Improvements in and Machinery for the Manufacture of Iron and Steel Tubes to be used in the Manufacture of Steam Boilers, and for other purposes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th June, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Machinery for the Manufacture of Iron and
Steel Tubes to be used in the Manufacture of Steam Boilers,
and for other purposes.
We, ROWLAND WATKIN LEWIS, and THOMAS SAMUEL LEWIS, and
WILLIAM HOWARD LEWIS, of Patent Tube Works, Monmore Green, Wolver-
hampton, in the County of Stafford, Tube Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The tubes to the manufacture of which our invention relates are iron and steel
tubes having one two or more helical or twisted flutes, the said flutes being
preferably concave at bottom and couvex at top the said flutes passing around the
tube through its whole or nearly its whole length. We prefer to commence the
fluting of the tubes near one end and terminate the said fluting at a short distance
from the other end of the tubes so as to leave the said ends plain or cylindrical.
According to our invention we make the said helically fluted tubes from plain
or cylindrical tubes by a swaging process or partly by a rolling process and partly
by a swaging process.
In manufacturing a helically fluted tube from a cylindrical tube by swaging we
prefer to heat the said tube to redness and operate upon the said heated tube by a
pair of swaging tools, the lower tool being fixed; when however the tubes are of
thin gauge they may be operated upon cold. The upper tool is movable and has
a. rapid reciprocating vertical movement communicated to it by a steam or other
stamp. The acting parts of the said swaging tools have a form the counterpart of
that to be given to the tube under operation. By the rapid action of the upper
swaging tool each portion of the tube advanced between the swaging tools
receives a series of impressions by which the required configuration is given to the
tube. The tube is slowly rotated and advanced into or between the swaging tools
either by hand or by the mechanism hereinafter described so that as the portion
operated upon and fluted passes from between the tools a fresh portion passes
between and is brought under the operation of the said tools.
We prefer to advance and rotate the tube by a screw having the pitch of the
helical flutes formed in the swaging tools the front part of the said screw having a
gripping device for firmly holding the tube, and the other end of the screw having
a band wheel or handle by which the screw is rotated and advanced. Or the said
screw may be driven by mechanical means. 'The said screw works in a screw box
fixed to the bench or table in front of the swaging tools.
Instead of forming the twisted flutes wholly by swaging the said flutes may be
roughly formed by rolling the rolls employed having grooves of a figure the
counterpart or nearly the counterpart of the flutes to be produced. The said
roughly fluted tubes are then operated upon by the swaging tools hereinbefore
described and are thereby finished.
Dated this Twenty-seventh day of Jure 1905
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in and Machinery for the Manufacture of Iron and
Steel Tubes to be used in the Manufacture of Steam Boilers,
and for other purposes.
We, ROWLAND WATKIN LEWIS, and THOMAS SAMUEL LEWIS and
WILLIAM HOWARD LEWIS, of Patent Tube Works, Monmore Green, Wolver-
hampton, in the County of Stafford, Tube Manufacturers, do hereby declare the
nature of our invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
The tubes to the manufacture of which our invention relates are iron and steel
tubes having one, two or more helical twisted flutes the said flutes being preferably
concave at bottom and convex at top the said flutes passing around the tube
through its whole or nearly its whole length. We prefer to commence the fluting
of the tubes near one end and terminate the said Huting at a short distance from
the other end of the tubes so as to leave the said ends plain or cylindrical.
By the use of tubes of the kind described in boilers where the flame and heated
air pass through the tubes or where the water circulates in the tubes, the flame
and heated air being in the latter case external to the said tubes, a large surface is
exposed to the flame and heated air and the said flame and heated air strike more
directly on the metal of the tubes than when the tubes are cylindrical, heuce the
heat is more effectually absorbed.
According to our invention we make the said helically fluted tubes from plain or
cylindrical tubes by a swaging process or partly by a rolling process and partly by
a swaging process.
In manufacturing a helically fluted tube from a cylindrical tube by swaging we
prefer to heat the tube to redness and operate upon the said heated tube by a pair
of swaging tools, the lower tool being fixed; when however the tubes are of thin
gauge they may be operated upon cold. The upper tool is movable and has a
rapid reciprocating vertical movement communicated to it by a steam or other
stamp. The acting parts of the said swaging tools have a form the counterpart of
that to be given to the tube under operation. By the rapid action of the upper
swaging tool each portion of the tube advanced between the swaging tools receives
a series of impressions by which the required configuration is given to the tube.
The tube is slowly rotated and advanced into or between the swaging tools either
by hand or by the mechanism hereinafter described so that as the portion operated
upon and fluted passes from between the tools a fresh portion passes between and is
brought under the operation of the said tools.
We prefer to advance and rotate the tube by a screw having the pitch of the
helical flutes formed in the swaging tools the front part of the said screw having
a gripping device for firmly holding the tube, and the other end of the screw
having a handwheel or handle by which the screw is rotated and advanced. Or
the said screw may be driven by mechanical means. The said screw works in a
screw box fixed to the bench or table in front of the swaging tools.
Instead of forming the twisted flutes wholly by swaging the said flutes may be
roughly formed by rolling, the rolls employed having grooves of a figure the
counterpart or nearly the counterpart of the flutes to be produced. The
said roughly fluted tubes are then operated upon by the swaging tools herein-
before described and are thereby finished.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents a fluted iron or steel tube made
according to our invention either by a swaging process or roughly formed by a

page_text: rolling process and finished or perfected by a swaging process.
In the said Figure 1
the plain or cylindrical ends of the tube which are fitted in the boiler plates are
marked a, a: Figure 2 represents in plan a fluted tube in course of manufacture
by swaging, from a plain or cylindrical iron or steel tube; the upper swaging
tool being removed; and Figure 3 represents the upper swaging tool in plan of
underside.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of
the drawing.
In manufacturing the fluted iron or steel tube Figure 1 by a swaging process we
employ a pair of stamping or swaging tools or dies, the lower one of which is
represented in Figure 2 marked e and the upper one is represented in Figure 3 and
marked. The tubular recess or passage formed by the pair of closed dies e,
e²
has a figure the counterpart of a portion of the fluted or twisted tube to be
produced. The upper tool Figure 3 is mounted or fixed in the tup or slide of a
steam hammer or other percussive stamp by which it receives a rapid rising and
falling motion and the lower tool e is fixed to the bed of the hammer or stamp in
line with the upper tool.
The plain or cylindrical tube (preferably heated) is placed on the lower tool e
a portion of the tube equal to the length of the required plain end a projecting
beyond the distant end of the tool. The hammer or stamp is then put into
operation the tube being slowly advanced by a screw like motion between the
tools; that is to say, the said tube is advanced and at the same time rotated.
Thus, as the portion of the tube operated upon and fluted passes from between the
acting tools, a fresh portion passes between, and is brought under the operation
of, the said tools. In this way, the whole of the plain tube is fluted excepting
portions a at the front and rear ends of the tube which are unoperated upon by the
swaging tools.
The screw like feeding motion of the tube may be effected by hand; but we
prefer to employ the feeding mechanism represented in Figure 2. The said
mechanism consists of a long screw f, the pitch of which is equal to the pitch of
the hollow screw like depressions in the acting faces of the tools, the said screw f
working in a screw box g fixed to a table or bench so that the axis of the screw is
in line with the axis of the pair of closed swaging dies. The rear end of the
screw is provided with a hand wheel f' by which it is turned and the other end
of the screw is terminated by a boss or socket f³ for taking upon the end of the
cylindrical tube to be advanced between the swaging tools. The tube is fixed in
the socket f by the screw pin h.
In making the twisted or fluted tubes partly by rolling and partly by swaging
we first pass a plain cylindrical iron or steel tube through the pair of rolls
described and claimed in the complete Specification of our Patent Application
No. 22731 year 1894, and subsequently operate upon and finish the partially
formed tube by operating upon it by the swaging tools Figures 2 and 3, whereby
any defect in its formation may be corrected or its figure perfected by the said
Swaging tools.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we
claim as our invention of "Improvements in and machinery for the manufacture of
iron and steel tubes to be used in the manufacture of steam boilers and for other
purposes ;-
"
Manufacturing helically fluted or twisted iron or steel tubes for steam boilers
and the like, from plain or cylindrical tubes by the swaging process and by the
use of the swaging tools herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing; that is to say, passing plain or cylindrical tubes, preferably in a heated
state, by a screw like motion between a pair of swaging tools the screw like
motion of the tube under operation being effected by hand or by mechanism
substantially of the kind herein before described and illustrated; also manufacturing

page_text: the said helically fluted tubes partly by rolling and partly by swaging substantially
as herein before described.
Dated this 23rd day of July 1895.
ROWLAND WATKIN LEWIS.
THOMAS SAMUEL LEWIS.
WILLIAM HOWARD LEWIS.