AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF FORGING PRESS OR HAMMER
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Fairbairn, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Esquire, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF FORGING
PRESS OR HAMMER."-A communication from abroad by John Haswell,
of Vienna.
Sealed the 11th June 1861, and dated the 4th January 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Fairbairn at the.
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the.
4th January 1861.
I, ANDREW FAIRBAIRN, of Leeds, in the County of York, Esquire, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF
FORGING PRESS OR HAMMER," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of press or hammer for
operating upon large masses of metal by the combined agency of steam and
hydraulic pressure, the object being to obtain au economical and efficient sub-
stitute for heavy steam hammers. To this end the hydraulic press is provided
with two cylinders, one being immediately above the other, and their axes
coinciding. The diameter of the upper cylinder is small compared with
that of the lower, the upper cylinder being intended to receive a differential
piston, while the lower cylinder is fitted with the press piston that carries
the hammer of the compressing die. The rods of the two pistons are con
nected together outside the pressing coupling rods, so that when water is
[Price 8d.]

page_text: admitted to the under side of the differential piston, and the escape valve
for the water that gives the pressure to the hammer is opened, the hammer
will be quickly raised from its work.
The cylinders of the press are supplied with water at any desired pressure
by force pumps worked by a horizontal steam engine, which is put in motion
by a hand lever; this hand lever shifts the slide valve of a small supplemen-
tary steam cylinder situate at the side of the main cylinder, and admits steam
thereto. The piston of this cylinder acts direct upon the slide valve in the
steam chest of the large horizontal steam cylinder, whereby steam is admitted
to one side of the piston of that cylinder. The piston rods of the steam engine
piston work through stuffing boxes at each end of the large cylinder, and to
their ends are keyed the cross heads of the plungers of the force pumps. One
cross head has a projecting bar for working a tappet motion to keep up the
action of the slide valves, while the other cross head has a pin working in a
slot at the end of a lever, which acts upon the cut-off valve of the steam
engine.
The water is conducted from the force pumps-to the hydraulic cylinders by
suitable pipes, and enters them by a two-way passage, one branch of which
leading to the piston or forge hammer is commanded by a valve. The raising
of this admission valve to cause the descent of the hammer is effected by a
hand lever operating the slide valve of a small steam cylinder bolted upon the
jacket of the horizontal steam engine cylinder. The piston of this small steam
cylinder is attached by links to the end of a lever connected to the admission
valve, and by. rocking this lever the valve will be opened, thus adınitting
water to the back of the press piston. When the press hammer has descended
to the length of its stroke, and acted on the metal placed below it, this valve
is shut by means of a tappet motion, but it may be shut at any portion of
the stroke by a hand lever, if desired.
On one of the two rods which connect the press and differential pistons
together is a projection for working a tappet, which moves the slide valve of
the small steam cylinder just mentioned, thereby admitting steam to that
cylinder and causing the descent of the piston which will draw down the lever
of the admission valve, and by closing that valve cut off the supply from the
force pumps. A constant pressure will, however, be maintained beneath the
differential piston, that piston will commence to raise the press piston or
hammer from the metal which it has just compressed the instant the escape
valve is opened, and the water from the cylinder of the press piston is free to
escape. This escape valve is operated in a precisely similar manner to the
admission valve, a steam cylinder piston and lever coupled with the piston and

page_text: valve being provided for the purpose. A hand lever also operates the escape
valve in a similar manner to that belonging to the admission valve, by acting
upon a slide valve of the small steam cylinder in connection therewith.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Andrew Fairbairn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th July 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ANDREW
FAIRBAIRN, of Leeds, in the County of York, Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of January, in the year ofour Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Andrew Fairbairn, Her special license that I, the said Andrew Fairbairn, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Andrew
Fairbairn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
terin therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF
FORGING PRESS OR HAMMER," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Andrew Fairbairn, by an instru-
ment in writingunder my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to
be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Andrew Fairbairn, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of press or hammer for
operating upon large masses of metal by the combined agency of steam and
hydraulic pressure, the object being to obtain an economical and efficient sub-
stitute for heavy steam hammers. To this end, the hydraulic press used to
impart the forging pressure to the metal to be operated upon is provided with

page_text: two cylinders, one being immediately above the other and their axes coin-
ciding. The diameter of the upper cylinder is small compared with that of
the lower, the upper cylinder being intended to receive a differential piston,
while the lower cylinder is fitted with the press piston that carries the
hammer of the compressing die. The rods of the two pistons are connected
together outside the press by coupling rods, so that when water is admitted
to the under side of the differential piston, and the escape valve for the
water that gives the pressure to the hammer is opened, the hammer will be
quickly raised from its work to the required elevation for repeating the blow.
The cylinders of the hydraulic press are supplied with water at any desired
pressure by means of force pumps, which are worked by a horizontal steam
engine; the admission and discharge of the water being regulated by small
auxiliary steam engines which work the supply and discharge valves.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, Sheet I., shews in front elevation
the main and auxiliary steam engines and the force pumps used for working
the hydraulic forging press or hammer; Fig. 2, Sheet II., is a plan view of the
same partly in section, the section being taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3, Sheet III., is a partial plan view of the whole arrangement of engines,
force pumps, and hydraulic press, shewing the connection of the press with the
pumps and the auxiliary engines; Fig. 4, Sheet IV., represents the press in
side elevation, and the main and one auxiliary engine in cross section; in
Sheet V., Fig. 5, is an elevation of the opposite side of the press to that
shewn at Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the press; and Figures 7 and 8
represent respectively a partial vertical section and a sectional plan of the
arrangement of water passages in connection with the press cylinders.
The hydraulic forging press consists of a large cast-iron cruciform block A,
in which are formed two vertical cylinders a and b, in communication with
each other by means of water passages c, Figures 7 and 8.
This block is sup-
ported by its spurs being firmly bolted to four pillars which stand up from a
cast-iron bed B, that rests on a suitable foundation provided to receive it. In
the centre of this bed and immediately under the centre of the block A is fitted
an anvil block B, which is intended to receive any desired form of anvil. The
cylinders a,b, are each fitted with a piston marked a',, respectively, the cross
heads of which are connected together by coupling rods, so that the movement
of both pistons must be simultaneous. Keyed to the lower or pendent piston
61, which may be termed the press piston, is the hammer 62, the degree of
pressure of which requires to be regulated according to the work in hand.
This force is readily adjustable by increasing or diminishing the fall of the
hammer through the agency of the piston a', which for that reason is termed

page_text: the differential piston. By means of this piston, the hammer, immediately it
has delivered its blow to the work, is elevated to the required height for
repeating the blow, the position of the water supply valve c' in the passages c
being for that purpose reversed, to admit water to the under side of the piston
a', and cut off the supply to the top of the piston b, and a discharge valve d¹
in the passage d being opened to allow of the escape of the water from the
cylinder b as the piston b' is raised by the action of the differential piston a¹.
I will now, having described generally the construction of the hydraulic
forging press or hammer, proceed to explain the nature of the arrangement
whereby the press is set in action.
C is a large steam cylinder set horizontally and midway between a pair of
horizontal force pumps D, D, all of which are carried by the same foundation
plate which is in close proximity to the hydraulic press. The piston rod of the
steam cylinder C passes through stuffing boxes in the opposite ends of the
cylinder, and is connected to the cross heads D2, D3, of the plungers of the force
pumps, which cross heads are steadied in their movements by working in
parallel guides, as usual in such cases. For working the slide valve of the
steam cylinder Candadmitting steam thereto, a small supplementary engineE,
situate at the side of the main steam engine, is employed. The piston of this
engine E acts directly upon the slide valve C¹ in the steam chest of the cylin-
der C, whereby steam is admitted to either side of the piston of that cylinder
alternately, for the purpose of working the force pumps. The supplementary
engine is started by a hand lever 1, keyed to a vertical spindle 2, which also
carries a rock lever 3, connected by a shackle to the valve rod of the slide of
the cylinder C. When the machinery is once set in motion, a tappet rod 4,
connected by a shackle to the rock lever 3, is operated by a projecting bar on
the cross head D² of the force pump D'. Attached to the other cross head D³
is a slotted lever 5, working on a fixed fulcrum and connected by a rod 6 with
the cut-off arrangement in the valve box C2, the operation of which will be well
understood on inspecting Fig. 2; the cut off, when once properly adjusted,
being dependent on the action of the piston of the cylinder C. The cylinder
of the force pump D is connected by a pipe F with the hydraulic press, and
the cylinder of the force pump D' is similarly connected by a pipe F¹ with the
hydraulic press. These pipes are intended to conduct the compressed water
from the force pumps to the passage c, which is cast in the block A and fur-
nished with two openings to receive the pipes. By this arrangement the force
pumps are enabled to throw a continuous supply into the p press, the passage c
being segmental in part (see Fig. 8), for the purpose of bringing the supply of
both pumps under the command ofone valvec¹. The rod of this valve is connected

page_text: by links c2 to a horizontal lever c³, which is connected by means of a coupling
rod'c to the piston rod of one of a pair of auxiliary engines G, H, situate on
the top of the steam cylinder C. This arrangement is for the purpose of
working the valve c¹ and alternately cutting off the supply from and renewing
the supply to the press cylinder b. A similar provision is made for working
the discharge valve d¹ in the passage d, leading from the cylinder b, a hori-
zontal lever d² connected to the valve stem by links d3 being conpled by a con-
necting rod d¹ to the auxiliary engine H, before mentioned. The slide valves
of both the engines G and H are respectively controlled by means of hand
levers and h, which are connected therewith by means of coupling rods
pendent from their respective valves (see Fig. 4). Thus the attendant
retaining hold of the two levers and operating them simultaneously, or
nearly so, will have the press hammer under perfect control, the only force
he is required to exert being to shift the slides, the power for operating the
press valves being supplied by the auxiliary engines.
In order, however, to ensure the immediate removal of the pressure of the
hammer on the work when it has delivered its blow, a tappet arrangement
is provided (shewn best at Figures 4 and 6) for reversing the action of the
auxiliary engine G. When thus reversed, the valve c¹ will be depressed,
and the supply of water cut off from the cylinder b.
Projecting from the side of one of the coupling rods of the press cross heads
is a bowl g¹, so arranged as to strike at a given time a finger g², projecting
from a rock shaft g³, which is supported in bearings on the block A and
cylinder head G respectively. An arm g4 from this rock shaft is jointed to the
slide rod gs, standing up through the valve box of the engine. When, there-
fore, the hammer is about completing its descent, the bowl g¹ being adjusted
for the purpose, will strike the finger g², and thereby rock the shaft g³, by
which movement the shifting of the slide of the auxiliary engine G will be
effected. The water supplied to the press will then act only on the piston a¹
to lift the hammer; the attendant meanwhile will lift, through the agency of
the hand lever h and engine H, the discharge valve from its seat, to
allow the escape of the water from the cylinder b. When a short lift of
the hammer is required this escape will be proportionately small, but
when the hammer is required to act with its full force the escape will be
such as to allow the piston 6' to rise to its greatest height. The supply
of steam to the supplementary engine E and to the auxiliary engines G
and H is obtained from the steam jacket of the cylinder C.
From the above description it will be understood that this machine can be
worked at any pressure required, according to the force exerted by the engine

page_text: G, and that it will operate upon materials of different dimensions with
either a heavy or light blow or pressure, as may be desired, which is not
possible with hammers generally when a large mass of iron has to be
forged, because the diminished height that the hammer falls lessons the
effective force of the blow.
The velocity or number of blows per minute which this machine is
capable of giving, is due to the efficient action of the two small auxiliary
cylinders by which the admission and escape valves are opened and shut,
as this arrangement allows for the use of large admission and escape valves
with corresponding escape pipes; the speed therefore of this kind of press
approaches that of the steam hammer.
I would remark that the differential piston which has been described as
lifted by the pressure of the water, can be put in motion by steam pressure,
and also that the levers of the admission and escape valves can be put in
motion by water instead of steam pressure, if thought desirable.
Presses constructed after the above-described manner, besides possessing
the advantage of giving equal pressures at different depths of fall, perform
their work without noise or vibration and effect a great economy in the
cost of foundations; they may be placed upright, as shewn, or horizontal,
or in any desired position.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved Con-
struction of Forging Press or Hammer," as communicated to me from
abroad, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish
it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent I
claim the arrangement of machinery as above described, whereby for heavy
work a comparatively rapid succession of blows, the force of which may be
readily adjusted by the attendant, may be obtained through the combined
agency of steam or other elastic force and hydraulic pressure.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Fairbairn, have hereunto set
my
hand and seal, the Second day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
ANDREW FAIRBAIRN. (L.S.)