Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Needles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 11th Feb., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Manufacture of Needles.
I, EDUARD HEUSCH, Manufacturer, of 255, Avenue Daumesnil, Paris, in the
Republic of France, 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 method of manufacturing needles from continuous
wire, in which the eyes and grooves for the eyes are produced by milling cutters.
By means of this invention the eyes and grooves the manufacture of which hither-
to required a number of manipulations to be effected on separate machines, such
as cutting the shanks, straightening the shanks smooth polishing the places
to be worked punching, perforating, stringing on wires and polishing the beard-
are produced on one machine in a very quick and exact manner.
The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic illustration of various operations
according to this invention.
Face cutters 1 and 2 at A mill the grooves completely and the eyes to a certain
depth. For this purpose a slide 3 carrying the cutters 1 and 2 is given a move-
ment in the longitudinal direction of the wire 4 to be formed into needles, the
cutters 1 and 2 receiving besides the required reciprocating motion transversely
of the wire from guides 5 in which the cutters are rotatably supported which
strike against cam surfaces 6 having the shape of the profile of the eyes and
grooves to be produced at A. The projections or cam surfaces 6 are vertically
horizontally adjustable.
At B the eyes are cut from one side and at B₁ finished at the other side at the
ends by means of face cutters 7 and 8 which-as well as the cutters 1 and 2-
receive the necessary longitudinal and transverse motion by the movement of their
slide 9 and the action of a projection or cam 10.
At C the adjacent eyes on the strip are nearly completely separated from each
other by two disc cutters 11 and at D the double shank is cut off by a cutter or
blade 12 cutting through the metal connecting the doublo shanks left at the eyes
by the disc cutters 11. Then the points of the shanks are sharpened in well
known manner and the needles separated from each other.
To prevent the wire from twisting and moving longitudinally, it is clamped
at each working point as well as during the advance by tongs or clamps 15 or 14
and 14 which are provided with dies or recesses corresponding to the profile of
the wires.
The clamps arranged at the working points of the cutters are provided with
lateral recesses in order to enable the cutters to reach the point of the wire to be
acted upon. The recesses or cut away part in these clamps correspond to the
round surface of the wire.
The advance clamps 14 and 14" arranged on two slides 13 and 13 coupled to-
gether contain dies or recesses corresponding to the shape of the grooves.
During the work of the cutters the clamps 15 therefore hold the wire fast. Just
before the end of the operation of the cutters, the advance clamps 14 and 14ª grip

page_text: the wire and move it to the extent of two needle lengths to the next working place
viz., to the blade 12, as soon as the clamps 15 have released it after the cutting
is complete. Then the clamps at the working places again grip the wire, the
clamps on the slides open and the slides return into their original position.
The first advance clamps 14 are arranged behind the first working place and
the second in front of the blade 12. Thus any movement of the wire portion in
the machine whilst it is being operated upon becomes impossible.
The movement of the slides and holding devices may be effected in well known
manner as by means of levers and cam discs.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The method of manufacturing needles characterised by the eyes and grooves
being formed in a continuous length of wire by milling cutters the cutters ad-
vancing in the longitudinal direction of the wire receiving a reciprocating motion
to the extent desired by the direct or indirect action of projections or cam surfaces
having a shape corresponding to the form of the depth profile of the eyes and
grooves.
'
2. Apparatus for use in manufacturing needles substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
1000
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.