Improvements in Cutting or Stamping Out Presses.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left, 20th Apr., 1895-Accepted 8th June, 1895
Improvements in Cutting or Stamping Out Presses.
L WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN of The Hawthorns, Newport Road Stafford, in
the County of Stafford Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention relates to machines which are used for cutting or stamping out
gun wads or other objects of varying shapes from sheets of felt or other material.
The machine consists of a suitable frame carrying a bed or surface to support
the block on which the cutting is done.
The sheet of felt or other material to be dealt with is fed into the machine
automatically by means of intermittently revolving feed rolls operated by a cam
and ratchet wheel or by other suitable mechanism such as intermittently moving
feeding jaws.
The cutters are carried in a platen which is operated to and from the bed by
means of eccentrics, cranks, cams, toggles or other means and in order to cut up
the material to the greatest advantage the cutters are of such a number and so
spaced that after the platen has descended and cut out a row of wads or other
cuttings there shall be space between each to allow a second stroke to be made and
another row of cuttings be taken ont between the previous ones. The cutters
being shifted a suitable distance for this purpose.
To effect this at each alternate stroke of the platen a to and fro sliding movement
is given to the cutters by means of a sliding cam or wedge suitably operated from
a revolving cam or by means of a lever and stops, the cutters being suitably
mounted in a slide carried in the platen for the purpose.
The wads or other articles as cut pass through the cutters and fall over on to a
travelling band or other conveyor operated by a band or suitable gearing from the
machine and are delivered by a spout into a convenient receptacle.
The block of wood or other material against which the cutting is done is
adjustable by means of wedges, screws, worm and wheel or equivalent arrangements
so as to be capable of being set up towards the knives or cutters as its surface
wears and in order to distribute the wear over the whole surface of the cutting
block ratchets and pawls with cams are employed! to give it an intermittent slow
creeping movement in either one or in two directions upon the surface of the bed
of the machine.
"
"Take up
or take off" plates may be arranged alongside or around the
cutting block or the cutters for the purpose of detaching the felt should it adhere
either to the cutting block or to the cutters after the cutting operation and they
may receive movement from a cam and connections.
The feeding movement of the material being cut and the transverse movement of
the knives or cutters may be made to take place in any desired proportion the one
to the other to suit the shape of the objects being cut and economise the material.
The machine is driven by a belt or treadle and suitably proportioned gears are
employed to give the proper relative speeds to the platen and the various cains
which serve to operate the feed rolls, the knives, the cutting block and the other
parts of the machine.
If desired the cutters may be mounted upon an intermittently revolving barrel
instead of a slide which may be operated by cam and ratchet wheel or other
convenient mechanism.

page_text: When the machine is intended to be used for stamping out by means of punches
or dies and matrices it is necessary that the transverse movement should be given to
the bed carrying the matrices as well as to the punches, or that a transverse
movement should be imparted to the material being operated upon. For the
former of these it is only necessary that a connection should be made between the
bed and the platen so that each shall make a similar transverse movement and for
the latter the mechanism which gives the. transverse movement instead of being
connected to the platen or bed requires to be connected to the frame which carries
the feeding rolls and other parts supporting the sheet or roll of material from
which the articles are being stamped out.
Improvements in Cutting or Stamping Out Presses.
I WILLIAM HENRY DORMAN, of The Hawthorns, Newport Road, Stafford, in
the County of Stafford, 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 :-
This invention relates to machines which are used for cutting or stamping out
gun wads or other objects of varying shapes from sheets of felt or other material.
The machine consists of a suitable frame carrying a bed or surface to support the
block on which the cutting is done.
The sheet of felt or other material to be dealt with is fed into the machine
automatically by means of intermittently revolving feed rolls operated by a cam
and ratchet wheel or by other suitable mechanism such as intermittently moving
feeding jaws.
The cutters are carried in a platen which is operated to and from the bed by
means of eccentrics, cranks, cams or other means and in order to cut up the material
to the greatest advantage, the cutters are of such a number and so spaced so that
after the platen has descended and cut out a row of wads or other cuttings there
shall be space between each to allow a second stroke to be made and another row
of cuttings be taken out between the previous ones. The cutters being shifted a
suitable distance for this purpose.
To effect this at each alternate stroke of the platen a to and fro sliding movement
is given to the cutters by means of a sliding cam or wedge suitably operated from
a revolving cam or by means of a lever and stops, the cutters being suitaby mounted
in a slide carried in the platen for the purpose.
The wads or other articles as cut pass through the cutters and fall over on to a
travelling band or other conveyor operated by a band or suitable gearing from
the machine and are delivered by a spout into a convenient receptacle.
The block of wood or other material against which the cutting is done is
adjustable by means of wedges, screws, worm and wheel or equivalent arrangements
so as to be capable of being set up towards the knives or cutters as its surface
wears and in order to distribute the wear over the whole surface of the cutting
block, ratchets and pawls with cams are employed to give it an intermittent slow
creeping movement in either one or in two directions upon the surface of the bed of
the machine.
Take up or take off plates may be arranged alongside or around the cutting
block or the cutters for the purpose of detaching the felt should it adhere either to
the cutting block or to the cutters after the cutting operation and they may receive
movement from a cam and connectious.
The feeding movement of the material being cut and the transverse movement of

page_text: Fig. 2. is an end view of the same.
Fig. 3. is a section shewing the method of feeding the material.
Fig. 4. is a section shewing the mechanism for imparting the transverse movement
to the cutters and a portion of that imparting the creeping movement to the cutting
block.
Fig. 5 is a part plan shewing the mechanism for imparting the transverse
movement to the cutters.
Fig. 6. is a section, shewing more of the mechanism of the creeping movement
and the method of raising the cutting block to take up wear.
Fig. 7. is a section and Fig. 8 a plan shewing the take off applied to the cutters.
Fig. 9 is an elevation and Fig. 10, a sectional end view shewing a method of
imparting the transverse movement to the material being cut.
Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section and Fig. 12 a cross section shewing a method of
imparting the transverse movement of the cutters or punches to the die bed.
Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section and Figs. 14 and 15 are end views shewing an
arrangement in which the cutters are mounted on an intermittently revolving, barrel
instead of on a reciprocating slide.
Fig. 16 is a section and Fig. 17. is a plan shewing a take up applied to the cutting
block.
Fig. 18 shews one method and Fig. 19 shews another method of taking out the
cuttings from the material.
Fig. 20 shews an alternative form of cam for imparting the transverse movement
to the cutters.
The machine as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 is intended to be used for cutting out
gun wads from a sheet of felt and is constructed as follows:
The side frames a. a' support between them the, bed a².
The driving pulleys a³ a' are mounted on the shaft
bearings a a upon the frames a. a¹.
which is carried in the
The fly wheel a is also mounted on the shaft a' as is the pinion a' which gears
with the wheel a mounted on the main shaft a" which is carried in the
bearings a a in the frames a. a².
The sheet of felt x. from which the wads are to be cut is fed into the machine by
means of the feed rolls b. which are carried in the frame and intermittently
actuated from the main shaft a¹¹ as follows:-
:-
The pinion is mounted upon the shaft a" and gears into the wheel which has
exactly twice as many teeth as the pinion and consequently will revolve at half

page_text: the speed. The wheel 6 is mounted upon the shaft which is carried in
bearings be upon the frames a. a¹ and is provided with the cam 68 engaging the
cain roll. The lever 10 which carries the roll' is mounted upon the pivot 61
in the frame a'and' is jointed at its cuter end to the lower end of the rod which at
its upper end is again jointed to the lever 6. The lever 618 is mounted loosely ou
the lower feed roll 6 and is provided at its outer end with the pawl which
engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel 618 fast upon the feed roll b¹. By this
arrangement every alternate revolution of the main shaft all causes the pawl 61 to
move the ratchet wheel 615 and the feed roll 6' through a portion of a revolution.
The motion of the lower feed roll b' is communicated to the upper-feed roll by
equal gears 61 17 (see Fig. 9) and pressure-is-applied-to the upper roll-by means of
springs 6¹³ ¿¹ held down by adjustable caps upon the bearings 662 in which
the upper roll b is carried, the frame 62 being provided with slots to allow of
vertical movement of the bearings when the upper roll b rises or falls in
accordance with the variation in the thickness of the felt which is placed between
the feed rolls. The bearings 628 67 which carry the lower feed roll 6¹ have no
movement in the frame b.
→
2
For the purpose of adjusting the amount of feed given to the felt according to
the requirements of the work in band the screw is provided carried in the
bracket 6 and arranged so that it acts as a stop to limit the return movement of
the lever 6¹³ When the screw is set fully up the cam 68 revolves clear of the
roll during a portion of its revolution and consequently only a small feed
movement is given to the felt and when the screw 28 is set down clear away from the
lever 68 the full movement of the cam 68 is imparted and the maximum feed will be
given to the felt. By intermediate adjustments of the screw 628 any 'desired
amount of feed may be imparted to the felt a.
The platen c which carries the cutter c¹ is caused to move up and down as
follows:-
"
Upon the main shaft a" are mounted 'two eccentrics cc which by means of
rods are connected to the ends of a 'shaft c which passes horizontally
through the platen. The platen is guided in vertical ways a¹ a prepared for it
in the frames a. a¹ and its weight is balanced by weights eco carried upon
levers c¹¹ which are mounted on pivots c c provided in the frames a. a¹. The
levers cc are connected to the platen c by means of rods c c. Every
revolution of the main shaft a" causes the platen e to litt and make a down cutting
'stroke.
In order that the felt & may be cut up with the least amount of waste spaces c¹7
slightly in excess of the diameter of the cutters c' are allowed between each of the
cutters so that after a down stroke of the platen has been made and a row of wads
cut across the width of the felt as shewn shaded in Fig. 18, the felt between the
holes left by the cutting of these wads shall be just sufficient to allow of the cutting
of another row of wads as shewn not shaded in Fig. 18.
To cut this second row of wads it is necessary that the whole of the cutters shall
be moved simultaneously either to the right or left (see Fig. 1) while the platen c.
is in its raised position a sufficient distance to bring a cutter vertically over each of
these portions of the felt from which on the next down stroke wads will be cut.
For the purpose of imparting this transverse movement to the cutters the
following arrangement is made use of Upon the shaft 6 is mounted the cam d.
which engages by means of the roll d' the lever d mounted on the pivot d in the
frame a². The outer end of the lever a is jointed to the lower end of the rod d
which at its upper end is jointed to one arm d³ of the bell crank & mounted on the
pivot d in the frame a. The other arm ds of the bell crank engages by means of
the die d the vertical slot do formed in the horizontal cross slide d" which is
mounted in the platen c. The cross slide d" has an inclined slot d¹ which engages
the roll d carried in another slide d¹ to which the cutter bar d" is attached.
The slide d is free to move to and fro in the platen c and is caused to do so, when
the cam d.is revolved, by the operation of the lever da rod d' and bell crank d

page_text: moving the cross slide d¹ to and fro and the inclined slot d acting on the roll d
imparts the movement to the cutter carrying slide d. The vertical slot do is for
the purpose of allowing the vertical movement of the platen c to take place without
interfering with the cross movement of the slide d". The amount of the movement
of the cross slide d" and consequently of the cutter carrying slidad is regulated by
adjusting the screw d by which the position of the pin d" is adjusted in the slot dis
nearer to or further from the pivot d'.
As the wads are cut they pass upwards through the cutters c' and fall over on to
the travelling band e. which conveys them away to the spout e¹. This band e is
carried upon the pulleys e e³ which are mounted in brackets ese attached to the
platen c and motion is communicated to the band e by a belt e which is led over
'guide pulleys e 68 and driven from a pulley on the shaft a³.
The cutting block is provided with inclines f' beneath it which are supported
on wedges f' by means of which the block f. can be raised as its surface wears.
The wedges are moved in by screws ff which are caused to turn in equal
amount by being connected together by worms f f and wheels ƒ ƒ operated by
the shaft the whole being carried in the box 10 which lies upon the surface of
the bed a².
.
So that the wear caused by the action of the cutters c¹ upon the surface of the
cutting block f. may be evenly distributed a small intermittent creeping movement
is given to the box f10 which carries the cutting block f. The cam g. is mounted
on the shaft all so as to engage the bell crank g¹ mounted on the pivot g² in the
frame a and provided with the cam roll 93. The rod g¹ connects this bell crank g'
with the lever g' wbich is mounted loosely on the shaft g and provided with the
pawl which engages ratchet teeth in the wheel fast upon the shaft 9.
Bearings 93 910 9₁₁₁ carry the shaft 98 which is provided with the cam '918
engaging the cam roll upon the stud 9" secured in the box f and standing
down through the slot 9 prepared in the bed a³.
Each revolution of the cam g
through the bell crank g' rod 9' and lever 9 moves the pawl g' a tooth in the
wheel 9 so that the cam 91 is thus slowly revolved and the box f10 with the
cutting block f caused to move intermittently a little at a time through a certain
distance first to the right and then to the left upon the bed a³..
11
13
'
A similar but much slower movement is given to the cutting block fin a direction
at right angles to this in the following manner :-
The cam . is mounted on the shaft g and through the bell crank carried upon
the pivot in the frame a actuates the pawl h³ which engages ratchet teeth in the
wheel mounted upon the shaft h which is carried in bearings in the frame a².
The shaft terminates in crank pins which by means of dies ho h engage with
two bell cranks 10 11 mounted loosely upon the shaft g. The vertical arms "
of the bell cranks 10 11 engage slots h h formed in the box 10.
"These movements of course take place when the platen c is in its raised position
and result in gradually exposing every portion of the surface of the cutting blocky
to the action of the cutters c¹.
To prevent the felt adhering to the cutters c¹ and rising with them the take off
plate (Figs. 7 and 8) is provided being carried by the screws i¹ from the cutter
bar d and having springs which yield when the plate i comes down upon the
felt and react us the cutters crise until the surface is about flush with
the cutter edges c¹8 after which the cutters c¹ and plate i are together raised as the
platen c ascends.
To prevent the felt adhering to the cutting block fa somewhat similar plate j
(see Figs. 16 and 17) is provided which may either be furnished with springs as
before which yield under pressure and react when the pressure is removed or may
be actuated by cams provided upon the shaft a" which by means of rods ³
raise the platej slightly above the surface of the cutting block just before the feed
movement of the felt 'takes place and lower it again as soon as the feed movement
is completed.
The machine as above described cuts wads in rows parallel in both directions

page_text: that is at right angles one to the other as shewn in Fig. 18. If desired however
the proportions of the feed movement of the felt and the cross movement of the
cutters c¹ may be so adjusted as to cut wads in rows parallel in one direction and
diagonal in the other as shewn in Fig. 19. In this latter case the cam d. would
require to be so shaped and speeded as to give different positions to the cutters c¹
at each succeeding row but alike at each alternate row. This would be conveniently
done by torming the cam as shewn in Fig. 20 and driving it at one fourth the speed
of the shaft a".
A treadle k. may be fitted to drive by foot power.
If the cutters are mounted upon an intermittently revolving barrel instead of on
the slide 14 the construction may be as shewn in Figs. 13.,14. and 15. -
The barrel is carried in bearings which are free to move up and down in
the frames a 18 a17.
The eccentrics c¹9 20 are mounted upon the shaft a" and are connected with the
bearings by the rods 131. The cam also mounted on the shaft a" engages by the cam
roll with the lever which is mounted on the pivot 18 in the frame a¹ and at its
outer end is connected by the rod to the arm 110 of the bell crank " which is
mounted on the pivot in the frame a". The other arm of the bell crank ¹¹ is
provided with the die which engages in the vertical slot formed in the
rack 16 free to slide to and fro in the bearings 17/18. The rack 11 engages with the
wheel loosely mounted upon the barrel 7. and carrying upon it the pawl which
engages the teeth of the ratchet wheel 121 fast upon the barrel. When the barrel
is raised by the action of the eccentrics c¹ 20 and rods the cam also comes
into action and raises the lever and rod so as through the bell crank "to
move in the rack 1 and revolve the wheel 11°. The pawl 20 acts upon one of the
teeth of the wheel and turns it together with the barrel through a quarter or
other arranged portion of a revolution so as to move round out of action one row of
cutters as cand bring round into action the next row as ". The barrel may have
any desired number of rows of cutters arranged as required.
To lock the barrel fast after the turning movement is over the lever m. is
provided being mounted on the pivot m' in the bearing and furnished with the
tooth m² engages alternately the notches m³ formed in the locking wheel mª which
is fast upon the other end of the barrel l. The lever m.. being held in engagement
by the spring. m. This lever m is unlocked by the rising movement of the platen
near the upper end of its stroke and just prior to the commencement of the turning
.movement by its upper end me coming in contact with the fixed roll m' carried
upon the frame a¹ and engaging the sloping face m of the lever m. After the
turning movement has commenced the platen being to descend again so as to
liberate the lever m from the roll m² when the spring m³ presses the tooth m³
against the circular part m8 of the locking wheel mand when the turning
movement is completed the tooth m springs into the notch m³ and holds the
barrel fast during the remainder of its down stroke.
The wads press up through the cutters into the barrel and are delivered at
the open end by the operation of the worm 23 which is formed in the interior of
the barrel for the purpose.
Figs. 11 and 12 shew the platen connected with the cutting block or die bed so
that both together partake of the transverse movement. This is necessary if the
punches enter into dies as when cutting or punching metals.
From the platen slide d" depend stems n which slide in vertical holes n' formed
in the die bed n³ this allows of the platen c rising and falling but any transverse
movement is communicated to the die bed n². The cuttings fall through the slot n*
formed in the bed a' for the purpose.
Figs. 9 and 10 shew the transverse movement connected to the frame which
carries the feeding rolls b. b¹ so that the material is moved to and fro instead of or,
as may sometimes be desired, in addition to the movement of the cutters, dies or
punches.
The shaft carries the cam o. which engages the lever of mounted on the

page_text: pivot o. The upper end of the lever o¹ engages the frame 60 which carries the
feed rolls b. b. The material x. is provided in a roll which is also mounte l'
upon the same frame 60 and moves to and fro with it, the frame 60 being guided in
the slide way o formed in the bed a'.
The machine as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 operates in the following manner :-
A piece of felt æ or other material having been inserted between the feed'
rolls. motion is communicated to the pulleys a' a' or treadle k. The shaft a' is
caused to revolve and through the pinion a' and wheel a revolves the shaft a".
The gears 6 revolve the shaft and the cam 68 at half the speed of the
shaft a". The lever 610 rod 61 lever and pawl operate the feed rolls b..
which are connected together by the wheels 1 617 and the material to be cut is
fed forward the desired distance such being regulated by adjustment of the
screw 28
The platen operated by the eccentrics and rods cc is now on its down
stroke and when the feed is finished the cutters c' come down upon the material.
and cut out a row of wads or other articles across its width leaving sufficient
material between the holes to allow another row to be cut. While the feed pawl 64
is returning preparatory to the next advance of the material the platen c. ascends
and the cam d. through the lever d rod d bell crank and slide d" operates the
cutter carrying slide d¹ and brings the cutters c¹ over the material between the
holes last cut when the platen again descends and the intermediate wads are cut.
The platen c. is again raised, the feed pawl 6 acts and the material is again fed
forward a sufficient distance to provide for the cutting of the next.row when the
above described operations are repeated.
The cut wads pass upwards through the cutters c' and fall over on to the
travelling band e. which being driven by the belt e conveys them to the spout e¹
where they are delivered.
Between the strokes made by the platen c the cam g. acts and through the bell
crank g' connections and pawls g' and ³ as before described the creeping movement
is imparted to the block f.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters, giving to the cutters a lateral
movement after each stroke, the material left between the cutters by one stroke
being punched out the next stroke, substantially as described.
2. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters, giving to the material a
lateral movement after each stroke, the material left between the cutters by one
stroke being punched out the next stroke, substantially as described.
3. In a cutting out machine with multiple punches and dies, giving to such
punches and dies a lateral movement after each stroke, the material left between
each pair of punches and dies by one stroke being punched out the next stroke,
substantially as described.
4. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters, in which a lateral movement is
given to the cutters or to the material after each stroke, the material left between
the cutters by one stroke being punched out the next stroke, imparting a feed
motion to the material aiter each alternate stroke, eubstantially as described.
5. In a cutting out machine with multiple punches and dies, in which a lateral
movement is given to such punches and dies or to the material after each stroke,
the material left between each pair of punches and dies by one stroke being
punched out the next stroke, imparting a feed motion to the material after each
alternate stroke, substantially as described.
6. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters or punches and dies, in which
a lateral movement is given to such cutters or punches and dies after each stroke,
the material left between each cutter or pair of punches and dies by one stroke
being punched out the next stroke, and in which a feed motion is given to the

page_text: material after each alternate stroke, imparting a lateral movement to the material
after each alternate stroke, substantially as described.
7. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters having a lateral movement
and in which the material left between the cutters by one stroke is punched out the
next stroke, imparting to the cutting block an intermittent creeping motion in one
or more directions so as to cause its surface to be acted upon uniformly by the
cutters, substantially as described.
8. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters, arranging the same in rows
upon an intermittently revolved barrel so that cutters in one row shall not be
opposite cutters in another row and operating the same to cut alternately a row of
cuttings and then cuttings from the material left between the first cuttings, the
material being intermittently fed to suit the operation of the cutters, substantially
as described.
9. In a cutting out machine with multiple cutters in which a lateral movement is
given to the cutters or to the material after each stroke, the material left between
the cutters by one stroke being punched out the next stroke and in which a feed
motion, is given to the material after each alternate stroke, employing a carrier to
collect and carry away the cut pieces of material, substantially as described.
10. The machine as herein described and illustrated, by Figures 1 to 8, for the
purpose of cutting or stamping out pieces of material from sheets of the same.
Dated this 19th day of April 1895.
W. H. DORMAN.