An Improved Moulding Machine.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, Tomar, 199
Complete Specification Left, 16th Dec., 1895-Accepted, 1st Feb., 1896
An Improved Moulding Machine.
We, FREDERIC WILLIAM THOMAS HARTLAND of Boulton House, West
Bromwich, in the County of Stafford, Iron Founder, and ARTHUR MALPAS, of
Pleasant Street, West Bromwich, aforesaid, Pattern Maker, do hereby declare, the
nature of our said invention to be as follows:-
Our invention has for its object an improved moulding machine which may be
worked either by hand or by mechanical power such for instance as a helt from
'shafting and by which we obtain considerable economy in time and labor besides
ensuring great exactness in manipulation and regularity in the castings produced.
from the moulds.
The machine may be made to stand complete on one bed and as such we will
describe it. The foot or base is preferably formed hollow and in which we mount
a horizontal shaft carrying mitre or bevel wheels with two fast pullies and a loose
pulley so that either right or left handed motion can be transmitted at will, to two
vertical shafts which are mounted above the foot-one at each end, the lower end
of each carrying a mitre or bevel wheel gearing into the gear of the horizontal
shaft before described. Each of the vertical shafts have a screw thread cut, for
a distance, both top and bottom leaving the centre portion plain but the top thread
of each shaft is of a different hand to the bottom thread for the purpose presently
to be explained. Inside the screw vertical shafts, are two guide bars or columns
which support the cross frame at the top. Two cross bars are mounted upon the
screw shafts, one upon the upper screws and the other upon the lower screws, the cross
bars being supplied with screw threads to suit the screws. The bottom cross bar carries
a ram pointing upwards, and the top bar, a ram pointing downwards so that as the
horizontal or driving shaft works in one direction both rams advance towards the
centre and recede when the band is reversed to the contrary pulley. A bush is
mounted on one of the vertical screw shafts having an inclined face and the pattern
or moulding plate is hinged upon it so as to rise as it is turned out of its position
for moulding. The bottom moulding box slides upwards and downwards on the
plain column guides below the moulding plate and the top box does the same above
the moulding or pattern plate. Each ram head is supplied with a plate to loosely
fit inside each moulding box. It will thus be seen that when the pattern plate is
in position carrying its pattern top and bottom and sand is supplied to each box
by driving the bottom shaft, so that as the rams travel inwards the sand is com-
pressed and the mould formed on each side of the plate simultaneously. The
boxes are then withdrawn by working the driving shaft from the other pulley
which opens the boxes when the pattern plate is turned upon its pivot from between
the boxes. During this operation the pattern plate lifts on the inclined bush.
The moulds are then brought together, face to face, under slight pressure from
each ram plate when the operation of separating the moulding boxes from the
moulds commence. This is effected by a lever hung by preference at the right
hand side of the foundation box platen acting upon cords, chains, or their
equivalents running over sets of pullies at the top to lift the upper box and under
similar pulleys at the bottom to draw down the bottom box and they are thus
separated which leaves the mould free to be taken from the ram plates in any con-
venient manner for casting. The machine will work automatically by fixing stops

page_text: or arms on a vertical rod which are operated by the moving boxes. The rod is
attached to a crank or disc crank, or eccentric which operates a sliding bar carrying
a fork to move the strap from pulley to pulley on the driving shaft. Side grips
may be attached to the boxes so as to grip the cord or chain so that one or both
boxes will move.
Dated this 15th day of March 1895.
We, FREDERIC WILLIAM THOMAS HARTLAND of Boulton House, West
Bromwich in the County of Stafford Ironfounder, and ARTHUR MALPAS of
Pleasant Street, West Bromwich aforesaid, Pattern Maker, 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:-
Our invention has for its object an improved moulding machine which may be
worked either by hand or by mechanical power which in either case effects
considerable economy in time and labor besides ensuring great exactness in
manipulation and regularity in the castings produced.
The machine may be made to stand complete on one bed and as such we will
describe it. The foot or base is preferably formed hollow and in which we mount
a horizontal shaft carrying mitre or bevel wheels with two loose pullies and a fast
pulley so that either right or left hand motion can be transmitted at will, to two
vertical shafts which are mounted above the foot-one at each end, the lower end
of each carrying a mitre or bevel wheel gearing into the gear of the horizontal
shaft before described. Each of the vertical shafts has a screw thread cut for a
distance both top and bottom leaving the centre portion plain but the top thread
of each shaft is of a different hand to the bottom thread for the purpose presently
to be, explained. Inside the screw vertical shafts, are two guide bars or
columns which support the cross frame at the top. Two cross bars or rams
are mounted upon the screw shafts, one upon the upper screws and the other upon
the lower screws, the cross bars or rams being supplied with screw threads to suit
the screws. The bottom cross bar carries a ram pointing upwards and the top
bar a ram pointing downwards so that as the horizontal or driving shaft works in
one direction both rams advance towards the centre and recede when the band is
reversed to the contrary pulley.. A bush is mounted on one of the vertical screw
shafts having an inclined face and the pattern or moulding plate is hinged upon
it so as to rise as it is turned out of its position for moulding. The bottom
moulding box slides upwards and downwards on the plain column guides below
the moulding plate and the top box does the same above the moulding or pattern
plate. Each ram head is supplied with a plate to loosely fit inside each moulding
box. It will thus be seen that when the pattern plate is in position carrying its
pattern top and bottom and sand is supplied to each box by driving the bottom
shaft so that as the rams travel inwards the sand is compressed and the mould
formed on each side of the plate simultaneously. The rams are then withdrawn
by working the driving shaft from the other pulley which opens the rams and
when the boxes are separated the pattern plate is turned upon its pivot from
between the boxes. During this operation the pattern plate lifts on the inclined
bush. The moulds are then brought together, face to face under slight pressure
from each ram plate when the operation of separating the moulding boxes from
the moulds commence. This is effected by levers hung by preference at the
right. hand side of the foundation box plate acting upon cords, chains, or their

page_text: equivalents running over sets of pulleys at the top to lift the upper box and
levers or pulleys at the bottom to draw down the bottom box and they are thus
separated which leave the. mould free to be taken from the ram plates in any
convenient manner for casting. The machine will work automatically by fixing.
stops or arms on a vertical rod which are operated by the moving boxes or rams.
The rod is attached to a crank or disc crank or eccentric which operates a
sliding bar carrying a fork to move the strap from pulley to pulley on the driving
shaft.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood and more easily carried
into practical effect we have appended hereunto three double sized sheets of
drawings upon which we have illustrated sufficient examples of our machine to
enable others to adapt it to the various forms and sizes required in practice. It
will also be understood that while the examples shown are assumed to be worked
from an ordinary driving shaft by driving pulleys that the operations may
be accomplished by hand or by a motor and the pattern board may be lifted
by compressed air or other pressure with similar effect as will be clearly.
understood.
Figure 1. is a front elevation of our machine adapted to be driven from an
ordinary driving shaft.
.
Figure 2. is a side elevation of the machine, the screw shaft M being broken off
in two places to show the parts behind.
Figure 3. is a part sectional plan of the machine on the line 1- 2 of Figure 1.
Figure 4. is a part sectional plan of the top moulding box A' on the line 3. 4 of
Figure 1.
Figure 5. is a broken off part vertical section through the moulding boxes A
and A' and pattern plate B, showing the loose sand C ready for pressing and the
patterns Y and Y in position for forming the moulds.
Figure 6 is the complete sand mould in its finished and compressed state removed:
from the boxes and ready to receive the molten metal, C¹ being the mould from the
upper box A and C² from the lower box A, Z and 71 representing the section of
the moulds produced from the patterns Y and Y¹.
Figure 7. is a perspective view of the pattern plate B with its gate 6 and
sprays 2 and with the upper box A' lifted away.
Figure 8 is a back view of the lever arrangement for separating the boxes.
Figure 9 is an enlarged vertical section of one of the inclined lifting or spring
bushes D which may be substituted by compressed air cylinders.
Figure 10 is an alternative arrangement of the driving gear.
Figure 11 is a part back view showing an alternative method for operating the:
driving band E.
Figure 12 is a side or end view of Figure 11.
The machine may be made to stand on its hollow bed F. The shaft K which
may be driven from any convenient motor or driving shaft G Figure 10 is in the
example shown hung in suitable plummer blocks H and runs through the inside of
the hollow bed F. The driving shaft K carries two mitre or hevel wheels ki and k²
gearing into the wheel m² fixed on the vertical screw shaft M and also the bevel
wheel gearing into m³ on M. The wheel k' runs loosely with the pulley on
the shaft K, the pulley and wheels k² and ke being fixed to and revolving with
the shaft K while the pulley k runs loose on the shaft K. The screw shafts M
and M have plain centre parts m³ and m' and run in upper bearings me and m² and
these bearings are carried by a cross bar N supported on the pillars or guides P
and P which are secured to the base F as shown. The rams R and R' are
supplied with detachable plates 7 and 8 to loosely fit the moulding boxes A and A'
Figure 5 and are mounted upon the screw shafts M and M' by means of cylindrical.
screw bushes 72. All these four screw bushes 2 have heads fitted ³ formed for a
spanner so that they may be operated and adjusted by hand, but ordinarily they
are held tight from turning by the set pins and this is their normal condition.
The rams have a bored hole through them at each end to receive adjustable,
¡

page_text: bushes to suit the pillars P and P¹ upon which they slide. We make the upper
portion of each screw M and M₁ of much coarser pitch than the lower parts so
that the upper ram R moves faster than the lower one but we do not confine
ourselves to this as they may both run at the same speed if desired. The upper
screws have their threads cut to the opposite hand to the bottom threads so that
both rams R and R' advance to the boxes A and A' and retreat together. The
pattern plate B rests in its normal condition as shown at Figure 1 upon the two
spring bushes D and D' with the two boxes A and A' one on each side as will be
clearly seen. Sand is of course supplied to the lower and upper boxes A and A¹
and both rams R and R' are brought forward by means of the driving gear aud
screw shatts so pressing the sand C upon each side of the pattern plate thus
forming the mould as seen at Figures 5 and 6.
The mould having been formed by the pressure of the rams on the loose sand C
we will explain the operation of separating the boxes and pattern plate B. The
top box A is first separated by actuating the lever L¹ which is fixed to the
spindle supported from the bottom ram R as seen at Figures 2. 3. and 8 the motion
of the lever L' being communicated to the top box by means of the short lever ³
fixed at the other end of the spindle and the links with the ropes or wires
and the wires being guided over the wheels W www³ 20¹ 105 as shown at
Figure 1, W and w¹ being formed in one and turning together. The bottom box A
is worked by the lever L which is fixed to the hollow shaft mounted upon the
spindle with the short lever and the link . The levers L and L' work in a
guide V attached to the front of the bed F as seen at Figures 11 and 12 hinged
stops and being provided to secure the levers in position. When the top
box A is lifted, the pattern plate B rises from the bottom box A by means of the
spring bushes D and D shown in detail at Figure 9 the bushes being supported
through the springs d d by the solid collars m³ formed on or fixed to the
screw shafts M and M'. The pattern plate is then swung out of the way of the
bottom box by turning on the bush D'as a hinge or it may be made to swing on D
if desired. The top and bottom boxes A and A' are then brought together again,
and the complete mould formed of the upper and lower portions C' and C² removed
from the boxes on the loose board e as seen at Figures 5 and 6. For actuating
the screw shafts M and M' we mount three pullies k³, k and k on the horizontal
shaft K which revolve in the manner before stated so that the driving band E
would be on the pulley when the rams are advancing towards one another and
on when the latter are receding or vice versa, no motion being given to the screw
shafts M and M' when the band is on . By the arrangement shown in Figures 1,2
and 3 the band E may be moved automatically from k³ to k and vice versa to change
the motion of the rams R and R', by the sliding bar S crank s' and vertical rod 2
the latter having the forked parts and moving with the bottom ram B' as seen at
Figures 2 and 3. The rod may be moved up and down by hand if so desired by
leaving out the forked parts and attaching a handle or lever thereto. As au
alternative we may use the arrangement shown in Figures 11 and 12 where the
sliding bar S is actuated by the swinging frame T centred at t and attached to the
slotted bar t2 the latter carrying the adjustable weights t³, T and 2 may however
be in one piece. Moving with and attached to the bottom ram R' is the adjustable
screw pin which bears against the outside edge of the frame T, or we may mount
a roller on the pin to lessen friction. In the position as shown the bottom
ram R is ready to take its downward stroke, the band E being on the loose
pulley and the oscillating frame T hung vertically. By means of the handles
connected with the slide bar S and worked from the front of the machine the
driving band E is shifted on to the pulley which operation moves the frame T
into a position with the edge to vertical. This allows the pin to pass and when
the ram has finished its stroke the pin is in the position as shown by dotted lines
Figure 12, the weight 3 having brought the frame T into its vertical position
which operation shifts the band E on to the loose pulley kt. To start the ram R¹
on its upward stroke the band is shifted on to k³ by moving the handles the band

page_text: again being moved on to the loose pulley at the finish of the stroke by the swinging
frame as seen in Figure 11 and so on.
The driving gear shown in Figure 10 we may use as an alternative in place of
the pulleys shown Figures 1, 2 and 3. By using cone pulleys k³, k and k
and the conical drum g' on the driving shaft G we obtain greater power for
separating the rams R and R' presuming to be the pulley in use when the rams
are receding from one another.
We may use screws of any convenient form and pitch for the shaft M and M' to
obtain any desired relative motion of the rams R and R' and the screws M and M'
may be cut to opposite hands, the wheel working on the left hand side of M
instead of the right hand as shown in Figure 1. Insted of compressing the moulds
near the centre of the machine as illustrated in Figure 1 we may operate them in
any desired position between the cross frame N and bed F. We may construct the
machine as illustrated in any desired or convenient proportions and do not confine
ourselves to the exact design of the different parts as shown. The pulleys k³ k*
and may be on either end of the machine also the levers L and L' may be
arranged sufficiently close to each other to be actuated together by one hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1st. The improved moulding machine consisting essentially of the vertical screws
and guide pillars operating the rams in relation to the boxes and parts by means of
the driving gear or its equivalent substantially as herein set forth and shown upon
the drawings.
2nd. In moulding machines the particular mode of mounting the hinged pattern
plate and of operating the same as well as the lifting box D which may be
substituted by inclined planes, or a compressed air cylinder substantially as herein
set forth and shown.
3rd. In moulding machines the mode of mounting the moulding boxes and of
separating and operating the same by the levers and gear or their equivalent
substantially as herein set forth and shown.
4th. In moulding machines the particular arrangement of the driving gear for
operating the machine with such like modifications of the same substantially as
herein explained and as shown upon the drawings.
5th. The moulding machine and its parts herein before described and as shown
upon the drawings by Figures 1 to 12 inclusive.
Dated this 14th day of December 1895.
GEORGE BARKER,
77 Colmore Row, Birmingham, Agent for Applicants.