and

page_text: Figure 6 an end elevation of the same.
Figure 7 is an elevation of a pair of rollers adapted for rolling the body of a
vessel with an in-belly in accordance with our invention.
Referring first to the machine shown in Figures 1 to 6, A is the upper roller
which is convex and B the lower roller which is concave. The bearings of these
rollers are carried in housings or side frames C C and the height of the bearings of
the roller B is adjustable as hereinafter described. The curve or contour of the
lower roller B corresponds approximately with the curve or belly required in the
barrel bodies to be produced. The curve or contour of the roller A is not parallel
with that of the roller B but is such that the surfaces of the two rollers are nearer
together in the middle than at their ends, their distance apart gradually increasing
from the middle to the ends. The result of this is that when a sheet or blank is in
the nip of the roller it is pressed and receives a rolling action chiefly in the centre
while its two sides or edges are free to assume the shape that the process naturally
brings about, that is to say they tend to adapt themselves to the curve or contour
of the concave roller B. The procedure followed in manufacturing a barrel body
by means of these rollers has already been herein explained. We will therefore
proceed to describe the gearing and other mechanism by which the rollers are
driven, their speed varied, their motion reversed automatically at regular intervals,
the automatic reversing motion put out of gear and the reversal effected when
required by the act of the attendant. D is the driving shaft on which are two
loose pulleys a a with a fast pulley a' between them, this pulley being driven alter-
nately in reverse directions by the cross belt a* and the open belt a. bb are belt
forks carried by the belt bar b¹; they have connecting links 6 and rollers 63. The
connecting links hold the rollers in position end wise and also stiffen the forks.
c is a toothed wheel on the driving shaft on which it is held with a sliding key.
d is a toothed wheel keyed to the wheel c. E is a second motion shaft on which
are keyed three toothed wheels e f g. The drawings show the wheel din gear
with the wheelf but by sliding the wheels c and d along their shaft the wheel o
can be put into gear with the wheel e and the wheel d out of gear with the wheel f
and consequently the speed imparted to the wheel g will be varied in accordance
with the respective relative sizes of the wheels ec and the wheels df. The
wheels c d are secured in each of their two positions by a catch indicated at a of
any suitable kind as will be well understood. The wheel g is always in gear with
a wheel h keyed on the shaft of the upper roller A; a wheel i on the other end of
this shaft gears with a wheel j of the same size on the shaft of the lower roller B
so that the two rollers always rotate at the same speed. k is a worm keyed to
the pulley shaft D, this worm gears with a worm wheel / loose on the boss of a
disc m.
There is a circular groove in the worm wheel and a hole in the
disc m; a bolt m" whose head is in the circular groove passes through the hole in 4
the disc and has a nut in the form of a handle u which when screwed up tight
holds the worm wheel and the disc m firmly together so that when the worm k
causes the worm wheel to rotate the disc m rotates also. n is a toothed wheel
keyed on the shaft of the disc m and gearing with a wheel o on a shaft on which
is also keyed a disc p; consequently when the disc m rotates the wheels n and o 4
and the disc P also rotate. tt are dogs or strikers on the disc p, they have a
tongue fitting into a circular groove pin this disc and are held in position by
bolts in the circular groove. The dogs t t can be set in any desired position in the
circular groove so as to effect the reversal of the motion of the machine at the
required times and thereby cause the sheet to pass continuously and alternately 5
from end to end between the rollers and back again. 9 is a lever loose on the shaft
of the disc p; it is actuated by the dogs striking against it alternately; it reaches
up to the belt bar 6' and pushes against rollers as on studs fixed to the belt bar 6'
and thereby pushes the belts a³ a by means of the belt forks 6b to their proper
position on the pulleys. On the top of the lever q is a balance weight which 5
rocks on a swivel pin so that the momentum of its fall may assist the belts in
moving over the pulleys. r is a guide strip fixed to the studs of the rollers ss.

page_text: The lever g works between this strip and the belt bar b' so that any sideways
movement or vibration of the lever is prevented. It will readily be understood
that when the worm wheel and the disc m are held firmly together so that the
disc p rotates at the same time as the worm wheel the position of the lever q is
reversed every time that one or other of the dogs tt comes against it and that
therefore the position of the open and crossed belts is changed so as to reverse
the rotation of the driving pulley a'. When it is required, as for example at the
latter part of the operation of rolling a barrel body, to allow the machine to run
continuously in the same direction the disc m is freed from the worm wheel / by
slacking the nut u, so that the disc m, wheels n, o and disc p will not rotate, and
the lever will not be acted upon; the machine will then run continuously, but its
motion can be reversed when required by turning one or other of the hand
wheels w which are mounted on a shaft ou which is keyed a pinion gearing with
a rack on the belt bar b'. The hand wheels w w, pinion and rack 6 also serve
for starting and stopping the machine.
The height of the bottom roller B is adjusted as follows:-' -The roller bearings
have each a screw y' on which is a nut y³ keyed to a worm wheel y. The two
worm wheels y are actuated by worms on a shaft z which is fitted with hand
wheels z. The shaft z is made in two parts connected by a suitable disc
coupling 2. The making of this shaft in two parts enables it to be very easily
put into place or removed and has this further advantage, that should the two
bearings of the roller B be not exactly at the same height either of them can be
adjusted by disconnecting the halves of the shaft z and then giving a partial turn
to one half so as to raise or lower the corresponding bearing, after which the two
halves of the shaft are again coupled together.
FF are the tables of the machine, they are secured to the side frames C C.
GG are the guides for the ends of the sheets that are being operated upon; these
guides are secured to the tables F F by bolts and nuts as shown. If it be required
to adapt the machine for making barrel bodies of various lengths we can either use
change guides, or the guides can be made adjustable by means of slots in the tables
so that they can be moved nearer together or farther apart in a line parallel with
the axes of the rollers, as will be well understood.
It is not essential to provide for varying the speed of the rollers; where this
provision is not required the wheels cand e may be dispensed with and so also may
the wheels d and and the second motion shaft, the wheel g being in such case
keyed on the pulley shaft D.
Any other suitable automatic reversing arrangement and hand reversing arrange-
ment may be substituted for those shown, which, however, we consider well adapted
for the purpose of our invention.
The form of the rollers A B shown in Figure 7 for rolling the body of a vessel
with an in-belly, is clearly seen in the figure. The two rollers nip the sheet or
blank at its ends while the distance between the rollers gradually increases from
each end to the point 1 where the maximum concavity is to be. In this case as
the nip of the sheet is not at the middle as with the rollers shown in Figure 1 but
at the ends the sheet bends round the concave roller B.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The process or method hereinbefore described of simultaneously bending and
curving a metal sheet or blank into the form of a barrel body or other article of
circular form which consists in submitting a sheet or blank of appropriate
dimensions to the action of a pair of rollers (preferably by first rolling it backwards
and forwards and then, when it has become sufficiently bent to allow of it, con-
tinuously) one of which is convex and the other concave, the curve or contour of
one of said rollers corresponding approximately with the curve, contour or belly
required in the article to be produced, and the curve or contour of the other of said

page_text: rollers being relatively such that when the sheet passes between the rollers it is
nipped only at or near the middle of its width and adapts itself for the remainder
of its width to the form of the roller which has a curve or contour corresponding
approximately with that required in the article to be produced, substantially as
set forth.
2. The process or method hereinbefore described of simultaneously bending and
curving a metal sheet or blank into the form of a barrel body or other article of
circular form which consists in submitting a sheet or blank of appropriate
dimensions to the action of a pair of rollers (preferably by first rolling it back-
wards and forwards and then, when it has become sufficiently bent to allow of it,
continuously) one of which is convex and the other concave, the curve or contour
of one of said rollers corresponding approximately with the curve contour or belly
required in the article to be produced, and the curve or contour of the other of
said rollers being relatively such that when the sheet passes between the rollers it
is nipped only at or near the ends and adapts itself for the remainder of its width
to the form of the roller which has a curve or contour corresponding approximately
with that required in the article to be produced, substantially as set forth.
3. In a machine for simultaneously bending and curving a metal sheet or blank
into the form of a barrel body or other article of circular form, a convex roller and
a concave roller adapted to roll the sheet or blank between them, one of said
rollers having a curve or contour corresponding approximately with the curve,
contour or belly required in the article to be produced while the curve or contour
of the other roller is relatively such that the rollers will press or nip the sheet or
blank only at or near the middle of its width for producing a convex or bellied
article or at or near the ends for a concave or in-bellied article and the remainder
of the width of the sheet will adapt itself to the form of the roller which has a
contour corresponding approximately with that required in the article to be
produced, substantially as set forth and shown.
4. The machinery constructed, arranged and working substantially as herein-
before described and represented in the accompanying drawings for simultaneously
bending and curving a metal sheet or blank into the form of a barrel body or
other article of circular form.
Dated this 5th day of January 1893.
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent.