Improved Process of and Apparatus for Making Gunpowder.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Sept., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 25th June, 1896-Accepted, 25th July, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Process of and Apparatus for Making Gunpowder.
I, PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of London,
Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication to me
from abroad by William C. Peyton, of Santa Cruz, Cal., U.S.A., Powder Manu-
facturer) to be as follows:-
This improved process consists in first forcing the plastic material through a central
hole around a rod or mandrel whereby it is formed into a tube, then cutting the
tube open along one side parallel with the axis and separating the edges to form
the cylinder into a flat sheet, then passing the sheet thus formed between grooved
rollers, whereby the sheet is formed into parallel strips of geometrical cross section
with intermediate uniting films, and finally passing it beneath a vertically recipro-
cating cutter whereby the strips are cut into grains.
The apparatus for carrying out the aforedescribed process consists of a cylinder
adapted to receive the material which is forced through it by pressure, a die at the
opposite end of the cylinder with a central hole, a mandrel passing through the
centre of said hole leaving an annular chamber around it through which the material
'is forced so as to form a tube or pipe, and a fixed cutter adapted to cut through
one side of said tube after it leaves the dies, and diverging guides by which the
cut edges are separated and the tube formed into a flattened sheet.
Dated this 25th day of September 1895.
PERCY R. J. WILLIS.
Improved Process of and Apparatus for Making Gunpowder.
I, PEROY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS, of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of London,
Manager do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication to me from
abroad by William C Peyton of Santa Cruz, Cal., U.S.A., Powder Manufacturer)
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to the treatment of explosives which at a certain stage of
the manufacture are in a plastic or semi-plastic condition. Types of such explosives
are the gelatinated mixtures made by the action of solvents upon certain nitro-com-
pounds or organic nitrates with which other substances may or may not be incor-
The plastic condition may
porated, the result being a plastic or semi-plastic mass.
also be produced in other ways. The object of my invention is to convert this mass
into grains or pellets suitable for use in shot guns, small-arms, or in cannon.
In my process the mass is first formed into a cylindrical tube or pipe which is
afterwards opened out into the form of a sheet, and is then passed between grooved
rollers, which serve the double purpose of consolidating it and of pressing it into
strips adherent at their edges by very slight films, so that the whole may be still
handled as a continuous sheet until granulated.
In describing my invention I refer to the accompanying drawings in which :-
Figure 1 is a view of the first portion of the apparatus employed. Figure 2 is

page_text: a view of the second portion. Figure 3 is a view of the third portion. Figure 4 is
an enlarged view of the meeting faces of the rollers. Figure 5 shews the plastic
material in its different stages.
In the first portion of my process I employ a powerful press Figure 1, of suitable
form, actuated by hydraulic or other power, having a cylinder A, into which the
plastic mass, when properly prepared, is introduced. The plunger or follower B is
then moved down through the cylinder by operating the press and the mass is
forced through a circular die Cat the bottom and around the central rod or
mandrel D. By this first operation the mass is forced through the hole around
the mandrel, passing out in the form of a homogeneous tube or hollow cylinder.
At or about the point where this tube leaves the die I place a knife or cutter E
and diverging guides F. The cutter splits the tube on one side, and the diverging
guides separate the edges and spread the tube out into a flat sheet of considerable
width. The advantage of this tubular formation of the material is that it is forced
evenly through the hole, there being an equal distribution of pressure around the
.mandrel and when the tube has been cut and opened out to form a sheet the edges
of this sheet are in all respects homogenous and similar to the interior portions.
In a sheet or ribbon made by pressing the material through a slot the greater
friction at the ends of the slot will make the ribbon defective along the edges. It
will also be liable to buckle on account of unequal speed in its different parts, the
centre moving faster than the sides. From this part of the apparatus the sheet is
conveyed to the set of rollers G, Figure 2, which form the second portion of my
apparatus.
The rollers G are formed with a series of alternate transverse grooves and ridges
the diameter of the grooves being equal to that desired for the grains of powder.
These grooves may be made of any suitable or desired form. I have found that
a semi-hexagonal form of groove in each of the rollers, the ridges of one roller
travelling in close proximity to those of the other, will give a very suitable cross
section for the strips, this being hexagonal, while the ridge forms a strong cutting
edge having an angle of sixty degrees.
The sheet being passed between these rollers is pressed into hexagonal strips united
by the slight film of material which remains between the edges of the ridges, so
that the sheet, while practically separated into a great number of hexagonal strips,
is still held together by these filmis as a single sheet, which is easy to handle.
From this apparatus the sheet passes beneath a vertically reciprocating cutter H,
having an adjustable feed, Figure 3, by which the strips are cut into short lengths.
I prefer to cat the grains so that their length is about equal to their thickness.
During the operation of cutting most of the grains will be separated from their
fellows. To complete the separation they may be rubbed on a sieve of suitable mesh
or rolled in a barrel or otherwise separated by any suitable apparatus.
It is manifest that the grains may be made of any desired cross section by changing
the shape of the grooves in the rollers.
By the use of this apparatus I obtain several advantages: First the hole in the
preliminary press being central, the pressure and friction are equalized and a sheet is
formed which has no tendency to buckle; second by making the sheet first in a
tubular form I am enabled from the same cylinder to get a larger sheet or ribbon than
could be obtained by pressing it through a slot, and the edges of the sheet are also
smooth after it has been cut through on one side; third by using the grooved rollers
described above I press the sheet into parallel strips of uniform cross section and great
density, which still retain the sheet form and are very convenient to handle in the
subsequent operation of granulation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
(1) In the manufacture of gunpowder which is plastic at a certain stage, the
process
t

page_text: the axis, opening the tube into a flat sheet and passing it between grooved rollers
whereby the sheet is formed into numerous parallel strips having a geometrical cross-
section with uniting intermediate films.
(2) The process of manufacturing gunpowder consisting in first forcing the plastic
material through a central hole around a rod or mandrel whereby it is formed into a
tube, then cutting the tube open along one side parallel with the axis and separating
the edges to form the cylinder into a flat sheet then passing the sheet thus formed
between grooved rollers, whereby the sheet is formed into parallel strips of geometrical
cross section with intermediate uniting films, and finally passing it beneath a vertically
reciprocating cutter whereby the strips are cut into grains.
(3) An apparatus for forming plastic material into sheets, consisting of a cylinder
adapted to receive the material which is forced through it by pressure, a die at the
opposite end of the cylinder, with a central hole, a mandrel passed through the centre
of said hole leaving an annular channel around it through which the material is forced
so as to form a tube or pipe and a fixed cutter adapted to cut through one side of said
tube after it leaves the dies, and diverging guides by which the cut edges are separated
and the tube formed into a flattened sheet.
1
In 1906
PERCY R. J. WILLIS.