Improvements in and relating to the Manufacture of Metallic Tubes and Pipes and in the Machines or Mechanism Employed therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1889.
Complete Specification Left, 30th July, 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890.
Improvements in and relating to the Manufacture of Metallic Tubes
and Pipes and in the Machines or Mechanism Employed
therefor.
We, JAMES BLAIR and JAMES BIRRELL, both of the firm of Blair, Campbell and
Maclean, Coppersmiths, West Scotland Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, do hereby
declare the nature of our invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to and comprises the corrugating of a short part of
malleable metal tubes or pipes, preferably near their end flanges or other joints, or it
might be a single middle part between the ends, with the object of giving longitudinal
elasticity to lengths of pipes or tubes to allow for contraction and expansion between
their end flanges or other joints, such as for the copper, malleable iron, or steel pipes
for marine engines and other purposes, or it might be other good ductile alloy metals,
such as brass or phosphor bronze, all to prevent the risk of irregular strains and
breakages in these tubes or pipes.
Our improvements consist, first, in corrugating the ends of plain copper or other
malleable metal tubes or pipes, either hot or cold as found most desirable, whether
they are made with longitudinal brazed or welded joints, or out of seamless plain solid
tubes or shells; and either on the long plain solid tubes or shells themselves, or corru-
gated in short pieces to be afterwards brazed or otherwise welded or jointed to the
long tubes or pipes, and preferably before the flanges, screw, or other joints are
formed or fitted on them; or for short tubes or pipes the whole length night be
corrugated between the flanges or joints, which would not give much friction to
obstruct the passage of the fluids within them. The purpose of this improvement in
any or all of these instances or cases is the obtaining of longitudinal elasticity, to allow
for contraction and expansion while giving strength in the circumferential direction
of the shell, the corrugations being made preferably not to contract the inside diameter
of the tube. Various sizes or pitches between the corrugations would be employed
for different sizes and thicknesses of tubes or pipes as from one to six inches for tubes
varying from two and a half to twenty-four inches diameter, and from an eighth to
three quarters of an inch in thickness of shell, but we do not limit ourselves to these
sizes.
One improved construction of the machine, or arrangement and combination of
mechanism, for so corrugating these malleable metal tubes or pipes consists all as
follows: Namely, of two main transverse housing or headstock frames, preferably
secured on a single strong sole plate, and carrying in their lower open part the
journal bush bearings of two main longitudinal rolls at some little distance apart,
with the shaft of another or third longitudinal roll, in the centre, carried above
these in the bush bearings of a raising and lowering slide block, guided in planed
or slotted guides in the open side frames. The whole three rolls might be of the
same size, or the lower rolls might be larger and stronger. The slide blocks
and bearings, of the upper roll would be carried on the lower ends of strong
rotating pressure screws, working through bushes in the upper part of the two
housing frames, with screw wheels mounted on their upper ends, to be turned by
a screw spindle and hand wheel at one or both ends of the side frames, to lower
or raise the upper roller towards or from the lower rollers. The machine so far
described is much of the construction of a plate or bar bending or curving
machine. These rolls would preferably be formed with semicircular grooves opposite
each other of different sizes as a tube bending or curving machine, for bending
or curving copper or other malleable metal tubes or pipes, either out of the solid

page_text: when they have strong walls to sustain this, or by filling them first with lead,
rosin, or other soft or yielding material, when the shell or wall of the tube was
not strong enough to stand the bending without this. The two lower rolls would
be driven at the same circumferential speed from a single shaft arranged under
the framing, by wheels in different planes on the former as large in diameter as
possible to clear each others shafts, gearing into one or two pinions on the lower
driving shaft, which would be driven by a large wheel on it, actuated from a
pinion on a counter or first motion driving shaft of the machine, actuated pre-
ferably to turn the rolls in either direction backwards or forwards by an open
and cross shifting belt on to one fast pulley or it might be by a small reversing
steam engine for the purpose. The spindles of these rolls would form the driving
spindles of the corrugating rolls in the same axial line as these, and made in the
form of short steel rolls to be slipped and keyed on the overhanging ends of the
spindles of the rolls, with the various sized corrugations required, with pressure
bearing rolls or bush bearings below the lower overhung rolls, and it might be
with a swivelling bearing bracket or roll bearing projecting out from the housing
over the end journal of the upper roll capable of being removed for slipping or
shipping on the short tube to be corrugated, or in some cases as for small tubes the
corrugations might be formed on the projecting spindle of the upper roll itself. Or
otherwise portable long rolls with various sized corrugations may be made to couple
on to the ends of these three bending rolls and be carried in bearings at their outer
ends in a third housing or transverse frame analogous to the first, but having the upper
part with its slide bearing and pressure screw made to swivel out to slip or ship the
tube to be corrugated over its outer freed end. In this way the upper corrugated
roll would be raised and screwed down by the screw spindles of the various bearings
in the housing frames to corrugate the tubes. The first overhung arrangement of the
rolls would be most convenient for the quick action and corrugating of the end parts
of long tubes or pipes either hot or cold, or for short pieces; while the long portable
roller arrangement would be most convenient for rolling long pieces of corrugated
tubes, to be afterwards cut up and brazed or otherwise secured to the long tubes to
give the said longitudinal elasticity to them, to allow for contraction and expansion,
all in accordance with the improvements of this invention. The upper corrugating
roll on or over which the plain tube is placed to be corrugated, whether of the short
overhung form, or of the long roll form described, may either run loose and be
driven by the friction of the rolling tube from the under rollers, or be driven at the
same speed in a positive manner by an engaging and disengaging spur wheel on the
one end of its spindle, outside the frame at the driving end of the machine, gearing
into a wheel on the spindle of one of the under rolls, or into a pinion on the lowest
driving shaft of the machine which actuates the lower rolls. The grooves and ridges
on the overhung rollers might in some cases, as for rolling the corrugations on the
ends of the tubes, be made larger and deeper outwards towards the inner end or head-
stock frame, to make the corrugations gradually less towards the smooth inner part of
the tube, and so have the corruagted part of the tube nearly parallel with the inner
planed core of the tube.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Manufacture of Metallic Tubes
and Pipes and in the Machines or Mechanism Employed
therefor.
We, JAMES BLAIR, and JAMES BIRRELL, both of the firm of Blair, Campbell and
Maclean, Coppersmiths, West Scotland Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, do hereby
declare the nature of our invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
in writing, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
Our invention has reference to and comprises the corrugating of a short part of
malleable metal tubes or pipes, preferably near their end flanges or other joints, or
it might be a single middle part between the ends, with the object of giving longi-
tudinal elasticity to lengths of pipes or tubes to allow for contraction and expansion
between their end flanges or other joints, such as for the copper, malleable iron, or
steel pipes for marine engines and other purposes, or it might be pipes made of other
good ductile alloy metals, such as brass or phosphor bronze, all to prevent the risk of
irregular strains and breakages in these tubes or pipes.
Our improvements consist, first, in corrugating the end of plain copper or other
malleable metal tubes or pipes, either hot or cold as found most desirable, whether
they are made with longitudinal brazed or welded joints, or out of seamless plain
solid tubes or shells; and either on the long plain solid tubes or shells themselves,
or corrugated in short pieces to be afterwards brazed, welded, or otherwise jointed
and secured to the long tubes or pipes, and preferably before the end flanges,
screw couplings or other jointing parts are formed or fitted on them; or for short
tubes or pipes, these might be so corrugated throughout their whole length between
the flanges or jointing parts; which corrugations would be indented outwards so
as to give the least possible friction to obstruct the passage of the fluids within
the pipes.
The purpose of this improvement in any or all of these instances or
cases is the obtaining of longitudinal elasticity, to allow for contraction and
expansion while giving strength in the circumferential direction of the shell, the
corrugations being made preferably not to contract the inside diameter of the tube.
Various sizes or pitches between the corrugations would be employed for different
sizes and thicknesses of tubes or pipes as from one to six inches of pitch for tubes
varying from two and a half to twenty-four inches diameter, and from an eighth
to three quarters of an inch in thickness of shell, but we do not limit ourselves
to these sizes.
And in order that our said invention and the manner of performing or carrying the
same into effect or practice may be properly understood, we have hereunto appended
an explanatory sheet of drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to
indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where shown. Figure is a longi-
tudinal elevation and Figure 2 a corresponding plan, with parts of the bed frame Ain
broken away at z. of a construction of machine embodying one arrangement and
combination of the parts of our improvements for so corrugating the parts of malleable
metal tubes or pipes. And Figure 3 is a sectional end elevation as taken near the
lines 1-1 in Figure 1.
Referring to Figures 1 to 3 of these drawings -Our improvements consist all as
follows-namely, of two main transverse housing or headstock frames A A, pre-
ferably secured at All to a single strong soleplate Z and one outer movable frame A¹,
traversed by a slide sole frame at A2 on guide sole plates A111, and carrying in their
lower open part the journal bush bearings B of the journals of the shafts B₁ of
two main longitudinal horizontal rolls B, B, at some considerable distance apart, with
the shaft C¹ of another or third longitudinal horizontal roll C, in the centre, carried
above these in the bush bearings of a raising and lowering slide block C, guided

page_text: This
in planed or slotted guides at A3 in each of the open side frames A A¹. The whole
three rolls B, B, and C may be of various sizes but the two lower rolls B. B, are shown
smaller than the upper one C, for rolling a large size of pipe, but they might be as
large as the upper roll C. The slide blocks C and bearings of the upper roll C
are carried on the lower ends of strong rotating pressure screws D, working
through deep rotating screw bushes D₁ in the upper part of the housing
frames A, A1, with screw wheels D mounted on their upper ends, to be each
turned by a screw D2 mounted on a spindle D³ carried in bearing brackets A¹ at
the top of the frames A, A', and turned by a hand wheel 1 at one or both ends
of the side frames A, A', to lower or raise the upper roll C towards or from the
lower rolls B, B. The machine so far described is much of the construction of
a plate or bar bending or curving machine. These rolls B, B and C are pre-
ferably formed with semicircular grooves g opposite each other of different sizes
as a tube bending or curving machine, for bending or curving copper or other
malleable metal tubes or pipes longitudinally, either out of the solid shell when
they have strong walls to sustain this, or by filling them first with lead, rosin, or
other soft or yielding material, when the shell or wall of the tube is not strong
enough to stand the bending without this. The two lower rolis B. B, are driven in
the same direction at the same circumferential speed from a single central shaft E
mounted in bearings at E under the framing and sole plate Z at the driving or
right hand end of the machine by a wheel B2 on each, in different planes, on the
overhung ends B¹ of the rolls B and as large in diameter as possible to clear each
other shafts B', gearing into pinions B3 on the lower driving shaft E which would be
driven by a large wheel E¹ on it, actuated from a pinion E2 on a counter or first
motion driving shaft 3 of the machine, carried in suitable bearings at E
first motion shaft E³ is actuated preferably to turn the rolls B, B, in either direction
backwards or forward by open and cross shifting belts mounted on the loose
pulleys E4, E5, respectively when either belt is shifted on to the fixed pulley E6
between them or it might be by a small reversing steam engine for the purpose, or
other reversing gearing. The spindles B1, B, and C of these rolls B, B, and C
form the driving spindles of the improved lower corrugating rolls, F, F.
and upper corrugating roll F, in the same axial line as these first rolls,
and made in the form of short steel rolls out of the solid, or large enough
to be slipped and keyed on the continuations of the spindles B'. B¹, and C
of the rolls B, B and C, with the various sized annular ridges and grooves f f¹
required formed on their outer circumference, the outer end journals of the spindles of
the rolls F, F1, are carried in the shifting frame A¹, as shown in Figures 1 to 3,
and so as to be able to change the rolls F, F1, on their spindles, and also insert
the tubes f over the upper roll F', for corrugating it as hereinafter described. Or
otherwise the portable long rolls FF with their various sized corrugating ridges
and grooves ff may be made to couple on to the overhung ends of the spindles B₁ B¹
and C¹, of the three bending rolls B, B, and C. and be carried in the bearing
blocks B11 C1 at their outer ends in the third housing or transverse frame A' as
already described. The frame A is fitted to slide backwards on its lower guide
frames A, A, by a horizontal cross spindle and hand wheel aa¹ mounted in
bearing brackets all on the frame A¹ and carrying a spur pinion a² in the centre,
gearing into a wheel 3 similarly mounted on a spindle and bracket at the latter
wheel gearing into a horizontal toothed rack a secured on the bed frame A1 of the
housings A, A¹, all so that by turning the hand wheel a¹ in one direction the
housing A¹ is traversed on its sole guides A away from the rolls F, F1, so as to
be able to slip or ship the tube f2 to be corrugated over the outer free end of the
upper roll F1, when the end frame A¹ would be traversed back to receive and carry
the end journals B C of the rolls and secure it there by its bolts All for the
corrugation of the tube or short part of the tube f2 as indicated in dotted lines in
Figure 1. In the arrangements of our improved tube bending and corrugating
machines, shown in the drawings the upper rolls C and F¹ are made to run loose in

page_text: The
their upper bearing blocks and are turned or driven by their stiff gripping
friction with the under driven rolls B, B, and F, F, while at the same time
rolling the tubes between their peripheries acting on the tubes to bend or corru-
gate them; but it is to be understood that, when desired, these upper rolls C and F¹
might be driven by a wheel on their shaft Cat the same circumferential speed
as the under rolls and in an equivalent manner to these by gearing from the
second motion shaft. The tube corrugating rolls F F and F1 are shown
as short rolls for corrugating short tubes or short parts of tubes as dotted in
at but they might be made of any length suitable for the length of tubes
to be corrugated as the headstock A¹ would shift out on its bed guides Ali Al to suit
any length of rolls and tubes. But it is not proposed to corrugate the whole length
of long tubes, but only parts of them, and by our improvements corrugate them only
by one or two corrugations at a time so as to roll and emboss up the corrugations by
shortening the tube at each corrugation so as to maintain its nearly full thickness in
the corrugated parts f, and for this purpose we by one arrangement form the
corrugating ridges and grooves fand on the rolls F F and F as shown in
Figures 1 and 2 larger and deeper towards the inner end of the rolls and inner head-
stock frame A to make the corrugations gradually less and differentially wider in pitch
towards the outer headstock A, as indicated at f, and also so have the corrugated
part of the tube nearly in line with or very little projecting within the inner planed
core of the tube, that is, having the annular corrugations formed mostly outwards on
the circumference of the tube. This differential arrangement of the ridges and
grooves ff of the rolls also. enables the tube to be gradually taken up as the
corrugations are formed on it, and maintains the thickness of the tube at the
corrugations f, and does not thin the tube there as would be the case if a great
number of corrugations were formed at one time; the tube f2 being shifted forward
after the forming of each single or double ridge and groove of the corrugations.
dotted in tube f2 is shown as shifted forward in Figure 1, as in the act of forming
the third corrugation from the inner end. For thus forming or completing the
corrugation on the tube or short parts of the tube f the upper ridged and grooved
roller F would be raised by the vertical screw spindles D and horizontal screw
spindle and hand wheel D3, D4, and the tube be shifted longitudinally after forming
each single or double corrugation, and screwed down again; the ridges on the rolls
maintaining the pitch of the corrugations of the tube as they were formed, and the
rolls being set into motion at each shift to thus form the corrugations by shifting
either the open or cross belt on to the fixed pulley Es by hand levers and belt forks,
not shown in the drawings, to drive the rolls in either direction as desired as herein-
before described. Figure 4 shows an end elevation and Figure 5 a side section taken
near the centre of Figure 4, of an overhung arrangement of short lower and upper
corrugating rolls F, F. and F¹ without an outer shifting housing A¹ and gearing, as
shown in Figures 1 to 3, having their neck bearing blocks B and C as carried in
a fixed housing frame A and the bearing block C of the upper roll F1 raised and
lowered by a single vertical screw D and horizontal hand wheel D³, all as suitable for
corrugating short pieces of the smaller sizes of tubes f shown as dotted in in Figure 5,
in accordance with our improvements. In this arrangement or modification of the
rolls, the driving ends of the shafts B and C of the lower rolls F, F, and upper
roll F are shown as broken away at ¹, but the back end of the upper shaft C¹ would
require to be coupled to its driving shaft by moving couplings as in some rolling mills
to allow the roll F1 and its carrying frame C to rise and fall in the housing A. The
outer end journals F1 of the lower rolls F, F, would preferably be carried in a fixed.
bearing block F; while the upper roll F1 might either be overhung for the more
convenient insertion of the short tubes 2 to be corrugated, or the ends of long tubes,
or it might have an outer journal F carried in a bearing sliding and swivelling
block F³, mounted on strong side brackets F projecting out from the main neck
raising and lowering block C for the quick and easy insertion of the short tubes f
to be corrugated by first sliding the block F3 off the end journal F2 on its brackets F¹

page_text: and hand tightening bolts F5 in the slots shown at Fx Figure 4 and then swivelling
it out to one side, on one of these bolts, shifting the bearing block in again after
inserting the tube f² to be corrugated. Instead of mounting the journal ends or
spindles of these corrugating rolls F, F, and F₁ which require to work under great
pressure in ordinary bush bearings they might be mounted in antifriction roller
bearings that is with a circle of small antifriction steel rolls within their carrying
blocks. The annular ridges and grooves f and fl on these rolls are shown as pitched
regularly not differentially as shown in Figures 1 and 2 to suit and form one or two
corrugations f¹ at a time, and then shift the tube forward as each new corrugation
is formed, otherwise substantially as described in reference to and shown in Figures 1
and 2. The tube is shown dotted in in Figure 5 as having made one shift forward
after forming the first two corrugations. The tubes, pipes or parts of pipes to be thus
corrugated in these machines whether made of copper or other malleable metal are
preferred to be of the solid drawn construction that is without brazed or other joints.
Figure 6 shows a sectional elevation of a short piece of tube f as corrugated at fi
by our improvements and mechanism leaving plain parts f³ at the ends for either
brazing on flanges f* as indicated in this figure; or brazing them to the ends of
long pipes or it might be in the central parts of pipes as indicated f5 in Figure 7.
When long corrugating rolls F, F, and F1, are used with the shifting end housing A¹,
as shown in Figures 1 to 3, long pieces of pipe might be corrugated, with plain parts
between the corrugated parts, for being afterwards cut into short pieces, when removed
from the machine, to save the loss of time and labour in shifting the housings A¹ for
the corrugation of each piece for being afterwards brazed or otherwise secured to the
long tubes for giving these the longitudinal elasticity to allow of their contraction
and expansion under varying degrees of heat and pressure in their use, all as and in
accordance with the improvements of our invention. Although in Figures 1 to 3 of
the drawings our machine has been shown and described in reference thereto
constructed as a duplex machine, for bending tubes into circles or curves longitudinally
by the first set of rolls B, B and C, mounted in the first pair of housing frames A, A,
and for annularly corrugating tubes or pipes by a second set of rolls F, F and Fi
mounted in the second and third housing frames A and A¹ this being convenient for
driving both by the same shafting or spindles in the same axial line; it will be under-
stood however that the second or corrugating arrangement of rolls and mechanism
might be all constructed actuated and worked by the same gearing dispensing with
the use of the first set of rolls and require only two sets of housing frames and worked
otherwise for corrugating the tubes or parts of tubes all substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we claim is :-
First. The construction, or general arrangement and combination of the parts of a
rolling machine or mechanism for bending malleable metal tubes longitudinally, and
also for annularly corrugating such straight tubes or parts thereof circumferentially,
all substantially as, and in the improved manner herein described, in reference to and
shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Second. The construction or general arrangement and combination of the parts of
rolling machinery or mechanism for annularly and circumferentially corrugating
malleable metal tubes or parts thereof substantially as and in the manner herein
described in reference to and distinguished in Figures 1 to 3, and 4 and 5 of the
accompanying drawings.
Third. The corrugating of malleable metal tubes or parts thereof annularly and
circumferentially in steps of one, two or three corrugations longitudinally at each
action, in rolls formed with a few equally divided, or differentially divided annular
ridges and grooves and 1 on them for the purpose and advantage of giving free
longitudinal contraction and expansion, all substantially as and in the manner herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: Fourth. The corrugating of a short part of malleable metal tubes annularly and
circumferentially, having the corrugations formed almost wholly on their outer
circumference, that is, so as to lessen the diameter of the bore of the tube as little as
possible, substantially as herein described and shown in Figures 6 and 7 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dah 2011. T1000
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.