IMPROVEMENTS.IN. ROLLING METALS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to August Bechem, of Duisburgh, in the Kingdom of
Prussia, Engineer, and Hermann Wedekind, of 2, Dunster Court;
Mincing Lane, in the City of London, Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS.IN. ROLLING METALS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said August Bechem and
Hermann Wedekind at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 8th November 1864.
We, AUGUST BECHEM, of Duisburgh, in the Kingdom of Prussia, Engineer,
and HERMANN WEDEKIND, of 2, Dunster Court, Mincing Lane, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ROLLING METALS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO
BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates more particularly to the rolling of long lengths of
metal suitable for telegraph wires, or for the rolling of wire for other purposes,
and consists of a peculiar arrangement or mode of combining a number of
sets of rolls, whereby the metal may by passing and repassing from one set
of rolls to another continuously be reduced at one heat to the dimensions
required, and formed to any desired section. The original billet from which

page_text: the wire is to be rolled is thicker and heavier than has hitherto been found
practicable, as a given length of metal is subjected to a greater number of
rollings or reductions in a given period of time by this method than by the
ordinary system.
'
"
In rolling a 6 of an inch telegraph wire, for example, from a 2-inch
square billet, the billet having been heated to the proper temperature, is
passed and repassed through a set of three rolls, entering between the rolls 1
and 2, then returning between rolls 2 and 3, and finally repassing through
another groove between the rolls 1 and 2 again. The metal has by this time
been sufficiently reduced for introduction into the series of sets of rolls which
are intended for its complete reduction. The first set of the series consists
of three rolls geared together and placed one over the other, and the metal is
caused to pass to and fro between them about four times, each time passing
through a smaller groove. After leaving the first set of the series, the wire
is guided round a stationary guide post, which directs it between the second
set of rolls, such set consisting of two rolls, the shafts of which correspond to
the two lower rolls of the first set. The wire after passing once through the
second set of rolls is guided by another vertical guide post to the third set,
between which it returns, and after being guided again it re-enters and passes
through the second set again, when it is guided to the third set, through
which is returns a second time. In this way the wire is guided continuously
from one set to another, passing twice through each set, and being reduced at
each passage till it arrives at the last two sets, through which it may only
pass once before it is received on the drum. It is obvious that any number
of sets of rolls may be used according to the size of the wire. In order to
guide the wire accurately to its proper grooves between the several rolls, it is
proposed to employ stationary trumpet-mouth guides, which are fitted opposite
to their respective grooves in the rolls. The receiving drum is rotated by
machinery in lieu of by hand, and its speed is controlled and regulated by
friction wheels, or other suitable and well-known mechanical contrivance for
the purpose. A friction break is also applied thereto for stopping the drum
at any moment. Facility is afforded by this system of rolling for operating
upon several lengths of metal at the same time by one and the same set of
rolls, whereby a considerable economy of time is effected, and the metal need
not remain so long in the furnace as heretofore, as the rolling can be carried
on as quickly as the metal can be brought from the furnace.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said August Bechem and Hermann Wedekind in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 8th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, AUGUST
BECHEM, of Duisburgh, in the Kingdom of Prussia. Engineer, and HERMANN
WEDEKIND, of 2, Dunster Court, Mincing Lane, in the City of London,
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto us, the said August Bechem and Hermann Wedekind, Her special
license that we. the said August Bechem and Hermann Wedekind, our
exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
August Bechem and Hermann Wedekind, our executors, administrators,
or 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 ROLLING METALS, AND
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said August Bechem and Hermann Wedekind,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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.
IN THE
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said August Bechem and Hermann
Wedekind, 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, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings. and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say:
Our said Invention relates more particularly to the rolling of long lengths
of metal suitable for telegraph wires, or for the rolling of wire for other

page_text: purposes, and consists of a peculiar arrangement or mode of combining a
number of sets of rolls, whereby the metal may by passing and repassing from
one set of rolls to another continuously be reduced at one heat to the
dimensions required, and formed to any desired section. The original billet
from which the wire is to be rolled is thicker and heavier than has hitherto
been found practicable, as a given length of metal is subjected to a greater
number of rollings or reductions in a given period of time by this method
than by the ordinary system.
In rolling a three-sixteenths of an inch telegraph wire, for example, from
a two-inch square billet, the billet having been heated to the proper
temperature is passed and repassed through a set of three rolls, entering
between the rolls 1 and 2, then retiring between rolls 2 and 3, and finally
repassing through another groove between the rolls 1 and 2 again. The
metal has by this time been sufficiently reduced for introduction into the
series of sets of rolls which are intended for its complete reduction. The first
set of the series consists of three rolls geared together and placed one over
the other, and the metal is caused to pass to and fro between them about four
times, each time passing through a smaller groove. After leaving the first
set of the series the wire is guided by the attendant to a second set of rolls,
such set consisting of two rolls, the shafts of which correspond to the two
lower rolls of the first set. The wire after passing once through the second
set of rolls is guided to the third set, between which it returns, and after
being guided again it re-enters and passes through the second set again, when
it is guided to the third set, through which it returns a second time. In this
way the wire is guided continuously from one set to another, passing twice
through each set, and being reduced at each passage till it arrives at the last
two sets, through which it may only pass once before it is received on the
drum. It is obvious that any number of sets of rolls may be used according
to the size of the wire. In order to guide the wire accurately to its proper
grooves between the several rolls, it is proposed to employ stationary trumpet-
mouth guides, which are fitted opposite to their respective grooves in the
rolls. The receiving drum is rotated by machinery in lieu of by hand, and
its speed is controlled and regulated by friction wheels, or other suitable and
well-known mechanical contrivance for the purpose. A friction break is also
applied thereto for stopping the drum at any moment. Facility is afforded by
this system of rolling for operating upon several lengths of metal at the same
time by one and the same set of rolls, whereby a considerable economy of
time is effected, and the metal need not remain so long in the furnace as

page_text: heretofore, as the rolling can be carried on as quickly as the metal can be
brought from the furnace.
And in order that our said Invention may be fully understood, we shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall
refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same
letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of our Drawings represents an elevation of the main rolling train
we employ in rolling long lengths of wire; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan
of the same, showing also the preparatory or roughing train of rolls, not seen
in Figure 1, and illustrating also the course of the wire in passing through the
entire series of rolls from the roughing train to the receiving drum, on which
the wire is wound as fast as it is rolled; Figures 3 and Foure are end views of
the roughing and main rolls; A, B, (Figure 2) represents a plan the roughing
train of rolls for preparing or rolling down the metal billets before the
wire or rod passes on to the main rolling or reducing train C, D, (Figures 1
and 2).
A steam engine of about eighty horse-power, making, say, one hundred
revolutions per minute, transmits its power direct by means of a crank to the
fly wheel shaft A, and thence to the train of roughing rolls by the clutch G
and coupling box E. From the shaft A the power is transmitted by means
of large toothed gearing, or by a driving belt, as shown, to the pully N on the
second motion shaft C, which drives the main train of rolls C, D. The train
of roughing rolls shewn in end view at Figure 3 consists of two upright
supports or standards, on which are mounted three rolls of about ten inches,
diameter, having flat grooves cut in them. The centre roll is driven direct
from the fly wheel shaft E, A, and the two other rolls situate respectively
above and below the central roll are driven therefrom by broad toothed
pinions or rollers H gearing into each other, and keyed on to the ends of the
axes of the three rollers. The main object in not driving these rolls at a speed
greater than about one hundred revolutions per minute is to avoid any sudden
and undue stretching therein of the billets which are brought from the furnace
in a welding heat, it being simply requisite only to press the metal sufficiently
to ensure a perfect weld. The main train of rolls consists of about seven
rolling frames, although a greater or less number may be employed according
to circumstances, and a frame F containing a set of three geared or toothed
rolls, which serve to connect the three main shafts of the several sets of rolls.
The rolls of the main train need not be more than about eight inches
diameter, but we do not limit ourselves to these dimensions, and are driven at

page_text: a speed of about four hundred revolutions per minute. The centre one of the
geared rolls is coupled to the second motion shaft C by means of a coupling
box K and sliding. clutch M, and transmits its power direct to the centre rolls
of the entire train, the top and bottom geared rolls transmitting their motion
to the top and bottom rolls of the series. The several coupling or connecting
shafts 0, 0, 0, and P1, P2, are made of wrought iron or steel, in order to
reduce the weight of the whole train as much as possible, and are made small
enough to allow of the requisite amount of tension or spring therein. These
coupling shafts pass freely through the intervening frames without working in
bearings, and are connected to the rolls of a coupling box at each extremity.
In the rolling frame Q of the main train three rolls are mounted horizontally
one above another, and are provided with square or diamond-shaped grooves.
The frame R, and each of the five following frames, lettered S, T, U, V, W,
contain only two rolls. The grooves in frame R are oval, those in frame S
square or diamond-shaped; the grooves in frame T are oval; small diamond-
shaped grooves are made in the rolls of frame U; in frame V the grooves are
small oval, and frame W is provided with a finishing groove of the exact
required section of the wire. The rolls in frames T, U, V, & W, need only
be provided with one groove, but the other rolls may contain two or more
grooves, as shewn in our Drawings. H is the receiving drum, upon which is
wound the wire as fast as it leaves the finishing rolls. This drum is carried
by a shaft Ud mounted in bearings in a suitable standard, and having keyed
thereon the friction disc C. This disc is rotated by frictional contract by a
driving disc 'b' keyed on to the shaft a, which is driven by a strap and driving
pullies, or by gearing. The bearings of the shaft d are capable of sliding by
the action of a lever handle e, or other well-known contrivance, so as to bring
the disc c in or out of contact with the periphery of the driving disc b. When
in contact the drum will be rotated, and the winding up of the wire will take
place; but on moving the disc c out of contact with disc b, and bringing it in
contact with a fixed break block f, the drum will be stopped instantaneously, in
order to allow the wire to be taken off. Upright guide bars 'Z; Z, are situate
on opposite sides of the rolls in the main train, for the purpose of indicating
the positions in which the attendants may with safety place themselves, so as
not to be injured by contact with the wire.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, on Sheet 2 of our Drawings, illustrate the improved
contrivance we propose to adopt for accurately guiding the wire to the proper
grooves in the rolls.
Figure represents a longitudinal section of a guide for directing square and

page_text: oval wire into the rolling grooves; Figure 2 is a plan of a portion of the
same; and Figure 3 is a transverse section through the line 1-2.
This apparatus is bolted to a crossbar A, which is secured to the two side
standards of the rolling frame; it consists of a table or plate B provided with
two adjustable steel-faced guiding pieces C. C, which are adjusted nearer to
or further from each other, according to the thickness of the wire, by means
of wedges a, a., and are kept down upon the table by the set screw band
plate c. These guides are placed as close to the rolls as possible. The wire
passes in the direction of the arrow between the rolls D, D, and enters a
short table situate on the opposite side of the rolls, so as to ensure it leaving
the rolls in a direction at right angles thereto. Figures 4 and 5 represents in
longitudinal section and plan the form of guide employed for the small oval
wire on entering or leaving the last or finishing rolls. A is the cross bar, to
which the apparatus is bolted; B is the table or plate, which is provided with
steel-faced guiding pieces C, C, made adjustable laterally and longitudinally
by means of the adjusting screws a, a, and b, b. These guiding pieces C are
grooved or channelled on their inner faces. so as to correspond to the oval
section of the wire, the oval being moreover situate with its-major axis in a
vertical position, so that the wire will enter between the rolls D, D, edgewise.
On leaving the rolls the wire passes, as shewn by the arrow, into the delivery
guiding tube I as before.
In manufacturing long lengths of wire, such, for example, as telegraph
wires, by the improved machinery herein-before described, the puddled bars
or billets having been previously rolled out to, say, two inches square in
transverse section, are cut into lengths of about thirty or forty pounds weight
each, and placed in a reheating furnace contiguous to the rolling machinery.
In order to obtain the most profitable production, we find it expedient to
employ each furnaces, each receiving at one time a charge not exceeding seven
hundredweights; eighteen or twenty such charges may be made in proper
furnaces in twelve hours. The two furnaces should be so worked that the 'first
is emptied by the time the second is ready for discharging, and vice versa,
a continuous supply of heated billets being thus obtained from the reheating
furnace; the billet passes between the roughing rolls forward and backward
five times thro' the grooves 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, consecutively, and from the last
groove 5 of the roughing rolls the metal passes direct to the first frame of
the main train of rolls, entering by the groove 6, and passing alternately
forward and backward.four times in the grooves 6, 7, 8, 9, between the three
rolls in that frame. From this frame the wire passes through the groove 10

page_text: in the second frame R, and is thence conveyed in a continuous manner, so as
to return through the groove 11 in the frame S, from which groove it is guided
back again by the attendant to the frame R, and caused to pass through the
groove 12. From the groove 12 the wire is guided to the groove 13 in the
frame S, and then passes successively but in alternately opposite directions
through the grooves 14, 15, 16. and 17, in the frames T, U, V, W, finally
issuing in a finished state from the grooves 17, whence it is guided by a boy
while it is still in a red heat direct on to the receiving drum II', upon which
it is wound.
1
By the system of rolling herein-before described the wire being constantly
acted upon by gradually diminishing grooves in several rolls remains at a
higher temperature, when completed has a more equal structure, and does
not require re-heating so often during the subsequent process of drawing.
Several pieces or lengths may, if desired, he rolled at the same time, and
subjected to the action of several different grooves; a great saving of time is
effected, and a larger amount of work turned out in a given period than by
the ordinary method. The metal, however, by being acted upon so rapidly
does not require to remain so long a time in the furnace, and consequently
the loss arising from oxidation is diminished, and a saving in fuel effected.
Billets of 2 inches square, and forty pounds in weight can be rolled down in
one heat to wire of three-sixteenths of an inch diameter, and still remain at
a red heat in the reduced state. As the billets employed are larger than
heretofore, greater lengths of drawn wire can be obtained; and, lastly, as the
rolling train is never running empty, and the resistance to be overcome is
always the same, a better and more regular action of the prime mover is
obtained.
.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, we would observe, in conclusion, that what we consider to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the peculiar arrangement and combination of several sets of rolls in
conjunction' with a 'self-acting receiving drum, for the purpose of rolling long
lengths of wire, and coiling or winding up the same as fast as it is rolled,
substantially as heréin-before described and illustrated by our Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of rolling long lengths of wire direct from
billets at one heat, by causing the metal to pass and repass backwards and
forwards through a number of grooves in several sets of rolls working in
concert, as herein-before described.

page_text: Third, the means for guiding the wire into the grooves of the several rolls
employed in rolling the same, as herein-before described and illustrated on
Sheet 2 of our Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hermann Wedekind, on behalf of myself
and the said August Bechem, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Eighth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.