IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING ARTICLES OF POTTERY OR EARTHEN- WARE
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Samuel Crowder at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 13th April 1883.
SAMUEL CROWDER of Durban, Natal, South Africa, "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MOULDING ARTICLES OF POTTERY OR EARTHEN-
WARE
"
My Invention has for its object to provide machinery or apparatus by means of
which articles of pottery or earthen ware can be moulded or formed with facility,
rapidity and little manual labour-The said machinery or apparatus is provided
with moulds (consisting of parts constituting dies and moulds) of metal of a shape
giving between them the form of the article to be produced-The said moulds are
hollow and steam or hot water or hot air is supplied to and caused to circulate
through the interiors of the parts of the moulds Pressure is applied to the parts
of the mould to urge them towards each other to a distance which will leave the
clay or plastic material placed between the said parts of the mould of the thickness
required for the article being made-This pressure may be obtained either by the
direct action of steam or by hydraulic pressure or by lever or screw or other means
so applied as to move both the parts of the mould or either of them-At the
bottom of the lower part of the mould a valve may be fitted which can be raised
or lowered by a hand lever or treadle or other convenient means, so that after the
parts of the mould are separated the operator can by these means raise the moulded
article from the mould so that it can be readily removed therefrom-The heat
should be regulated exactly preferably so that the die is hotter than the mould-
In moulding flower pots or other articles having a hole or perforation in the
bottom the one part of mould is provided with a plug fitting into a hole or recess
in the valve or bottom piece and the material displaced by this plug may pass
away down the hollow shank of the treadle by which the said valve operated―
In moulding articles having handles or ornaments on their exterior the one part of
the mould for the interior of the article is made and acted upon in the same way
as for plain goods, but the other part of the mould for the exterior of the article
is made in three pieces-The piece forming the bottom is firmly fixed to the bed
plate-The other pieces are carried by movable slides capable of sliding on the

page_text: bed plate to and from the centre piece, being operated by a lever screw or other
suitable means—When the said pieces are brought together a clamp is brought
over the mould and forced down tightly-The material is then in, and the upper
part of the mould is brought down, and after moulding, the article is raised. The
clamp is then removed and the sliding pieces moved outwards, when the article
moulded can be readily removed-For making plates dishes and the like the lower
parts of the mould may be formed by loose removable pieces which can be
employed which may be removed with the moulded articles to retain them in
shape whilst drying-The said loose pieces may be heated in an oven or by steam
water or air circulated through the base on which they rest when in place in the
moulding machine-In all cases the hollow parts of the mould are provided with
elastic pipes for the feeding and exit of the heating fluid and the exit pipe may
extend inwards to near the bottom of the hollow recesses in the parts of the mould
or be otherwise arranged to give a good circulation of the heating fluid-Gauges
may be provided to arrest the movement of the parts of the mould to give the
requisite thickness of article moulded-The plunger may be formed with a screw
thread to give rotation or partial rotation to the upper part of the mould as it
descends: any suitable lubricant may be used where necessary