Improvements in Wire Drawing Machines.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 27th Oct., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wire Drawing Machines.
We, LOUIS HERZENBERG Manufacturer, and KARL A. NESTMANN, Wire-drawer,
both of Riga, Sunderstrasse 35, in the Empire of Russia, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of the machine which forms the subject of this invention is to
simplify the drawing of wire by the cold process as the methods hitherto in use
do not fulfil all that is claimed for them, or all that is required.
As is well known, the method hitherto employed for drawing wire consists in
placing the winch or reel carrying the wire to be drawn in a vessel containing
acid, drawing the wire through the draw-plate by winding it on a drum, then
taking it off the drum and again laying it upon the reel in order to draw it through
the draw-plate of the next number, and in repeating these operations until the
desired number is reached.
The disadvantages of this process are obvious; a great deal of time is spent unpro-
ductively in taking off and laying on the wire, in taking off especially, fine drawn
wire is frequently greatly deteriorated; also when the wire cannot stand the pull
and breaks, the wire upon the reel and in the acid is spoiled; finally the chemical
action of the acid is not uniform as one end of the wire remains in it for a longer
time than the other.
The object of this invention is to remedy these defects and this is effected in
the following manner.
Our improved machine draws wire of ten or even more numbers or sizes by
an uninterrupted motion, thereby entirely obviating the lengthy processes of
taking the wire off the drum and putting it on the reel. By this means wire of
any desired number can be continuously obtained. The wire is uniformly im-
mersed in the acid and for a short time only, and the motion of the machine is so
uniform and rapid, that it is possible to draw even the finest wire very quickly.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same, and
Figure 3 shews a modification of the driving mechanism.
The main parts of the machine are, at one end, the reel h for carrying the wire
which is to be drawn, at the other end the drum t for receiving the drawn wire
and between these a series of porcelain rollers c (nine in number in this instance)
arranged each in a separate trough b containing acid, draw-plates z being provided
between the reel h and the drum t and the said rollers, and also between each
roller.
The rollers w are either driven, in the manner shewn in Figures 1 and 2, by
means of spur-wheels s, fixed either upon their spindles or upon intermediate
shafts w³, which may conveniently receive their motion from a driving shaft
having pulleys a¹, a through the spur-wheels s2, sl, or, as shewn in Figure 3, by
means of bevel wheels k¹ mounted upon a common shaft k.

page_text: Motion is imparted to the drum shaft t, which engages the drum by means of
pawls, by bevel-wheels, actuated by the horizontal shaft which is itself
driven by means of pulleys r², rl, from the nearest of the shafts w¹. At the com-
mencement of operations the whole of the wire to be drawn is wound upon the
reel the wire is then drawn through the first of the draw plates z and given a
few turns round the first porcelain-roller w. The wire should be given as many
turns round the roller as are necessary in order that the friction consequent upon
the rotation of the roller may be sufficient when the drum t is in gear to overcome
the resistance of the draw-plate to the passage of the wire, no device being pro-
vided on the draw bench, by which the speed of the rollers may be regulated;
such device is superfluous owing to the continuous sliding of the wire upon the roller.
The rollers possess a circumferential velocity which is greater than the traversing
velocity of the wire; the consequent sliding motion of the wire upon the rollers
serves for the automatic regulation of the pull such as required for each draw
plate according to the elongation or extension of the wire. "In this manner the
strain is so divided amongst the different windings upon the roller w that the wire
forming the first few turns is in tension but as it continues to wind round the
roller this tension becomes gradually less, until, as it leaves the first roller, the
wire is almost unstretched. About one half of each of the rollers w is within a
lead lined trough 6 which is filled with acid through which the wire runs. From
the first roller the wire passes through the passage in the second draw-plate,
which is one number higher than the first, on to the second roller and so on in
succession, until the wire has been wound around each of the nine rollers. From
the ninth roller the wire is passed through the last draw-plate on to the drum
which then commences to draw wire of the desired number, uniformly and unin-
terruptedly.
As the machine is provided with 10 draw-plates, a wire can be drawn direct,
and without its being necessary to change either the drum or the reel, which is
ten numbers finer than the original wire. Should however, so fine a wire not be
required the corresponding draw-plates are simply passed over.
It will be understood that the wire is not drawn to its final degree of fineness
by the rollers w, but by the drum t, which draws the wire through the last draw-
plate. If the drum is put out of gear all the rollers w continue to rotate but the
wire remains motionless.
The object of winding the wire upon each roller for a number of turns is that
the convolutions which are in tension may afford sufficient friction, for stretching
the wire through the draw-plate.
Two special features are also aimed at in the construction of these rollers:-
1. They are made of porcelain as being the most suitable material for resisting
chemical action of the acid employed, to which rollers made of iron or steel would
be exposed.
2. The shape of the rollers themselves is conical owing to which the wire is
more loosely wound upon them spirally and consequently unwinds easily and
without cutting into the rollers, as would be the case were cylindrical rollers
employed.
The manner in which the rollers are fixed upon their spindle is clearly shewn
with respect to the first pair, of which, in the plan view (Figure 2) the first roller
is supposed to be removed and the second is shewn in section. A bush w is pro-
vided upon the spindle te such bush being furnished with two studs for the pur
pose of engaging the roller te. The spindle passes through the roller and upon
its end a tightening nut is screwed. The drum t is mounted loose upon the ver-
tical spindle t but is rotated by means of a cam r on the shaft t which engages
a pin of the drum until the wire is completely wound upon the drum. The
drum can be put out of gear by a usual clutch or other well-known means, if
the wire breaks, whilst nevertheless the motion of the machine as a whole remains
unaffected and all the rollers continue to turn, but the wire is no longer unwound.

page_text: The troughs 6 are filled with liquid such as acid fat and vitriol of copper solution,
for example.
The number of the said troughs corresponds to the number of rollers of which
nine are provided in the present case. They are completely divided one from
another and are mounted upon a common frame p which rests upon springs and
can be raised and lowered by means of a pedal f. This arrangement obviates the
necessity of unnecessarily exposing the wire to the deteriorating action of the
acid.
A special trough is provided for each number of wire, each trough being filled
with acid of the desired degree of concentration. This provision is important
because the action of strong acids upon wire of the higher numbers is prejudicial
and easily causes fracture to take place. It is also necessary to provide for raising
and lowering the frame so that the rollers, when not in use, may not remain in
the acid. The troughs, apart from the acid necessary for the manufacture of the
wire, may be filled with other liquids, those, for example adapted to the manufac-
ture of galvanized wire direct.
A further distinguishing feature of this invention is the combination in a single
machine of all the separate processes hitherto employed for wire drawing, this
being effected through the arrangement in succession of the draw-plate holders, of
the rollers and the troughs, whereby the uninterrupted drawing of the wire from
one number to the next higher is rendered practicable, without its being necessary
to take the wire off the drum and again wind it upon the reel. It is obvious
that this process will be so much the quicker as the manufacture goes on unin-
terruptedly. In addition, owing to the exactly similar motion of the parts of the
machine, and to the uniform tension of the wire on the rollers as a whole, a com-
paratively high speed may be attained even when the wire of the finest number
or size is being produced. The constructional details of the machine all con-
tribute to the production of the above results and among such details the following
may be specially mentioned.
(a) The special features of the rollers, shewn in two ways, first as regards the
choice of a substance such as porcelain which is capable of resisting the action of
the acid employed, and secondly as regards the slightly conical form given to the
said rollers with a view to facilitating the unwinding of the wire from one roller
on to another and so obviating fracture of the wire.
(b) The arrangement of separate troughs which permit of the use of liquids of
different degrees of concentration and of different consistency.
(c) The assemblage of the troughs on a spring mounted frame, which may be
raised or lowered by means of a pedal.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. A wire-drawing machine in which the wire is drawn in a continuous manner
by being constantly drawn through the requisite number of draw-plates (2) at
the same time by means of a drum (t) and in which the wire runs round a
roller (w) arranged between each pair of draw-plates, such rollers on the one hand
preparing it to pass through the following draw-plate by immersion in a bath (b)
of fat, acid and the like or in a galvanising bath, and on the other hand, in con-
sequence of their rotation in the direction in which the wire is travelling owing
to the action of the drum (t), supporting the tension owing to the friction and
consequently freeing the end of the wire which passes on to the drum from the
sum of the resistances due to the draw-plates.
2. In a wire drawing machine as described in Claim 1, the arrangement of
each roller (w) in a special trough (b) in order to permit of varying the baths or
solutions according to the different strengths of wire corresponding to each roller.
3. In a wire drawing machine as described in Claim 1 the provision of slightly
conical or tapering rollers so that the wire may be loosely wound upon and

page_text: consequently easily unwound from the same and also be prevented from cutting
into the rollers owing to the slipping tendency which exists.
4. In a wire drawing machine as described in Claim 1, the manufacture of the
rollers from some substance such as porcelain not attackable by acids.
5. In a wire drawing machine as described in Claims 1, and 2 the arrangement
of the troughs (b) as a whole upon a vertically adjustable frame (p), so as to
permit of the whole of the rollers being readily freed from the bath when desired.
Dated this 27th day of October 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.