Improvements in or connected with Moulding Machinery or Apparatus for Making Metal Castings.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Nov., 1899 -Accepted, 10th Feb., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Moulding Machinery or Apparatus
for Making Metal Castings.
We, THE MOULDING SYNDICATE LIMITED, of 101, Grosvenor Road, London,
S.W., and HARRIS TABOR, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, in the United States of
America, but temporarily of the Hotel Cecil, London, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement: —
This invention relates to moulding machinery and especially to apparatus for
producing moulds for light castings.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away and partly in section, of a
machine in which the invention is embodied.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the same, the mould being
omitted and the rammer-carrier being thrown back.
Fig. 3 is a plan view and Fig. 4 is as sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3,
of a mould, a pattern-carrier, a vibrator and guides.
Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a mould, a vibrator match plate and patterns.
Fig. 6 is a plan, Fig. 7 a central vertical sectional view, and Fig. S a side
view, of guides for mould parts and pattern carrier.
Fig. 9 is a detail side view partly in section, of a rapping or vibrator engine,
mould and connections.
Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line 10-10 of Fig. 9 looking in the direction of
the arrows.
Fig. 11 is a plan, with parts omitted, of the devices shown in Figs. 9 and 10.
1 indicates a suitable base with an upright piston 2 which forms a guide for
the cylinder 3. 4 is a table or mould-support attached to the cylinder 3. The
cylinder 3 is provided at opposite sides with laterally extending arms 6 provided
with holes through which rods 7 project from the base 1. The table 4 carries
two caps 8 enclosing the upper ends of studs 7. Tubes 9 surround studs 7
between the caps 8 and the arms 6. The studs 7 are provided with nuts to
form abutments for spiral springs 12 which form buffers for the table 4 when
the latter descends. The table 4 and cylinder 3 are moved upwardly by pres-
sure conveyed by a pipe 13 which opens into the space 14 between the upper
closed end of piston 2 and the table 4. The flow of the compressed gas, as
air, or the steam, is controlled by means of an admission and waste cock at 15,
the admission being at 16, and the waste orifice at 17, and the position of the
cock being controlled by a handle 18. When the cock is in position to admit
pressure to the cylinder 3, the waste orifice 17 is cut off from communication
with the cylinder, and when the waste 17 is in communication with the cylinder
the admission 16 is cut off from the cylinder 3. Above the table 4 is a rammer 19
attached to a metal crosshead 20 provided with eyes 21 through which screwed
rods 22 pass freely, the rods being provided with adjusting nuts. The rods 22
are journalled on a shaft 25 and the swinging motion of same is limited by stop
plates 26 bolted to base 1 and provided with front and back stops 28, 29." The

page_text: head 20 is provided with a suitable handle 30 for moving same. The weight
of the rammer, the head, and the rods 22 may be nearly counterbalanced, as by
a spring 31 connected at one end to stop 29 and at the other end to, arm 35 on
shaft 25.
To provide against the admission of pressure to the cylinder 3 while the
rammer is turned back, the handle 18 is formed as one arm of a bent or bell
lever whose other arm 36 is connected by a rod 37 with a slotted arm 38 rigidly
connected with rod 22. The slot 39 of the arm 38 is of a length such that the
bent end 40 of rod 37 may have a travel due to a quarter turn (more or less)
of the handle 18, and the three way cock 15 is arranged to admit pressure to
cylinder 3 when in one position and to open the waste 17 when in another posi-
tion. The lever 36, rod 37, arm 38, slot 39 and end 40 are so arranged that
the end 40 shall be at the upper end of slot 39, when lever 18 and rods 22 are
all vertical and at the lower end of slot 39 when lever 18 is vertical and the
rods 22 are tilted back against stops 29, and the cock 15 is arranged so that
when lever 18 is vertical the waste 17 is in communication with the cylinder 3,
and so that when lever 18 is turned forwardly (to the left in Fig. 2) to a hori-
zontal position, the pressure is admitted through pipe 16 to pipe 1 and to the
cylinder 3. But it is not possible to turn handle 18 to admit pressure to the
cylinder 3 when the rammer 19 is turned back since the rod 37 cannot descend.
owing to the fact that its end is at the bottom of slot 39, but when the rammer is
in position over table 4 the handle 18 can be turned to admit pressure to the
cylinder 3.
The mould frames are shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8.
The bottom box 42 is shown as a wooden frame, the inner sides of which may
be dished as at 43 (Fig. 4) and one edge of which is rabbetted all the way around
at 44, (Fig. 7) or the rabbet may be on the upper box (Fig. 4). At two opposite
sides, the box 42 has V-shaped guides 45 rigidly connected thereto, by plates 46
and 47 and bolts 48. The openings of the V-shaped guides are toward, and
the guides are some distance away from, the adjacent sides of the box, and the
plates 46 are at one end of the guides and are cut away between the guides 45
and the sides of the box (see Fig. 7).
The upper box is similar to the lower in form and may have dished inner
faces 50 (Fig. 4). Plates 51 are attached to the upper at two opposite sides
thereof by screw bolts 52, each plate being formed with two outstanding vertical
rectangular parallel ribs 53 which are rabbetted at their inner edges at 54.
Caps 55 are attached to the ribs 53 by threaded bolts 56 which pass through
vertical slots 57 in the caps and engage threaded holes in the ribs. The caps 55
are formed with V grooves or guides to fit the exterior V surface of the guides 45
and with handles 59 and projections 60 to fit the rabbets 54.
As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the patterns 61 may be rigidly connected
with a frame 62 which surrounds the snap-flask formed by the upper and lower
box. The frame 62 is shown as being T shaped in cross-section, with the
horizontal flange resting in the rabbet 44, and provided with handles 63. The
patterns 61 are shown as being connected rigidly by cross-bars 64, rigidly secured
to the horizontal flange of the frame .62 as by screws. At two opposite sides the
frame 62 is provided with vertical V-guides 65 attached thereto by screws 66.
The guides 65 fit closely against the interior V-surface of the guides 45. A
vibrating engine 67 shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is secured to the pattern carrier 62.
The upper and lower box each may be formed of parts hinged, as at 68 and
locked together, as at 69, by a cam-lock.
The construction illustrated in Fig. 5 comprises two mould frames 70, 71 of
metal, a match plate (or pattern carrier) 72, which is held between the frames 70
and 71, the frames and plate being provided with lugs 73, at opposite sides,
and dowels 74 whereby the three are held together. The guides 45, 55 and 65
as in Fig. 7 may be employed here also. The rapping engine 67 is attached
to the match plate 72, as are the upper and lower sections 75 of the pattern.

page_text: In some cases a frame 76 Fig. 1 is provided similar to the upper and lower
box frames and is filled with a hard composition 77 of litharge, boiled linseed
oil, and sand (or this may be replaced by wood, clay, or sand), shaped to support
the pattern, (as a skew-bevel-gear pattern 61,) the frame 76 being rabbetted
to receive the frame 62. The frame 76 is provided with guides similar to the
guides 55, and is adapted to fit on the exterior of the guides 45 of the lower
box and is attached to the frame 76 in a manner similar to that hereinbefore
described.
The guides 45, 55 and 65 (and especially guides 45 and 65) have long close-
fitting V-shaped bearings on each other, so that the said lengthy bearings hold
the mould-parts and pattern-carrier each in parallelism with itself as it is put
in and removed from place in the assembled flask; that is, it cannot wobble
or turn as on a pivot or axis; and also that each is compelled to move in a
rectilinear direction during assemblage and disassemblage. These features of
non-wobbling and rectilinear motion constitute important parts of the invention.
The method of forming a mould by the described upper and lower boxes and
the filled frame 76 Fig. I will now be described. The frame 76 is placed upon
the table 4, and the pattern carrier and patterns are put in place as indicated
after which the frame 42 is put in position, the guides 45 thereof entering
between the guides 65 and 55 of the pattern carrier and the frame 76 respec-
tively and the edges of the frame 42 being notched to receive the bars 64 of the
gate of patterns. Sand is now thrown into the upper part and the parts are
then placed in position under the rammer 19. The handle 18 is now turned
forward, admitting the pressure to the cylinder 3, which is thereby forcibly
raised to bring the sand in frame 42 against rammer 19. A reverse motion
of lever 18 opens the waste 17, releasing the pressure in cylinder 3, which there-
upon drops back to the position shown in Fig. 1. In practice, however, it is
preferred to place a ramming or bottom board 109* Fig. 5 which will drive the
sand, the rammer 19 striking on two (or more) battens 110* secured to the
board. The frame 76, box 42 and pattern-carrier are now inverted, thus bring-
ing the frame 76 on top, and this frame is then removed, being guided by the
V-guides above described. In other words, for some of the purposes of this
invention the frame 76 constitutes a part of a mould. After the frame is re-
moved as described, parting-sand is sprinkled over the surface of the sand in
the bottom box. Next the upper box 49 is put in place on the box 42 as shown in
Fig. 4, its guides 55 engaging outside the guides 45 as it is put down on the
box 42. Then the flask is centered under the rammer and the upper box is
filled with sand a ramming board being placed on top if desired, and the opera-
tion of ramming is carried out as in the case above described. After the
ramming is completed and the table 4 lowered to the normal position thereof,
the rammer is turned back. The vibrator engine 67 is next started, the valve
at 103 being opened by pressing lever 105 rearward by the knee, and the upper
box is then lifted from the pattern being guided in a straight line by the
guides 45 and 55. Then, while engine 67 is still in operation, the patterns are
drawn from the lower box by grasping the handles 63 and lifting the carrier 62,
the patterns being moved in a straight line during the operation. Afterward,
the channels in the mould formed by the bars 64, which are in but one part of
the mould, are closed in any suitable way, as by metal discs 78 (Fig. 3) or the
like, placed transversely thereto, being forced into the sand, or in other ways
one of the channels being left open as a sprue, if desired.
The engine 67 makes several thousand strokes per minute, thus producing a
continuous vibration of the patterns, and the carrier or support therefor. Owing
to the small stroke and size of the piston, the vibrations set up do not enlarge
the moulds sensibly though they enable the pattern to be freed.
In order that one rapping or vibrating engine may be used with any number
of pattern plates, or carriers, and to provide for different heighths of the pattern
plate above the table 4, the table (Fig. 1) is formed with an extension 79, to

page_text: which is attached a vertical sleeve 80. Within the sleeve 80 is a sleeve 81 pro-
vided with exterior screw threads and with nuts 82 above and below the
sleeve 80, the last named sleeve being smooth on its inner surface. The nuts 82
serve to vary or regulate the heighth of the sleeve 81 in the bearing 80, and to
lock it firmly in position. Within the sleeve 81 is a stud or bolt 83, provided
with a shoulder 84 to rest upon the upper end of the sleeve 81 and with a screw
thread at its lower end for a nut 85, by which the stud 82 is held in position to
turn within the sleeve 8.1. A head 86 is formed integrally with or attached to
the stud 83. The engine 67 in this instance is mounted upon the head 86 to
slide lengthwise thereof as hereinafter described, and is also provided with a
vertical standard 87, to which a vertical guide 88 is attached, as by screws 89
(see Fig. 9). An arm 90 is attached to the slide 88, as by a plate 91 and
screws 92, to slide up and down thereon, but to have no other
motion relatively thereto. The arm 90 is provided with a dowel pin 93, which
is adapted to enter a perforation in an arm 94 attached to the
frame 62 herein before mentioned, and to be detached therefrom by sliding the
arm 90 upward. The operation of filling the upper and lower box with sand
and compacting the sand is substantially the same as that hereinbefore described,
and the vibrations set up by the relatively fixed engine 67 are transmitted to the
frame 62 and the pattern or patterns carried thereby by means of the arm 90,
pin 92, and arm 94.
The engine 67 comprises a cylinder having a cap 67b on one end and a head
carrying arm 87 on the other end and metal anvils 67° at each end. It has also
a piston 67d with two circumferential grooves 67 each connected by one or more
channels with the space at the adjacent end of the piston but not in connection
with each other; inlet channel 67 and outlet channels (opening into the air)
indicated in Fig. 9 by a circle in the left hand groove 676. Compressed air is
admitted through channel 67' from a tube 100, and the piston vibrates to and fro
against the anvils 67. The engine is attached to a plate 95 by screw bolts. The
head 86 is formed with parallel vertical sides, which are grooved to receive the
plate 95 (Fig. 10) so that the engine may be slid along on the head 86, toward
and from the centre of the table 4, and by means of the stud 83 the head 86
may be swung as upon a pivot, carrying the engine with it.
In Fig. 9, the head 86 rests upon a surface of a table and is connected with
its pivot 81 by means of a sleeve 83, and an arm 98 to which head 86 is bolted.
It is not essential that the pivot of the head 86 shall be connected with the table 4
or with a moulding machine, nor is it essential that the engine 67 shall move up
and down with the table 4 during the ramming of the sand by machinery, as
the connection between the engine and the pattern carrier through the guide 88
and the up and down movable arm 90 permits the up and down motion of the
mould in ramming the sand by machinery as well as securing that the patterns
shall be vibrated during the drawing of the pattern or mould. The engine 67
may be protected from falling sand by means of a cover 99, as indicated in
Fig. 10.
In Figs. 1 and 2, the pressure is conveyed to the engine 67 by means of
flexible tubing 100, which receives the supply of compressed air through a
tube 101, and a standard 102. The tube 101 has a check valve 103, provided
with a projecting stem 104; while in front of the stem 104 is a lever 105 pivoted
to the table 4 in position to be pressed upon by the knee of the workman and so
to open the check valve to admit pressure to the engine.
For blowing loose sand from the parts, a flexible tube 106 is connected with
the air passage in the standard 102 and is provided with a check valve at 107.
The invention is not limited to the use of a machine for ramming the sand
but contemplates the use thereof in conjunction with any of the present methods
of ramming, whether by hand, or otherwise nor is it limited to the particular
details illustrated.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. The combination of a mould-frame, a pattern-carrier, guides whereby one
is guided by the other, and means for maintaining the pattern in a state of
vibration as the pattern is drawn, substantially as described.
2. The combination of a multiple-part mould, a pattern-carrier extending to
the outside of the mould, a vibrating device adjustably connected to the pattern-
carrier and capable of being set to vibrate the patterns in moulds of varying
sizes, substantially as described.
3. In a moulding-machine, the combination with the moulding table, of a
vibrating device at one side of the table, a controlling-lever under the table,
piping or tubing connected with the vibrator and provided with a check-valve
operated by said lever, a mould and a pattern carrier within the mould and
connected with the said vibrator, substantially as described.
4. In a moulding-machine, the combination of a horizontal table, a rammer,
one of said parts moving toward and from the other during ramming, a vibrator-
engine attached to and adjustable vertically of the table and movable in or
parallel to the plane of the table, a vertical guide connected to said engine, and
a connector movable vertically on said guide and adapted to coact with with a
pattern carrier or support therefor while the pattern is in the mould and is
being drawn, substantially as described.
5. The combination of an open or half-mould, a carrier for the pattern and
guides connecting the carrier and mould and keeping the carrier and pattern
each in parallelism with itself as the carrier is lifted and the pattern is drawn
from the mould, substantially as described.
6. The combination of a top box, a bottom box, a pattern-carrier, and guides
thereon for each and all of said parts as they are put together and drawn apart,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
7. The improved moulding machine constructed and operating substantially
as herein before described.
ted the 15th day of November 1899.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent,
For the Applicants.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agent,
For the Applicants: