AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS POR PUNCHING, SHEARING, AND CUTTING PLATES FOR SHIPS, BOILERS, m.
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Balme and Arthur Benjamin Crossley, of
Halifax, in the County of. York, Engineers and Machine Tool
Makers, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR APPARATUS
POR PUNCHING, SHEARING, AND CUTTING PLATES FOR SHIPS, BOILERS,
m.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Balme and
Arthur Benjamin Crossley at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 15th August 1871.
We, ALFRED BALME and ARTHUR BENJAMIN CROSSLEY, of Halifax,
in the County of York, Engineers and Machine Tool Makers, do hereby,
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE OR
APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SHEARING, AND CUTTING PLATES FOR SHIPS, BOILERS,
GASOMETERS, WATER TANKS, AND SIMILAR VESSELS OR ARTICLES," to be as
I

page_text: other proper direction, in consequence of the workman not being ablo
to move the plate under operation the given distance or direction
required during the withdrawal or upstroke of the punch, which has
come down upon the plate and perforated it before the workman had
moved the plate the required distance or position, consequently holes
have been punched very irregularly, which is inconvenient and objection-
able in rivetting and bolting plates together in the formation and
construction of vessels of various kinds.
Now our Invention is intended to remedy these objections, and consists
in the employment of a moving or movable table upon which the
plate to be punched, sheared, or cut is placed, which table is made
to move intermittently and operate self-actingly by means of cams,
eccentrics, tappets, or other available means. At each side or end of
this table are placed two.or more punches, which are operated in any
suitable manner so as to punch both sides of the plate simultaneously
at the intervals when the table is stationary, and the table then moves
forward another distance when other holes are punched. These punches
are capable of being moved and set nearer to or further from each other
for larger or smaller sizes of plates and are actuated by right and left
handed screws; and instead of the punches, or in addition thereto,
shears or cutting tools may be applied to cut such plates to any desirable
shape and size. The shears or cutting tools being set and fixed in the.
same or similar manner as ordinary punching and shearing machines,
these punches may be set to work either exactly opposite each other
or off the side and actuated by means of a compound slide motion;
and may have a quick withdrawal motion applied, which can be done
by having the slot that works the eccentric placed at an angle. The
punches can also be made to open and close self-actingly by means of
pullies fixed on the shaft, which expands the punches. The travelling
table may be provided with a quick return motion by fixing pullies on
the motion shaft which drives the table. By means of these improve-
ments holes may be punched at any equal or other distance apart and
plates may be sheared or cut any desirable shape and size with greater
rapidity than by hand, consequently a great saving in both time and
labour is effected.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Balme and Arthur Benjamin Crossley in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ALFRED
BALME and ARTHUR BENJAMIN CROSSLEY, of Halifax, in the County of
York, Engineers and Machine Tool Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Alfred Balme and Arthur Benjamin
Crossley, Her special licenso that we, the said Alfred Balme and Arthur
Benjamin Crossley, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said Alfred Balme and Arthur Benjamin Crossley,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term 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 MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING, SHEARING, AND CUTTING
PLATES FOR SHIPS, BOILERS, GASOMETERS, WATER TANKS, AND SIMILAR VESSELS OR
ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Alfred
Balme and Arthur Benjamin Crossley, our executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under our, or one of our hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the
same to be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Alfred Balme and Arthur Benjamin
Crossley, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement and accompanying Sheet
of Drawings (that is to say) :-
13
ad in nonching halos in.

page_text: other proper direction, in consequence of the workman not being able
to move the plate under operation the given distance or direction
required during the withdrawal or upstroke of the punch, which has
come down upon the plate and perforated it before the workman had
moved the plate the required distance or position, consequently holcs
have been punched very irregularly, which is both inconvenient and
objectionable in revitting and bolting plates together in the formation
and construction of vessels of various kinds.
Now our Invention is intended to remedy these objections, and which
consists in the employment of a moving or moveable table upon which i
the plate to be punched, sheared, or cut is placed, which table is made
to move intermittently and operate self-actingly by means of cams,
eccentrics, tappets, or other available means. At each side or end of
this table are placed two or more punches, which are operated so as to
punch both sides of the plate simultaneously at the intervals when the 1
table is stationery, and the table moves forward another distance when
other holes are punched. These punches are capable of being moved
and set nearer to or further from each other for larger or smaller-sizes of
plates, and are actuated by right and left handed screws. These punches
may be set to work either exactly opposite each other or off the side and 2
actuated by means of a compound slide motion, and may have a quick
withdrawal motion applied, which can be done by having the slot that
works the cccentric fixed at an angle. These punches can also be made
to open and close self-actingly by means of pullies fixed on the shaft
which expands the punches. The travelling table may be provided with 2
a quick return motion by fixing pullies on the motion shaft which drives
the table; and instead of these punches, or in addition thereto, shears or
cutting tools may be applied to cut such plates to any desirable shape
and size, the shears or cutting tools being set and fixed in the same or
similar manner as ordinary punching and shearing machines. By means 3
of these improvements holes may be punched at any equal or other dis-
tance apart, and plates may be sheared or cut any desirable shape and
size with greater rapidity than by hand, consequently a greater saving in
both time and labor is effected.
In order that this our said Invention may be more fully under- 3
stood we herein give reference to an accompanying Sheet of Drawings

page_text: A is the moving table which works in grooves formed in the bed B by
means of rack and pinion C; intermittent motion is given to this
table A by eccentric D, connected by regulating arm E to the bell
crank lever F, and to catch G and wheel H fixed on the pinion shaft I.
A hand wheel I' is fixed on the end of this pinion shaft for turning the
table back when it arrives at the end; J is the plate fixed on the table
by holding-down plates K, and holes are punched therein at each side
simultaneously by the punches L whilst the table is standing, and
during one part of a revolution of the eccentric shaft M, which receives
its motion by a train of gearing N from the main driving shaft P; and
the moving of the table is so timed that immediately on the withdrawal
of the punch it is moved forward a suitable distance by means of the
catch G and wheel H from the eccentric D fixed on the end of the
shaft M, when other holes are punched, and the table is again moved
forward another distance for other holes to be punched, and so on. It
will be seen that by moving the nuts on the regulating arm E holes may
be punched at any suitable distance apart; P' and P are fly. wheels to
regulate and balance the action of the machine.
When it is required to punch plates which vary in size and width
the standards R of the punches may be opened' wider out or put
nearer to each other by turning the winch or handle Q of the right
and left handed screw Q' worked in nuts Q' fixed on the bottom
part of the standards R. These punches may be opened' and closed
much quicker and self-actingly by having a fast and loose pulley placed
on the screw. Q'. The two short beds S placed crosswise of the bed B
have V grooves formed therein for the punch standards R to rest upon
and to move or slide in. If necessary (as will be seen by any practical
man) these punches may be made to punch holes off the side of each
other and not exactly opposite as shewn in the Drawings. A groove is
cut in the main driving shaft P so as to enable the wheels, which are
keyed thereon, to slide on the shaft when the punches are being opened
wider out or put nearer to each other, and thus the whole machine
maintains its relative working position, and the shaft P is made suffi..
ciently long, as will be seen, to allow the machine to open out the width
required. Instead-of-these punches, or in addition thereto, shears or
cutting tools may be applied by a very slight modification, as will be
seen by any one conversant with machinery. Instead of taking theso
plates off the machine to be planed at the edges an ordinary plaining
•

page_text: machine tool box may be fixed on each side of the punch standards
to plane the edges of the plates without removing them to another
machine.
In witness whereof, wc, the said Alfred Balme and Arthur
Benjamin Crossley have hereunto set our hands and seals, this 5
Eighth day of February One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the within-named Alfred Balmo
and Arthur Benjamin Crossley
in the presence of
JOHN CULPAN.
ALFRED BALME.
(L.S.)
ARTHUR B. OROSSLEY. (L.S.)