IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Warren Law and John Inglis, of Glasgow,
in tho County of Lanark, North Britain, Ironfounders, for tlie Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS
CONNECTED THEREWITH."
Scaled the 25th September 1863, and dated the 2nd April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Warren Law and
John Inglis at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Pétition, on the 2nd April 1863.
We, JOHN WARREN LAW and JoUN INGLIS, of Glasgow, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain, Ironfounders, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN
APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the application of pressure in making moulds for
casting metals, and is applicable principally, although not exclusively, to articles
of a generally cylindrical or spherical form, the improvements being such as
to secure increased accuracy of form with economy in the labour required.
In making moulds by pressure, the sand or mould material necessarily
at first occupies a larger space than when compressed, and it is important that
the quantity be nicely proportioned, in order that the compressed mould
surface may be of a suitable hardness. The means by which this extra sand
for compression is measured forms an important feature of the present
Invention. An external mould for a pipe, for example, is made in two halves,

page_text: and in making each half the half mould box being laid on a table on a carriage
or on rails has placed upon it a frame shaped so as to increase slightly the
height of its sides. In some case a second frame is fitted upon the first, the
inner edges of the top frame being shaped to correspond to the longitudinal
section of the pipe to be cast. The sand is then filled in, its extra quantity
being determined by the depth given to one or both of the frames. The sand
is removed from the central part by means of scoop scrapers guided along or
upon the frame, and acting either longitudinally or circularly. The scrapers
are, however, shaped so as not to clear out the full space to be occupied by
the pattern, but leave some extra sand for compression. If a second or top
frame has been used, this is next removed, but not the first frame, and the
pattern is then pressed down into the sand. The pattern is combined with a
flat plate, which forms the half parting, and this plate is shaped to exactly fill
the frame described as placed upon the mould box. The pattern is forced
down until the parting plate is flush with the top of the half mould box, when
the extra sand which was previously above that level, and within the frame will
have been compressed into the mould box, and a firm parting surface will
have been thereby obtained, the pattern surface of the mould having been at
the same time compressed and formed by the pattern. The pattern may be
arranged so that it can be turned upon its axis whilst shaping the mould, so
as to impart smoothness to the surface.
The compression may be effected in various ways by means of a hydraulic
press, or by eccentrics, levers, or screws; it is, however, preferred to employ a
kind of toggle-link press arrangement, the action of which is of a gradually
increasing strength. In a convenient modification of such apparatus a pair of
parallel links are jointed on stationary pins in the top part of the press frame,
their lower ends being jointed to a horizontal bar. To this bar a second pair
of parallel links are jointed by their upper ends, their lower ends being
jointed to the platen or frame carrying or pressing on the pattern. In the
open position of the press the middle joints of the links are out of the vertical
lines, but on the horizontal bar being moved transversely the links straighten,
and the pressure is applied with gradually increasing leverage. The horizontal
bar may be actuated in various ways by a lever, a pinion, and rack, or by
the direct action of a steam cylinder and piston. When the moulds are to be
dried, they are passed through a stove in a horizontal position upon slides or
carriages, and when dry they are drawn out upon a movable frame, contrived
so that it may be turned into a vertical or inclined position convenient for the
casting operation.
In making a mould for the concave side of a railway sleeper, or similar

page_text: article, a convex perforated plate is used with a rim round its outer edge, and
having a central hole. This plate being placed with its convexity upwards, a
pin is fitted in the central hole, and a frame of sufficient depth being fitted
on the rim, sand is filled in, and what is superfluous is removed by a scraper
turning on the central pin. The whole is then brought under the pattern,
and pressure applied to give the finishing shaping action. The convex side of
the sleeper with the chair upon it may be moulded in a similar way, an
additional double-headed rammer being used to give the proper hardness to
parts of the mould. Ordinary railway chairs and other articles may also be
moulded in the same way.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Warren Law and John Inglis in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 1st October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
WARREN LAW and JOHN INGLIS, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Ironfounders, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Warren Law and John Inglis, Her special licence that we,
the said John Warren Law and John Inglis, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said John Warren Law and John Inglis,
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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR
CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said John Warren Law and John Inglis, qur
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Warren Law and John
Inglis, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement in writing, reference being
had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say:-
Our said Invention relates chiefly to the application of pressure in making
moulds for casting metal, and is applicable principally, although not exclusively,
to articles of a generally cylindrical or spherical form, the improvements being
such as to secure increased accuracy of form with economy in the labour
required.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, we have hereunto appended two Sheets of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing modi-
fications of apparatus embodying our improvements.
In the said Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the
same or like parts in all the Figures in which they occur.
Figure 1 on Sheet 1 of the Drawings is a front elevation of a modification
of mould press used in carrying out our said Invention, Figure 2 being a plan
thereof; Figure 8 an end elevation, and Figure 4 a vertical section.
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 represent mould box details, and will be
herein-after more particularly referred to.
The Figures upon Sheet 2 will be more conveniently referred to herein-
after.
In making moulds by pressure the sand or mould material necessarily at
first occupies a larger space than when compressed, and it is important that
the quantity be nicely proportioned in order that the compressed mould
surface may be of a suitable hardness. The means by which this extra sand
for compression is measured and shaped forms an important feature of our said
Invention. An external mould for a pipe, for example, is made in two halves in
the usual way, each half in a mould box 1, such as is shown in side elevation in
Figure 1, in plan in Figure 2, in cross section in Figure 4, and in longitudinal
vertical section in Figure 10, whilst three additional cross sections are given in
Figures 7, 8, 9. The mould box 1 being laid on a table, on a carriage, or on
rails 2, has placed upon it a frame or open plate 3, shown detached in edge
view and plan in Figures 5 and 6, and in position in Figures 1, 3, 4, 10,
and 11, Figure 11 being a plan. The opening in this frame 3 is by preference
shaped to coincide with the insides of the top edges of the mould box 1 and
the frame is set accurately in position by means of steady pins or equivalent

page_text: projections. In some cases a second frame (not shown in the Drawings)
may be fitted upon the first, the inner edges of the top frame being shaped to
correspond to the longitudinal section of the pipe to be cast. The sand to
form the mould is filled in and scraped flush with the surface of the frame 3,
and the extra quantity for compression is accurately determined by the
thickness of this frame; the proper thickness for which can be easily
determined by experiment, and when once settled a perfectly uniform hardness
of all the moulds made with the same apparatus is secured without any
particular skill or attention. The sand is removed from the central part by
means of scoop scrapers, guided along or upon the frame 3, or upon the
second frame placed on the top thereof, and acting either longitudinally or
circularly; these scrapers are, however, shaped so as not to clear out the full
space to be occupied by the pattern, but leave sufficient extra sand for com-
pression. In the case of very small pipes or articles it is unnecessary to scoop
out any of the sand. If a second or top frame has been used, this is next
removed, but not the first frame 1; and the pattern 4 is then pressed down
into the sand. The pattern 4 is combined with a flat plate 5, which forms the.
parting surface, and this plate is shaped to exactly fill the opening in the.
frame 3, described as placed upon the mould box 1. The pattern 4 is forced
down until the parting plate 5 is flush with the top of the mould box 1; that is,
with the under sido of the frame 3, when the extra sand which was previously
above that level, and within the frame 3, will have been compressed into the
mould box 1, and a firm parting surface will have been thereby obtained, tho
pattern surface of the mould having been at the same time compressed
and formed by the pattern. The pattern may be arranged so that it can be
turned upon its axis whilst shaping the mould, so as to impart smoothness to
the surface; or a very fine finish may be given to the surface by moistening
the parting edges and dusting on or applying the usual "blackening" or
surface material, and then subjecting the mould to a second compression with
the pattern.
The compression may be effected in various ways, by means of a bydraulic
press, or by eccentrics, levers, or screws. We, however, prefer to employ a
kind of toggle-link press arrangement, the action of which is of a gradually
increasing strength.
In a convenient modification of such apparatus, represented in the accom-
panying Drawings, a set of parallel links 6 are jointed on stationary pins
in the top beam 7 of the press frame, their lower ends being jointed to a
horizontal bar 8, which is guided and works in slots in the side frames or
standards 9. To the horizontal bar 8 a second set of parallel liuks 10 are

page_text: jointed by their upper ends, their lower ends being jointed to the platen or
frame 11, carrying (or it may be merely pressing on) the pattern 4. In the
open position of the press, as shown in the Drawings, the middle joints of the
links 6, 10, are out of the vertical lines, but on the horizontal bar 8 being
moved transversely (to the left hand in Figure 1) the links straighten, and
the pressure is applied with gradually increasing leverage. To guide the
platen or pattern frame 11 accurately in its descent it is provided with
wheels 12, which fit and work in guide grooves formed upon the side
standards 9. The horizontal bar 8 may be actuated in various ways, by a
lever, by a pinion and rack, or by the direct action of a steam cylinder and
piston.
In a convenient and simple arrangement of the actuating details, which is
shown in the Drawings, there is jointed on the end of the bar 8 a segmental
rack-piece 13, arranged to turn between a pair of brackets 14 on a centre so
placed that the line through such centre, and the joint on the end of the bar 8,
is always parallel to the upper toggle links 6; a pinion 15, carried by the
brackets 14, gears with the toothed arc of the rack-piece 13, and on the
spindle 16 of this pinion there is a spur wheel 17 in gear with a second
pinion 18 on a spindle 19, also carried in the brackets 14. Handles can be
applied to either of the pinion spindles 16 or 19, accordingly as less or more
power is required. We prefer to form the mould boxes 1 with sledges 20
grooved to slide on angular rails 2, this arrangement securing steadiness and
parallelism, and avoiding the risk of overturning. We arrange the rails 2 as
shown in sectional side elevation in Figure 12 on Sheet 2 of the accom-
panying Drawings, the said rails passing continuously through the mould
press at 21, then through the drying stove 22, and onwards to the casting
station at 23. The rails 2 may be mounted on pillars, as shown, or in any
convenient way. At the point where they pass through the mould press,
Figure 1, they are rigidly connected to the side standards 9 of the press.
frame by a horizontal frame piece or table 24, and they are also supported
there by pillars 25. In the plan, Figure 2, a mould box is shown in the
position for being pressed, and after being pressed it passes on in the dirction
of the arrow, being succeeded by another shown at 26. In order that the
mould box may be moved with certainty into the proper position in the
machine two sliding stops 27 are provided one on each side, and the mould
box is pused into contact with them, and they are temporarily drawn out-
wards after the mould is pressed to allow the mould box to pass onwards.
With the arrangements described it will be understood that the moulds are
passed through the stove in a horizontal position. When dry they are moved

page_text: onwards out of tho stove and are passed upon a frame 28, upon which they
are combined in pairs and with their cores ready for the molten metal. The
frame 28 is mounted on journals, and after a set of moulds has been secured
upon it in a temporary way by a chain or other convenient means, stops which
kept up one end of the frame are removed and the frame is allowed to turn
down with the assistance of a winch or crane to bring the moulds into a
vortical or nearly vertical position for receiving the molten metal. This
arrangement will be clearly understood from Figure 13, which is a vertical
section at right angles to Figure 12. A pit 29 is formed to receive the lowered
end of the frame 28, as indicated by the dotted lines; and to support the
moulds when lowered the frame 28 is formed with a flange 30. The cores
may be dried in the same stovo 22; we, however, prefer to provide for them a
second pair of rails with a stove parallel and adjacent to those for the outer
moulds herein-before described; and the cores are supported by means of their
core bars, these being flat-sided and resting on slides 31, such as are shown in
side clevation and plan in Figure 14, and which are formed with grooves on
their under sides to fit and move on the rails 2. Two or more pairs of these
slides 31 may be hooked together to be drawn along the rails and through the
stove by chains at each rail, and wound on barrels on one axle, or otherwise
driven together so as to keep the slides always opposite to each other. With
these arrangements the cores are not turned over and they are not liable to be
shaken loose, which advantages are important when using some kinds of
cores.
As an example of classes of articles, other than pipes and the like, for which
our said Invention is suitable, we will proceed to show the application of our
improvements in making a mould for the concave side of a railway sleeper or
similar article, the arrangements being shown in section in Figure 15 on
Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings, one half of the Figure illustrating
one stage of the operation, and the other half a later stage. In this case a
convex perforated plate 32 is used with a rim 33 round its outer edge and
having a central hole. A ring or frame 34 being placed on the rim 33, to
give extra depth, sand is filled in and is laid over the plate, and what is super-
fluous is removed by a scraper 85 turning on a pin centered in the central hole.
The whole is then brought under the pattern 36 and pressure is applied to give
the finishing shaping action, the pattern compressing the sand within the ring 34
so as to make the parting flush with the rim 33. The convex side of the sleeper
with the chair upon it may be moulded in a similar way, an additional double-
headed rammer being used to give the proper hardness to parts of the mould

page_text: which are not otherwise sufficiently compressed. Ordinary railway chairs and
other articles may also be moulded in the same way.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, we have to state that we do not
restrict ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated, but that
what we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to us by the berein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
1. The measuring of the material for making moulds by pressure by means
of accessory frames or plates, substantially as herein-before described.
2. The arranging or combining of the parts of apparatus connected with
moulds for casting, substantially in the improved manner herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Warren Law and John Inglis,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirtieth day of Sep-
tember, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-three.
J. WARREN LAW. (L.S.)
JOHN INGLIS.
(L.S.)
J. WARREN LAW. (L.S.)
JOHN INGLIS.
(L.S.)