Apparatus or Machinery for Cold Rolling Metallic Rods, Bars, and Wires.
Year: 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus or Machinery for Cold Rolling Metallic Rods, Bars,
and Wires.
I, HENRY ALEXIS WILLIAMS, of Taunton, in the County of Bristol, and State of
Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, manufacturer, 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:
My invention consists of improvements in continuous train rolls adapted for
reducing wire cold so as to make wire of different guages more effectually and
economically than as heretofore made and without annealing, reference being made to
the accompanying drawing in which:
Fig. 1 is an end elevation of my improved machine.
Fig. 2 is a plan view.
Fig. 3 is a detail illustrating the operation of the rolls.
Fig. 4 is a detail in section showing a friction device in the driving gear of the
rolls, and
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the roll supporting bed plates.
In this example I have represented three pairs of rolls in a series forming a
continuous train in one line, but it is to be understood that any preferred number may
be used according to the number of reductions it may be necessary to make, in
reducing wire rods to the desired thickness of the wire to be made.
The several pairs of rolls as a, a, a², are arranged in different angles about a
common axis in which a guide way consisting of hollow steel tubes c, is provided so
that the scores or grooves d, forming the passes of the rolls coincide with the guide
way, and the rolls are adjustable in a circle around the guide way for varying the
angles thereto, and also varying the angles of the different pairs relatively to each
other the object of which will be shown further on.
The rolls are mounted in housings e, supported on bed plates f, pivoted at one end
in the axis of the guide way for the wire, and otherwise supported by clamp bolts
by which they are clamped through a flange h, to a face plate i, of the main frame'j,
9

page_text: Pi
in which there is a curved slot k, allowing the roll supporting beds to be shifted for
the circumferential adjustment before referred to. Various other adjustable supporting
devices may be employed instead of this clamping device if desired. The bed plates
are mounted at the pivoted end on the steel guide tubes c, by the strong ear lugs 1,
which tubes are securely fitted in the bearing heads m, of the main frame j, and in
said ear lugs, with binding screws n. The rolls of each pair are geared together by
toothed wheels 0, in the usual manner, and one roll is coupled at with a driving
shaft carried in bearings s, on the bed plate, and geared by a bevel wheel t, with
a large compound bevel and spur driver u, which revolves around the guide way for
the wire and is geared with the main driving shaft v, by a small spur wheel w, all the
rolls being similarly geared to this shaft, with suitable variations in the sizes of
the wheels to, and the spur portions of the compound wheels u, to increase
the speed of the rolls successively as the speed of the wire increases by
elongation.
The bevel spur wheels u, are mounted between the roll bed, and the next bearing
head m, of the frame on a long trunnion sleeve a, of the roll bed supported by the
steel tubes c, and carrying a collar y, to be set up against the hub of the wheel u, to
resist the thrust of the bevel wheels t, u. In consequence of the great difficulty in
practicably varying the speeds of the rolls in the same measure as the movements of
the wires vary by elongation, and so that the loops of slack between the pairs of rolls
in one case and the over tension in the other case may be avoided, I arrange a friction
device in the connection of the wheels t, and shafts q, enabling the shaft to shift
therein and allow the rolls to be held back by the over tension and run a little slower
than wheels t, said wheels being geared up to or slightly greater than the maximum speed of
the wires thus enabling the wires to run in a straight guide way and also enabling
the rolls to be located closer together than when provision must be made between the
pairs of rolls for loops of slack. The friction device consists of washers e, of raw
hide placed between collars f, and the hubs of the wheel t, with check nuts c¹,
screwing on the shaft to regulate the friction the wheel being fitted so as to turn
loosely on the shaft, and one of the collars being permanently secured to the shaft,
and the other so as to slide but not turn thereon; though other arrangements of friction
devices may be employed.
One of the principal difficulties in making round wire in the continuous rolling
process with rolls successively located in different angles consists in the local wear in
the grooves made by the fins produced in the preceding rolls, which if confined to
one locality of the grooves soon wears them thercat more than in the rest of the
grooves, owing to the greater labor of reducing the metal at the fins than elsewhere.
It is to shift the rolls about to change the localities of the excess of wear by the fins,
so as to distribute the same over the surfaces of the grooves that I have arranged the
roll beds for circumferential adjustment as before described.
For illustration see Fig. 3 in which it will be seen that the fins d', in the plane of
those made by the first pair of rolls will be brought in contact with different localities
of the grooves in the next pair of rolls, according as the rolls are set in different
angles. With this improved machine which it will be seen is very compact, simple in
construction, and adapted for economy in wearing parts and driving power, the
practicable manufacture of small round, square, hexagon, or octagon cold rolled wire
may be successfully carried out in competition with the drawing process, with the
advantage of a product of practically uniform density throughout the thickness of the
wire, whereas drawn wire has an exterior shell of much greater density and con-
sequently very different tensile strength than the core. Steel wire is drawn at a
speed of about 100 feet per minute, and iron wire about 300 feet per minute.
I can roll at least 600 feet per minute of any metal, which makes it practicable to
reduce wire from said to without annealing while drawn wire must be
annealed after drawing from 2 to 3 numbers of sizes (commonly called guages).
The more equal flow of the metal resulting from the quicker work and avoidance
of the changes of cooling and annealing, makes the density uniform or practically so
from surface to centre, and the tensile strength correspondingly greater.

page_text: 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. The combination of a series of pairs of rolls arranged in different angles about a
common axis and being adjustable circumferentially thereto, and a guido way in said
axis for conducting the wire from one pair to another of said rolls substantially as
described.
2. The combination of a series of pairs of rolls arranged in different angles about a
common axis and being adjustable circumferentially thereto, and a guide way in said
axis consisting of guide tubes substantially as described.
3. The combination of a series of pairs of rolls arranged in different angles and
about a common axis and being adjustable circumferentially thereto, and a guide
way in said axis consisting of guide tubes which are also the pivot supports of
the roller beds, said tubes being supported in the main frame substantially as
described.
4. In a wire rolling mill a series of pairs of rolls arranged in a continuous train
and successively geared with a common driver so that each pair shall have a greater
speed of rotation than the one that precedes it, and each pair separately geared to said
driver with an intervening friction clutch adapted to shift and graduate the speed of
the rolls to the speed of the wire substantially as described.
5. The combination of the series of pairs of wire reducing rolls arranged in different
angles about a common axis, of a driving wheel u, geared with each pair and mounted
on a sleeve concentric with said axis and also geared with pinions on the common
driving shaft substantially as described.
6. The roller bed frames pivoted on the guide tubes supported in the main frame
and having a trunnion sleeve x, forming the bearing of the driving wheel u, sub-
stantially as described.
7. In a wire rolling mill having a series of pairs of rolls adjustably arranged in
different angles about a common axis, the roll bed frames pivoted in said axis and
having a clamping flange h, in combination with a slotted flange i, of the main frame
and a clamping bolt g, substantially as described.
Dated this 17th day of Anal 1000
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Associate Agent.