A Tube Corrugating Machine.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Jan., 1890-Accepted; 1st Mar., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Tube Corrugating Machine.
We JOSEPH SAMUEL TAYLOR and STEPHEN WILLIAM CHALLEN, both of Derwent
Foundry Constitution Hill, Birmingham in the County of Warwick Engineers do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
:-
The object of our invention is to construct a machine capable of corrugating
tubes of iron or other metal in such a manner as to produce screw like or circular
corrugations extending round the circumference of the tube, and to produce such
corrugations of any required configuration in so far as relates to the outlines of the
indentations and corresponding elevations. We do not wish to produce corrugations
which extend in a direction parallel to the axis of the tube or which are nearly
parallel to that axis; but we do produce corrugations at right angles to the axis, that
is, indentations and elevations forming circular parallel rings extending round the
circumference of the tube or indentations with corresponding elevations forming
screw like corrugations round the tube and of any desired pitch or number of
independent threads within reasonable limits of variation.
Such metal tubes are required for several important industrial purposes and our
invention enables them to be produced effectively and economically.
Our Invention consists of a head-stock the spindle of which carries at its end a
bell or other suitable form of chuck or driver by which the end of the tube can be
firmly gripped and rotated together with suitable slides or guide bars upon which a
frame moves freely to and fro in line with the spindle. The frame carries steel
wheels arranged around the circumference of the tube and capable of being pressed
inwards by suitable contrivances to indent the tube in the manner hereinbefore
described. The wheels are made adjustable both in the angles formed by their
planes of revolution with the axis of the tube and in their positions relative to each
other.
When their planes of revolution are at right angles to the axis of the tube then
when pressed against the tube while it is caused to revolve, circular indentations are
made or circular corrugations parallel to each other but not
corrugations.
screw thread
When their planes of revolution are inclined to the axis of the tube or in other
words at angles other than right angles, then screw like corrugations are formed, the
pitch and other characteristics of which depend on the amount of such inclination
and its direction. One direction will produce a right hand thread, and' the opposite
a left hand thread and one adjustment a single thread while others give two or more
independent threads.
The spindle may be driven in any suitable way provided sufficient power is given
and the steel corrugating wheels may be held in frames of varying construction
having various methods of adjustment without departing from the essential features
of our invention.
We prefer however to carry out our invention in the following convenient
manner-The headstock is formed of a strong metal frame carrying the spindle
which has keyed to it a large toothed wheel gearing into a pinion on a shaft driven
by belt and cone pulleys. Two long turned bars suitably supported at their
extremities pass through the head frame and form guides upon which the moveable
frame runs freely upon wheels. The moveable frame has four wheels running above
the guide bars to support it firmly and also additional smaller wheels between and
below the bars to check any tendency to side movement or tipping over altogether.
It is constructed on the principle of the well known self centreing chuck and carries

page_text: One
three radial slides working in a plane at right, angles to the axis of the tube to
be corrugated. Three strong screws of similar pitch move these radial slides out
and in simultaneously being so connected by a ring internally toothed wheel and
pinions on their ends that rotating one of them causes all the others to rotate.
screw has at its outer end a hand-wheel with lever holes and when this wheel is
turned round all three radial slides advance or recede exactly the same distance
towards or from the tube in the centre as determined by the direction of movement.
The planed fronts of these radial slides carry the steel wheels mounted in cast steel
frames with turned bases, which bases are so bolted to the slides that they can be
fixed with the planes of the wheels at any desired angle to the axis of the tube. The
edges of the turned bases are graduated and corresponding marks are made upon
the faces of the radial slides to enable the angles of the three wheels to be rapidly
ascertained and adjusted. The wheels are constructed of good steel well hardened.
In order that unequal wear of the wheels may be compensated for, adjustable nuts
are formed through which the screws work to move any required radial slide upon its
screw without interfering with the others. This enables correct adjustment to be
made in the first instance and allows of re-adjustment whenever necessary. The
. steel wheel bases are not bolted direct to the end of the radial slides but to slide
rests attached to their ends which have a motion parallel to the axis of the tube.
The steel wheels can thus be set in any desired relationship of angle and distance
from each other. The action is very simple. First the steel wheels are set at the
angles and positions necessary to produce corrugations of the desired pitch if a
screw corrugation is wanted. The tube is firmly held by the bell chuck or driver
and is driven round, the extreme end rests in a V or other rest placed outside the
movable frame and the steel wheels encircle it without touching. The hand wheel is
now turned with sufficient force to cause the steel wheels to press against the tube,
they at once form a thread and the frame travels along the tube the wheels indenting
or corrugating all along; when it reaches the end the direction of motion of the
spindle is then reversed by hand or by a stop as in planing and other machines and
the frame travels back.
Another turn at the hand wheel more deeply indents the tube by pressing in the
steel wheels and so by travelling over the tube a sufficient number of times any
desired depth of corrugation may be given. The configuration of the edge of the
steel wheels may be varied to vary the nature of the corrugations, and the pitch or
number of independent threads may be varied in the manner already described.
When it is desired to make parallel ring corrugations the pressure steel wheels may
be set at right angles to the axis of the tube in the same plane as the radial slides and
each part of the tube may be treated separately but the process is slower than that
first described and we prefer accordingly to produce such corrugations by a different
method.
For this purpose instead of plain steel wheels we employ short steel screw cylinders
of similar diameter to the wheels and each with its axis parallel to that of the tube.
The screw threads are of a shape corresponding to the nature of the corrugations
required and the screw cylinders are simultaneously pressed against the tube by the
movement of the radial guides, if properly adjusted they produce parallel ring
corrugations on the tube and the frame travels along as in the case of the screw
corrugations. The screw cylinders act to the ring corrugations in a manner similar
to that of a screw worm and toothed wheel which wheel may be supposed to be of
'infinité diameter.
".
When the screw cylinders are pressed against the tube the points of pressure must
be diametrically opposed to each other in order that the screws may start together;
we may arrange to secure this in several ways as for example by connecting them by
toothed wheels so that the screws preserve in their revolution an invariable relation
to each other or we may use only one screw cylinder and supply the necessary
resistances by two or more plain wheels.
We may also produce a number of corrugations on the tube by the plain steel
wheels as already described and then start the screw cylinders together by pressing

page_text: .
them into these corrugations and so commencing with the threads all properly
opposing each other. Instead of this we may also construct a mandril of the
diameter of the tube to be corrugated made with the necessary corrugations and
slipped into the end of the tube to supply a guide to ensure a correct start. Such a
guide may be attached to the moving frame to set the screws correctly before
starting and arranged to be displaced when the corrugated tube projected from the
moving frame.
In some cases we use a plain mandril to support the interior of the tubes against
unequal collapse but it is not always required.
Dated this 1st day of April 1889
MARKS & CLERK,
Agents for Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Tube Corrugating Machine.
We JOSEPH SAMUEL TAYLOR and STEPHEN WILLIAM CHALLEN, both of Derwent
Foundry Constitution Hill Birmingham, in the County of Warwick Engineers,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly describe and ascertained in and by the following
statement:—
The object of our Invention is to construct a machine capable of corrugating tubes
of iron or other metal in such a manner as to produce screw like or circular
corrugations extending round the circumference of the tube, and to produce such
corrugations of any required configuration in so far as relates to the outlines of the
indentations and corresponding elevations. We do not wish to produce corrugations
which extend in a direction parallel to the axis of the tube or which are nearly
parallel to that axis; but we do produce corrugations at right angles to the axis,
that is indentations and elevations forming circular parallel rings extending round
the circumference of the tube or indentations with corresponding elevations forming
screw like corrugations round the tube, and of any desired' pitch or number of
independent threads within reasonable limits of variation.
Such metal tubes are required for several important industrial purposes and our
Invention enables them to be produced effectively and economically.
Our Invention consists of a heul stock the spindle of which carries at its end a
bell or other suitable form of chuck or driver by which the end of the tube can he
firmly gripped and rotated together with suitable slides or guide bars upon which a
frame moves freely to and fro in line with the spindle. The frame carries steel wheels
arranged around the circumference of the tube and capable of being pressed inwards
by suitable contrivances to indent the tube in the manner herein before described.
The wheels are made adjustable both in the angles formed by their planes of revolu-
tion with the axis of the tube and in their positions relative to each other.
When their planes of revolution are at right angles to the axis of the tube, then
when pressed against the tube while it is caused to revoive, circular indentations
are made or circular corrugations parallel to each other but not screw thread
corrugations.
When their planes of revolution are inclined to the axis of the tube or in other
words at angles other than right angles, then screw like corrugations are formed,
the pitch and other characteristics of which depend on the amount of such inclina-
tion and its direction. One direction will produce a right hand thread, and the
opposite a left hand thread and one adjustment a single thread while others give two
or more independent threads.
I
The spindle may be driven in any suitable way provided sufficient power is given
and the steel corrugating wheels may be held in frames of varying construction.
having various methods of adjustment without departing from the essential features"
of our Invention,

page_text: We prefer however to carry out our Invention in the following convenient
manner The headstock is formed of a strong metal frame carrying the spinille
which has keved to it a large toothed wheel gearing into a pinion on a shaft
driven by belt and cone pulleys. Two long turned bars suitably supported at
their extremities pass through the head frame and form guides upon which
the movable frame runs freely upon wheels. The movable frame has four
wheels running above the guide bars to support it firmly and also additional
smaller wheels between, and below the bars to check any tendency to side
movement or tipping over altogether. It is constructed on the principle of the well
known self centreing chuck and carries three radia! slides working in a plane at right
angles to the axis of the tube to be corrugated. Three strong screws of similar pitch
move these radial slides out and in simultaneously being so connected by a ring bevil
toothed wheel and pinions on their ends that rotating one of them causes all the others
to rotate. One screw has at its outer end, a hand wheel with lever holes and when
this wheel is turned round all three radial slides advance or recede exactly the same
distance towards or from the tube in the centre as determined by the direction of
movement. The planed fronts of these radial slides carry the steel wheels mounted
in.cast steel frames with turned bases, which bases are so bolted to the slides that they
can be fixed with the planes of the wheels at any desired angle to the axis of the tube.
The edges of the turned bases.are graduated and corresponding index marks are made
upon the faces of the radial slides to enable the angles of the three wheels to be
rapidly ascertained and adjusted.
The wheels are constructed of good steel well hardened.
In order that unequal wear of the wheels may be compensated for, adjustable nuts
are formed through which the screws work to move any required radial slide upon its
screw without interfering with the others. This enables correct adjustment to be
made in the first instance and allows of re-adjustment whenever necessary. The
steel wheel bases are not bolted direct to the end of the radial slides but to slide
rests attached to their ends which have a motion parallel to the axis of the tube.
The steel wheels can thus be set in any desired relationship of angle and distance
from each other. The action is very simple. First the steel wheels are set at the
angles and positions necessary to produce corrugations of the desired pitch if a screw
corrugation is wanted. The tube is firmly held by the bell chuck or driver and is
driven round, the extreme end rests in a V or other rest placed outside the movable
frame and the steel wheels encircle it without touching. The hand wheel is now
turned with sufficient force to cause the steel wheels to press against the tube, they
at once form a thread and the frame travels along the tube, the wheels indenting or
corrugating all along; when it reaches the end the direction of motion of the spindle
is then reversed by hand or by a stop as in planing and other machines and the
frame travels back.
Another turn at the band wheel more deeply indents the tube by pressing in the
steel wheels and so by travelling over the tube a sufficient number of times any
desired depth of corrugation may be given. The configuration of the edge of the
steel wheels may be varied to vary the nature of the corrugations, and the pitch or
number of independent threads may be varied in the manner already described.
When it is desired to make parallel ring corrugations, the pressure steel wheels may be
set at right angles to the axis of the tube in the same plane as the radial slides and
each part of the tube may be treated separately but the process is slower than that
first described and we prefer accordingly to produce such corrugations by a different
method.
For this purpose instead of plain steel wheels we employ short steel screw cylinders
of similar diameter to the wheels and each with its axis parallel to that of the tube.
The screw threads are of a shape corresponding to the nature of the corrugations
required and the screw cylinders are simultaneously pressed against the tube by the
movement of the radial guides, if properly adjusted they produce parallel ring
corrugations on the tue and the frame travels along as in the case of the screw
corrugations. The screw cylinders act to the ring corrugations in a manner similar

page_text: .
to that of a screw worm and toothed.wheel which wheel may be supposed to be o
infinite diameter.
When the screw cylinders are pressed against the tube the points of pressure
must be diametrically opposed to each other in order that the screws may start
together; we may arrange to secure this in several ways as for example by con-
necting them by toothed wheels so that the screws preserve in their revolution an
invariable relation to each other or we may use only one screw cylinder and supply.
the necessary resistances by two or more plain wheels.
We may also produce a number of corrugations on the tube by the plain steel
wheels as already described and then start the screw cylinders together by pressing
them into these corrugations and so commencing with the threads all properly
opposing each other. Instead of this we may also construct a mandril of the diameter
of the tube to be corrugated made with the necessary corrugations and slipped into :
the end of the tube to supply a guide to ensure a correct start. Such a guide
may be attached to the moving frame to set the screws correctly before starting
and arranged to be displaced when the corrugated tube is projected from the
moving frame.
In some cases we use a plain mandril to support the interior of the tubes against
unequal collapse but it is not always required.
In order that our Invention may be properly understood and readily carried into
effect we append hereunto two sheets of explanatory drawings in which Fig. 1 is
an elevation of the machine and Fig. 2 a plan. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the
movable frame on a larger scale shewing its details and the mode of mounting it
upon the guide bars. Fig. 4 is a plan of the movable frame running on its guide
bars. Figs. 5, 5º, 5º, 5º, are different views of one of the three radial slides. Fig. 6
shows two views of the slide rest carrying the steel corrugating wheels and Fig. 7
a. b. & c are three views of the casting or holder carrying the steel corrugating
wheels. Figs. 8, 8b, show the ring hevel wheel. Fig. 9 is one of the radial slide
screws with pinion. Fig. 10 is a corrugating wheel and Figs. 11, 12 & 13 are eleva-
tions showing the configurations adopted for plain and screw wheels. Fig. 14 is a
slide rest screw.
In Figs. 1 & 2, A is the headstock carrying the headstock spindle B driven by
suitable belt pulleys C and gearing D from a convenient counter shaft E. The
tube to be corrugated. F, is caught in the bell chuck part of the spindle B or by
other suitable driver and it runs in the movable frame and its projecting portion is
further supported by the fixed rest H. The movable frame G is carried upon the
guide, bars I by the wheels K, K, K, K, and prevented from oscillating or tipping
over by the wheels L, L, L, L, seen on Fig. 2 and smaller wheels underneath the.
guide bars M M M M two of which are seen in Fig. 1. The hand wheel N serves
to move the frame when desired by hand. The rod O Figs. 1 & 2 is provided with
suitable stops as P which serve to shift the belt and stop the machine when the
movable frame has completed the desired travel in either direction and the hand
lever is provided to accomplish this by hand. Referring to Figs. 3 & 4 which
are respectively elevation and plan of the movable frame G on a larger scale. The
frame &, handwheel N, and guide har wheels K, L, M, running upon the guide
bars I are all shown and the radial slides are seen at R, R', R"; at R one is seen.
in full, at R¹, it is partly hidden by the parts in front of it and at R" it is removed
to show one of the screws S each carrying a pinion as T all gearing into the ring.
bevel wheel U shewn separately at U Figs. 8 and 8, while one of the screws and
pinions is shewn at Fig. 9. The rotation of one screw thus causes all the others to
rotate and, so screw down or up the radial slides. The radial slides are each con-
structed as shewn at Figs. 5, 5, 5, and 5°, where Fig. 5 is an elevation of the radial.
slide as seen at R Fig. 4. but without the slide rest V attached below for carrying
and adjusting the position of the wheels X. The corrugating wheels: X X X are
carried in castings or holders W one of which is shewn separately at Figs. 7, a, b, c,
and the base of W. is, turned so that the wheels X may be set at any desired.angle.
to the plane of the radial slides.
.

page_text: The action of the machine is as follows;-The wheels X X X Fig. 3, are set to any
desired angle and the slides V adjusted to the necessary relationship to each other to
produce the required screw corrugation with either one or more threads. The tube to
be corrugated is then placed in position and gripped in the bell chuck part of the
headstock spindle B (Figs. 1 and 2) while the other end passes through the corrugating
wheels and rests upon the rest H if required. The hand wheel Y at the end of one
of the screws S, or more than one hand wheel, is then rotated to bring the corrugating
wheels down upon the surface of the tube to be corrugated with sufficient force to
press into it. The machine is then started by the belt shifting lever Q (Figs. 1 and 2)
when the tube rotates and the corrugating wheels make a slight screw like indentation
and cause the movable frame G to travel towards the headstock A until it strikes
against a projection such as P and throws off the driving belt. The motion is then
reversed by the belt or otherwise in any well known manner and the frame G is caused
to travel away from the headstock A to the outer end of the tube; but before starting on
its return journey the wheels X are screwed down further by the wheel Y so as to
deepen the spiral indentation already made in the tube. In this manner by gradually
screwing down the corrugating wheels and causing them to travel to and fro along
the tube several times, corrugations of any desired depth may be obtained. The pitch
of the corrugations is determined by the angle at which the wheels are set and to
facilitate this setting the circular edges or face of the castings carrying them are
indexed suitably. The pitch is determined by the angle with the axis of the tube;
but the number of threads is determined by the distance of the planes of the wheels
one from the other measured along the axis of the tube which determines whether all
three wheels will run in one thread or in different threads. In most cases with three
wheels we prefer one thread.
When it is desired to produce corrugations which are not screws but form parallel
rings round the tube we use corrugating wheels such as are shown in Fig. 13, which
wheels are themselves screw cylinders. If three of such screw cylinders be placed
around the tube to be so corrugated, and carried in radial slides, as herein before
described and the slides be screwed down to press the screws against the tube; then
parallel ring corrugations will be formed when the tube is rotated, provided that the
points of contact between the screw threads and the tube properly oppose each other
to start with. That is, the three screw cylinders must be so adjusted when first pressed
against the tube that a circle carried round the tube through the point of contact
with the tube of any one of the threads of one screw cylinder must pass through the
points of contact of the similar threads of the other two screw cylinders. The points.
of the screw cylinders in contact with the tube must in fact be in the same plane. If
the cylinders have two complete threads, then each cylinder will touch the tube at two
points distant from each other by the pitch of the screw, and the planes through these
points at right angles to the axis of the tube, to be corrugated, must pass through
the points of contact of the other two screw cylinders. Each screw cylinder then
works in the corrugations as would a screw worm in a rack which may be regarded as
equivalent to a worm wheel of infinite diameter.
To facilitate setting the three screw wheels to obtain a correct start they are suitably
indexed so as to be able to bring the opposing points to correct position at once. By
this screw corrugating wheel device the process of forming the parallel corrugations
is conducted in the same manner as forming the screw corrugations and the movable
frame is travelled to and fro along the length of the tube until the requisite depth of
corrugation is obtained.
The outline of the steel corrugating wheels may be of varying configuration but we
prefer those shown in Figs. 11, 12, & 13. The sharper outline of Fig. 12 is very suitable
for giving a good hold upon the tube and it is necessary for the thicker tubes in order
to gain a sufficient hold upon it to travel the movable frame..
The corrugated tube produced by one section of steel wheel is seen at Fig. 2.
Sometimes it is necessary to support the tube by an interior mandril such as at Fig. 2b
and this is especially the case where the tubes are of uneven thickness,

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is,
(1) A tube corrugating machine in which the tube to be corrugated is rotated
and screw or parallel corrugations are formed by suitable corrugating wheels held in
a moving frame.
(2) A tube corrugating machine consisting of a headstock such as A, a spindle
such as B, arranged and rotating the tube to be corrugated, together with a movable
frame such as G carrying plain or screw corrugating wheels, such as X, or Figs. 11,
or 13, acting together upon the tube by radial slides as R, whereby screw or parallel
corrugations may be formed by a continuous operation or successive continuous
operations substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
(3) The construction and arrangement of the moving frame G with its radial
slides as R R R", ring bevel wheel U, screws S, and pinions T, together with the
adjustable corrugating wheels X, carried in slide rests V substantially as and for
the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
(4) In corrugating machines the use of screw corrugating wheels as Fig. 13 for
continuously producing parallel ring corrugations substantially as hereinbefore
described.
(5) The use of the machine as at Figs. 1 & 2 for producing parallel corrugations
by separate application of the corrugating wheels as distinguished from continuous
operations.
MARKS & CLERK,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for Applicants