IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING TWO OR MORE HOLES IN METAL WITH ONE ADJUSTMENT OF THE WORK
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Walmsley, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County
of Lancaster, Iron Manufacturer, and John Thompson, of the same Place,
Manager, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING
TWO OR MORE HOLES IN METAL WITH ONE ADJUSTMENT OF THE WORK."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Walmsley and John
Thompson at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th March
1878.
THOMAS WALMSLEY, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Iron
Manufacturer, and JOHN THOMPSON, of the same Place, Manager. "MPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING TWO OR MORE HOLES IN METAL WITH ONE
ADJUSTMENT OF THE WORK."
Our Invention relates to machinery or apparatus suitable for employment in the
punching of holes in bars, rails, or plates of wrought iron, steel, or other metal.
The particular use for which we have designed the said apparatus is the punching
of the holes in wheel tyres, and the object of our Invention is to punch all the holes
in a tyre or in a bar which is to form a tyre, at one operation.
The said apparatus consists of a number of punching heads or carriages mounted
upon a bed similar to a lathe bed, or upon slides or bearers, or upon a shaft or slide,
so that they can be adjusted to the required distances apart. This adjustment may
be conveniently effected by means of pinions carried by the punch carriages and
gearing with a rack fixed to the bed, the carriages when adjusted being fixed in
position by means of bolts. The punches may be actuated by hydraulic or steam
pressure, or by means of screws, cams, excentrics, or levers.
In one arrangement a shaft is fitted to revolve in bearings in or upon the said
bed, and the parts extending between the bearings under the bed are excentrically
formed. Motion is transmitted through connecting links from the said shaft to

page_text: levers which actuate the punch slides.
When the punch carriages are moved
upon the bed the eyes of the said connecting links slide upon the excentric
shaft.
A revolving motion is imparted to the said shaft by means of a suitable
arrangement of gearing. If preferred an ordinary concentric shaft may be employed
and excentrics he fitted to slide thereon. The punch slides are fitted with sliding
blocks, which cause the punches to act or not, as is usual, and the stop levers of all
the punch carriages are mounted upon or connected with one shaft, so that all the
punches are thrown into or out of action by actuating any one of the levers, or by
acting upon the said shaft. Any suitable method for effecting the adjustment of
the die may be adopted, but we prefer to use a couple of wedge-shaped bolts which,
in conjunction with a set screw, enable us to adjust the die in all directions, and
also serve to hold the die firmly in position.
The punches may be arranged to act simultaneously or in rotation. The bar,
plate, or rail may be punched hot or cold. When punching holes nearer together
than the width of each carriage, the bar, plate, or rail may be moved forward to a
fixed stop after one set of holes has been punched and another set or other sets be
punched as required.
In the punching of wheel tyres or tyre bars we prefer to employ dies having
holes considerably larger in diameter than the punches.
If it be preferred to punch the tyres after they have been bent into forin the
punch carriages may be arranged to radiate from a common centre and to be adjust-
able radially nearer to or farther from the said contre, the punches being actuated
by means of hydraulic pressure or by means of a central cam, or by other suitable
means. In such a case we should prefer to actuate the dies as well as the punches
and to employ hydraulic pressure to cause the punches and dies to approach each
other and to recede from each other at the required times.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Walmsley and John Thompson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th September 1878.
THOMAS WALMSLEY, of Bolton-le-Moors, in the County of Lancaster, Iron
Manufacturer, and JOHN THOMPSON, of the same Place, Manager. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR PUNCHING TWO OR MORE HOLES IN METAL WITH ONE
ADJUSTMENT OF THE WORK."
Our Invention relates to machinery or apparatus suitable for employinent in the
punching of holes in bars, rails, or plates of wrought iron, steel, or other metal.
The particular use for which we have designed the said apparatus is the punching
of the holes in wheel tyres, and the object of our Invention is to punch all the holes
in a tyre, or in a bar which is to form a tyre, at one operation
The said apparatus consists of a number of punching heads or carriages mounted
upon a bed similar to a lathe bed, or upon slides or bearers, or upon a shaft or slide,
so that they can be adjusted to the required distances apart. The punches may be
actuated by hydraulic or steam pressure, or by means of screws, cams, excentrics, or
levers. To effect the adjustment of the die we prefer to use a couple of wedge-
shaped bolts, which in conjunction with a set screw enable us to adjust the die in
all directions, and also serve to hold the die firmly in position.
If it be preferred to punch the tyres after they have been bent into form, the
punch carriages may be arranged to radiate from a common centre and to be adjust-
able radially nearer to or farther from the said centre, the punches or punches and
dies being actuated by means of hydraulic pressure, or by means of a central cam,
or by other suitable means.
And in order that our Invention may be readily described and understood, we
have appended hereunto a Sheet of Drawings made to a scale of about one
and a half inches to the foot and marked with letters of reference, corresponding
marks indicating the same parts in the various Figures.
Referring to the said Drawings,—
Fig. 1 represents a ground plan of a machine adapted to be employed in the
punching of bars which are to be bent into wheel tyres.
Fig. 2 is a cross section of the bed, representing also a side elevation of one of the
punching heads.
Fig. 3 is a back elevation, and Fig. 4 a front elevation of one of the punching
heads, a portion of the bed and excentric shaft being represented in each case.
In the said Figs. A is a bed, which is formed with two bearing surfaces which
are planed to receive the punching heads B. One of the said bearing surfaces is
formed with vee slides, the heads B being formed and planed to correspond, a
strip a which can be adjusted by means of screws ensuring a sufficiently accurate
fit, so that the heads may be slid to and fro upon the bed in a straight line. Upon
the said bed is fixed a rack b. Upon a shaft c, which is fitted to revolve in bearings
formed in or fixed to each head, is fixed a spur pinion which gears with the said
rack. The outer end of the shaft c is squared to receive a hand lever d, by means
of which the said shaft can be turned, whereby the head can be slid in either
direction upon the bed. When adjusted in the required position the head may be
fixed by tightening up the bolts e, the heads of which pass below the projecting
part of the upper front edge of the bed, as seen in Fig. 2. A punch slide f is fitted
to slide up and down in a similar manner to the corresponding parts in ordinary
punching machines, and is actuated by a pair of levers g which vibrate upon a pin h.
To this pair of levers is jointed at i one end of an eccentric rod or link k which
passes between the levers, and the other end of this link is bored to slide upon a
shaft. The said shaft is turned and fitted to revolve in bearings m, m³, but the
two parts of the shaft extending between the bearings m and situated within the
þed A are so turned as to be excentric to the journals which reyolye in the said

page_text: bearings, as indicated in Fig. 2, the result being that when the said shaft is caused
to revolve the link imparts a vibrating movement to the levers g. The free ends
of these levers enter slots in the upper part of the slide f, so that when the said
levers vibrate the said slidé is caused to move up and down. In a slot or opening
in the slide fa block is fitted, and is connected by a link with a lever n which
extends upwards between the levers, and is formed with a handle. The slide fis
provided with a punch o which is mounted in a hole bored in the slido, and is
formed with a head which is immediately below the said block. When the said
block is withdrawn inwards the punch is free to yield by sliding upwards, but when
the block is moved into position over the punch head the yielding of the punch is
prevented by reason of the said block forming an abutinent for the punch head.
This stop motion is similar to the ordinary stop motion employed in punching
machines. The lever n is mounted upon a square shaft p which extends from end
to end of the bed A, and is mounted in suitable bearings. Each of the punching
heads is provided with a similar stop motion, and all the hand levers n are mounted
on the said shaft so that all the punches may be prevented from acting or be caused
to act by acting upon one of the said hand levers so as to turn the shaft pin one
direction or the other. Each punch head is fitted with a dier which is arranged to
be adjustable in position, as is usual. Fig. 5 illustrates the arrangement which we
have adopted. The dier is mounted between two wedge-shaped bolts & which act
in conjunction with a set screw t. By slackening or tightening the screw and
tightening or slackening the bolts as may be required the die may be adjusted to
some extent in all directions. Any other suitable means of adjustment may be
.adopted in lieu of this arrangement.
For punching wheel tyres we make the hole in the die considerably larger, say,
for example, a quarter of an inch larger than the diameter of the punch; and to
counteract the tendency of the bending to ovalise the holes we may make the dios
or both punches and dies oval to some extent, the longest diameter being in the
direction across the width of the bar. In the example the machine is provided
with six punching heads, but the number may be less or more than six, as may be
required for different classes of work. The excentric shaft is actuated by a strap or
by gearing, or by means of a special steam engine, or by other suitable means.
the example the said shaft is provided with a fly wheel at each end so as to equalise
the strain upon the shaft to some extent, and receives motion from a driving shaft u
through a spur wheel and pinion u¹.
In
The machine is or may be used in the following manner:-The heads are adjusted
.in position by means of the levers so as to punch the holes at the required
distances apart, and may then be secured by means of the bolts e. The tyre bar to
be punched is placed in position upon the dies. Adjustable stops, the adaptation of
which will be readily effected, may be used to enable the bar to be more quickly
placed in position. The revolution of the excentric shaft will cause all the punches
to penetrate the bar. If the bar is not in position when the punches are descending
on to it one of the hand levers k is acted upon to throw the punches out of action.
The shaft may be acted upon by a weight or spring, or equivalent appliance,
which will tend to draw in all the blocks of the stop motions, so that the punches
will only act when put into action by drawing forwards one of the hand levers n;
or the punches may be thrown out of action by putting back the said levers after
each bar has been punched; or the blocks may remain in position to cause the
punches to act, and the punches be only thrown out of action when circumstances
render such a course necessary, as preferred. The bar may be punched hot or cold.
When punching holes nearer together than the shortest attainable interval
between any two dies, the bar or plate to be punched may be moved forward to a
fixed stop after one set of holes has been punched, and another set or other sets be
punclied as required; as for example, supposing the said shortest interval to be twelve
inches, the bar or plate may be moved forward two, three, four, or six inches, and
be again punched.
.
The forms and arrangements of the punching heads may be greatly modified as

page_text: we do not confine ourselves to the precise method of actuating the punch in each
head.
In lieu of the excentric shaft excentrics may be fitted to revolve with a concentric
shaft, and to slide upon it when the punching heads are moved upon the bed. In
such a case the strain upon the shaft might be reduced by so forming and arranging
the said excentrics so that the punches would be caused to act in rotation.
We may employ hydraulic power to actuate the punches.
The remaining Figs. illustrate an arrangement for punching rings or circular
tyres. In this example six sets of hydraulic punching apparatus are mounted upon
six beds or upon the six arms of a bed, the said beds radiating from a common
centre. Upon each bed is mounted a cylinder C and a die carrier D. The said
cylinder is fitted to slide upon the bed, and is arranged to be adjustable nearer to or
further from the centre of the machine, and to be firmly bolted or secured in position
when adjusted. Within the cylinder two pistons v, w, are fitted to slide, and the
shanks of these pistons pass out in opposite directions, suitable packing being
employed for the pistons and shanks, as in ordinary hydraulic apparatus. The
outer end of the shank wis provided with a punch. The outer end of the shank v
is connected by means of a cross head and two side rods x, x, with the die carrier D,
to which a die is fixed, and which is fitted to slide upon the bed.
In a casting or part y which is secured to the under side of the cylinder C are
formed two passages, one of which passages communicates by means of a port with
the central space between the two pistons, the other passage communicating by
means of two ports with the annular spaces on the outer sides of the pistons.
Pipes and a pass through glands or leathers into the passages in y, the arrange-
ment being such as that the cylinder C may be slid upon the bed for adjustment
without interfering with the water or fluid connection, the glands sliding upon the
two pipes.
Each set of six pipes is connected with a common supply pipe. A pipe 6¹ supplies
the pipes, and a pipe c' the pipes a¹. When fluid is forced through the pipes &
the two pistons are separated, and the six punches and the six dies are caused to
approach each other and to perforate the ring, indicated by E, the die carriers being
caused to slide towards the punches by the action of the pistons v. On the contrary,
when fluid is forced into the pipes a¹ the pistons are caused to approach each other,
whereby the punches and dies are separated, so that the tyre can be removed.
The number of sets of punches and dies operating in concert may be less or more
than six.
The arrangements for connecting the cylinders with the fluid supply may be
varied. If preferred separate cylinders may be formed in the die carriers, and be
fitted with pistons to act upon the dies, in which case the parts C and D might be
formed in one casting.
The apparatus may be employed for punching metal rings other than tyres. The
relative positions of the punches and dies may be reversed, the punches being fixed
to the carriers D, and the dies to the shanks or piston rods w, and this arrangement
would be more suitable for punching tyres.
Although we prefer to employ hydraulic pressure in the punching of rings or
tyres other means may be employed to actuate the punches; such, for example, as a
central cam arranged to revolve upon a vertical axis and to act upon punch slides.
Having now fully set forth and indicated the nature of our said Invention, and
means whereby the same may be carried into effect, we would have it to be under-
stood in conclusion that we claim,―
First. The punching machines constructed and acting substantially as set forth
and indicated herein-before, and in and by the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. Mounting a number of punching heads upon a bed or slide, so that the
distances between them can be regulated, and actuating them by means of a common
excentric shaft or driving shaft, substantially as set forth and indicated.
Thirdly. Mounting a number of hydraulic punches upon a bed or slide so that

page_text: their distances apart can be regulated in order that a number of holes may be
punched in a bar at one operation.
Lastly. Arranging a number of sets of punching apparatus upon radiating beds
or slides in such a manner as that their distances from a common centre can be
adjusted radially, substantially as and for the purpose or purposes set forth and
indicated.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Walmsley and John Thompson, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Ninth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Signed and sealed by the said
Thomas Walmsley and John
Thompson in the presence of
HUGH GRANT,
Clerk to Edward K. Dutton,
Agent to the Patentees,
St. Ann's Churchyard,
Manchester.
.
THOMAS WALMSLEY. (1.S.)
JOHN THOMPSON.
(L.S.)