Machinery Adapted for that Purpose
Year: 1886

page_text: Machinery Adapted for that Purpose,
I, JEAN JULES LAFFITTE of N° 102 Avenue Parmentier, Paris, France, 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:-
The constantly increasing demand for chain cables has stimulated inventors to
make various improvements in their manufacture for instance some have succeeded
in manufacturing mechanically or nearly entirely mechanically chain cables without
welding the links thereof.
But notwithstanding the apparent advantage of this system, this class of chain
being more expensive than those made with welded links and also weaker, size for
size, the trade has generally preferred chains made of links forged in the direction
of the fibres of the metal and welded by hand; for this latter class of chain the
main and most important question is the proper and sound welding of the limbs,
which is both a difficult and expensive operation.
The object of my invention is to obviate these difficulties and expenses by
means of an improved method of manufacture and novel and special machine or
machines.
:
This process or method consists in forming a chain of unwelded links, the ends
of which that have to be welded being previously slightly swollen or thickened and
bent back in contact and in then passing such chain at a bright white heat between
rollers, the surfaces of which are indented to correspond exactly in shape and size
to the finished links of said chain, by which passage each link is successively
forcibly compressed more particularly at the welding places which have. been
previously swelled out in order to ensure their sound. and complete welding.
For the purpose of this manufacture it is necessary to pass the chain twice
through the rolls, during the first passage every alternate link is welded in a hori-
zontal position and at the second pass the chain is turned one quarter so that the
other alternate set of links are likewise welded whilst lying horizontally.
By making use of a double set of rolls set at right angles one with the other one
passage of the chain will be sufficient, for in such case, the first set of rolls welds
all the links lying horizontally, whilst the second set of rolls will perform the same
operation on all the other links lying vertically.
Or again I make use of two sets of rollers both of which are horizontal and after
the chain has passed through the first set, I give it simply a quarter turn and then

page_text: pass it through the second, in which manner all the links horizontal and vertical
will be compressed and welded in a horizontal position.
For the purpose of feeding the chains that have to be welded to one or more"
pair of rolls as well as for the purpose of heating them in a regular manner, it
is advisable to make use of a furnace capable of heating at once to the required
temperature any required length or size of chains.
In view of still further ensuring the success of the welding operation, I find that
it is advisable to make use of a flux such as the ordinary powders actually in use
but I prefer in this respect the plates for which I obtained a patent dated Feb. 11,
1882, which I slip in between the two ends of the link to be welded before heating
the chains and which are not subject to get displaced during the handling of the
chain and which answer well for inferior qualities of steel and iron in so much
than these metals do not require in such case to be so highly heated as when the
powders are employed.
In order that my invention be clearly understood and easily put into practice
I will now describe it in detail with the mechanism forming part of the same
illustrated in the eight figures of the accompanying drawing of which Fig. 1 is an
end elevation in section of a pair of rolls and fig. 2 a lateral elevation of the same
-fig. 3 an end elevation in section of a double pair of rolls-fig. 4 and 5 an
elevation and a plan respectively, both partially in section, of the arrangement of
one pair of horizontal rolls and one pair of vertical rolls for the purpose of welding
successively the vertical links and then the perpendicular ones and fig. 6, 7 & 8 are
illustrations on a larger scale of different classes of chains which can be welded in
my machines.
In these figures a a are the housings of the rolls b c and c¹ the rolls or cylinders,
whilst e, f, g, h, etc, are the cavities sunk in their surfaces and which corresponds
with the dimensions of the links passed through these rolls for the purpose of
being welded, in fig. 2 k is a spur driving wheel keyed on the lower roll and m n
two pinions which gear the two rolls b and c together-In fig. 4 and 5 k, k¹ are the
driving gears for each pair of horizontal and vertical rolls and m the pinions for
gearing the rolls of each pair; the spur wheel k¹ carries likewise a bevel pinion
gearing in a similar pinion keyed on the trunnion of one of the rolls as shown,
both wheels k and k¹ are run of course at the same speed.
In the fig. 6, 7 & 8, the dotted lines x x indicate the positions and the directions
of the welding of the links.
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:
Firstly The process or system of manufacturing chain cables, which consists in
forming a chain of unwelded links the extremities of which links have been
previously thickened out and subsequently welding each link successively in a
machine as above described.
Secondly The machines above described and illustrated in fig. 1 to 5 inclusively
by means of which the links of chains prepared as above are welded and compressed
to a definite and regular state.