Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Aug., 1897-Accepted, 5th Mar., 1898
(A communication by the Firm of WIEGAND & SEIFERT, of Braustrasse, Leipzig -
Plagwitz, in the Empire, of Germany, Manufacturers.)
I, GEORGE CECIL DYMOND, M.I.M.E., of W. P. Thompson & Co., the Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Man-
chester, both in the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, and 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, 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 a machine for automatically making steel balls by
turning them with a profiled or shaped cutter which is provided with a number of
semi-circular and half semi-circular grooves of the required diameter of the balls
corresponding to the number of balls it is desired to produce simultaneously. In
the simultaneous treatment of two balls, for instance, the semi-circular groove
cuts out the ball, whilst the other half semi-circular groove simultaneously finishes
the previously roughed out ball and cuts it off. The grooves are formed longi-
tudinally in the tool so that when the cutting surface of the latter is ground it
retains a constant profile.
The use of such a shaped tool for an automatically working machine neces-
sitates a peculiar construction and mode of working. It is necessary that the
tool be automatically brought against the rotating article to be operated on, which
consists of a continuous wire or rod, and after the completion of a ball that it be
automatically again removed from the article, and further that the article operated
on shall be pushed forward so far that the previously shaped ball is brought into
a suitable position to the half semi-circular groove which effects the finishing,
and that finally the tool in cutting off when it is desired to save any subsidiary
treatment of the balls as far as possible may be so adjusted to the rotating wire or
rod in a simple and certain manner that the burr which unavoidably lies in the
axis of rotation shall after the cutting off form to a certain extent only a point.
The machine is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is an elevation;
Figure 2, a plan view;
Figure 3, a side view seen from the right hand side of Figures 1 and 2;
Fig. 3 is a detail view of the cam gear for bringing the cutter up to its work.
Figure 4, a side view seen from the left hand side of Figures 1 and 2;
Figures 5, 6 and 7 show the profiled or shaped cutting tool which is arranged for
the simultaneous treatment of two balls.
The bed or foundation of the machine has a fixed head A, a cutting tool, a slide
head B movable longitudinally to the bed and at the end lying opposite to the
head A an automatic gearing for shifting the slide head B. The slide head or

page_text: carriage B is mounted by means of a nut C on a guide spindle D and has an arm E
which travels or slides on a rod F.
The head A has a support G for the cutting tool H, Figure 3. The support G
is movable in the head A at right angles to the axis of rotation and a link J
engages with one end on the support & whilst its other end is connected with a
lever I which is guided by means of a roller K which runs on an internal cam
disc L (Fig. 3).
The rod or link J consists of two parts which are provided with a right and left
hand screw, and may be approached to or removed from one another by means of
a sleeve M. This arrangement has for its object to allow of the distance of the
cutter, or in other words its cutting edge, from the axis of rotation to be exactly
adjusted in order to form on the ball when cut off as small a burr as possible. It
is evident that the exact adjustment of the cutter may be altered by simply
rotating the sleeve whilst the machine is running. The support G is subject to
the pull of a spring N mounted on said support and on the frame of the machine.
As the support G, which under the pull of the spring tends to move away from the
article operated on, is connected by the rod J with the end of the lever I which
bears by means of roller K on the cam disc L as aforesaid, the action of the spring
is transmitted to the roller K which it causes to press on said can. When the
roller travels along the spiral curve of the cam the tool is brought against the
article to be operated on. When the roller moves outward again following
the shape of the cam the support G moves backwards under the action of the spring N
as herein before mentioned and the tool is moved away from the article on which
it was operating.
An adjustable counter support O is also arranged on the head A against which
the rotating steel wire rests in order to be supported during the cutting by the
profile tool. Consequently the steel wire or rod during the rotation and cutting,
experiences no vibrations which would give the balls an uneven surface, but the
treatment of the balls takes place quite evenly and smoothly.
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a chuck or holder P holds or carries the steel
wire which is inserted at the other end in a suitable aperture in the head A. On
the spindle of this chuck or holder a belt pulley Q is mounted and sets the steel
wire in rotation. The belt pulley Q also imparts the various movements for the
parts working together for the automatic treatment, and this takes place in the
following way:
.
A spur wheel R mounted on the shaft is operated by means of the cog-
wheels R1 R2 R3 and rotates the shaft F and therewith the cogwheels S and T
mounted on its ends. The wheel S engages with a wheel S¹ which is connected
with the aforesaid cam disc L. The wheel T engages with a cogwheel T which is
firmly connected with a pear shaped cam U, Figure 4. The cam U operates the
roller V of an elbow lever V, the other end of which is connected by means of a
link V2 with an elbow lever V3. The elbow lever V3 has a pawl V4 which engages
in a cog or ratchet wheel W. The ratchet wheel W engages with a ratchet
wheel W mounted on the guide spindle. It is evident that by means of this
transfer of movement the guide spindle and with it the slide head B is moved to
a certain extent. The extent of this movement corresponds to the actual diameter
of the balls which are to be cut off. In order that the cogwheel R may follow the
longitudinal movement of the slide head on the spindle F, the spindle F is pro-
vided with a groove in which a suitable wedge of the cogwheel R engages.
The mode of working of the machine is briefly as follows:
Supposing the slide head B be at the left end of the machine bed, a piece of
round steel about equal in length to the machine bed is gripped in the chuck or
grip holder P and its other end passed through the aperture in the head A and
allowed to rest against the counter support 0. The profiled tool H is then in this
position furthest from the work piece. If the holder or chuck P and with it the
steel wire be now rotated by means of the belt pulley Q, then the spur wheel R, the
shaft F, spur wheels S S¹, and with the latter the cam disc L will all be simul-

page_text: .
taneously rotated by means of the cogwheels R1 R2 R³. On the cam disc being
rotated, the roller K travels along the spiral curve and the support G is moved by
the link J to the work piece against the action of the spring N so that the cutting
tool penetrates gradually according to the pitch of the curve into the rotating
article to be operated on. When the cam has nearly completed a revolution the
roller moves outward a little, following the curve of the cam, and the support with
the cutting tool moves backward under the action of the spring N, having
previously cut off a ball and the next adjacent ball is operated on. Whilst the tool
moves backward, the roller V at the other end of the machine travels on the
elongated projection of the pear shaped cam U and causes thereby the
levers V1 V2 V3, pawl V, toothed wheels W and W and the guide spindle D to
describe a short rotation which causes the slide head B to move on the machine
bed to an extent equal to the diameter of the balls which are to be formed. As
soon as this longitudinal movement has ended, the cutting tool returns again and
commences to move against the article to be operated on in order to cut off a
fresh ball and to treat or shape another one and so forth.
From the above it is evident that the machine works automatically in a simple
and certain manner perfectly as long as the steel wire is operated on, the length of
the said wire being not greater than that of the machine bed, that is to say until
the slide head B with the chuck P has been pushed forward up to the fixed head A.
The slide head B is then returned by hand to the starting point and a fresh piece
of steel wire inserted.
As shown in Figures 5 and 7, the cutting tool H is provided with longitudinal
grooves of semi-circular form corresponding exactly to the balls to be made. In
case two balls are to be simultaneously treated, the tool has two points 1 and 2,
the shorter 2 of which cuts out the ball preliminarily, whilst the longer one 1 cuts
to the middle of the steel wire, that is to say, cuts off the ball.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. A machine for automatically turning balls characterised by a cam disc (L)
mounted at one end of the machine and operated by a shaft F moving a support (G)
which carries a shaped cutting tool against the rotating article to be treated, as
soon as a cam (U) mounted on the other end of the machine and also operated by
the aforesaid shaft (F) has produced a rotation of the other guide spindle (D) and
the latter has produced a longitudinal movement of the spindle stock B corre-
sponding to the diameter of the ball, and in which, vice versa, the cam (U) initiates
a rotation of the guide spindle D and a longitudinal movement of the slide head B
as soon as the tool has been drawn out of the reach of the article operated on by
the action of a spring (N) attached to the tool support (G) substantially as
described.
2. A machine such as described, characterised by the tool support (G) which
stands under the action of a spring, being connected with a roller (K) which by
travelling on the curve of the cam disc (L) moves the tool against the article to
be treated by means of a link (J) formed in two parts with right and left hand
threads connected by means of a sleeve M with the object of adjusting or altering
the normal distance of the tool towards the axis of rotation and allowing the tool
to be so exactly adjusted itself during the working of the machine that a ball is
cut off, substantially as described.
3. A machine such as described characterised by two elbow levers (V₁ V³) being
pivotally connected at one end by means of another-link (V2) and by the uncon-
nected end of the one lever (VI) being acted on by a cam (U) with the object of
bringing a pawl (V*) mounted on the unconnected end of the other lever (V³) into
engagement with a ratchet wheel (W) adapted to move the guide spindle (D) and
with it the slide head (B) to an amount corresponding to the diameter of a ball
substantially as described.

page_text: 4. The general construction and combination of parts taken as a whole forming
the improved machine for turning balls, substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this 30th day of August 1897.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.