An Improved Process of and Apparatus for Moulding or Pressing into Various Shapes Metal Plates and other Articles of Metal or other Material.
Year: 1888

page_text: PROYADIONAD DIE
An Improved Process of and Apparatus for Moulding or Pressing
into Various Shapes Metal Plates and other Articles of Metal or
other Material..
I, EDWIN CHAMBERS JOHN DEVIS, of Moore Park Boiler Works, Govan, Glasgow,
in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention, relates to an improved process of, and apparatus, for, moulding or
pressing into various shapes, metal plates and other articles of metal or other material
and consists essentially in pressing the metal plate on to a die formed to whatever
shape may be required, the pressure being that of water or other fluid transmitted
from the fluid through one or more diaphragms and then through sand or other finely
divided substance in juxta-position to the plate which is to be moulded.
The Invention is also applicable to the moulding of such substances as paper,
leather or felt.
The apparatus varies in general form and in detail according to the substance to be
worked and the shape to be produced. One form which I use for moulding or in-
denting hollow metal articles, of cylindrical shape or prisms or portions of the same, con-
sists of a strong outer cylinder lined with a flexible material which is jointed to the
cylinder at both ends thereof; in the interior of the said cylinder is placed a core or die of
the required shape leaving a sufficient space between the said die and the flexible linng;
the article of metal, to be moulded or indented is placed either hot or cold according to
circumstances, round or partly round the core in close proximity to the same, the space
between the said core and the flexible lining being partly or wholly filled with
a finely divided substance such as sand.
Water, or other fluid, at a sufficient pressure is introduced between the outer or
supporting cylinder and the flexible lining and presses the said lining, together
with the sand, against the one side of the plate to be moulded, which is thus forced
with its opposite side against the pattern upon the core or die, the required pattern,
moulding or indenting being thus imparted to the plate.

page_text: The apparatus may be reversed by placing the die or dies on the outside of the
cylinder containing the fluid and forcing the plate from the inside outwards.
As a modification of the apparatus for moulding sheets or slabs which are com-
paratively flat, the fluid containing vessel may be in the form of a segment of a hollow
sphere, or cylinder as the case may be, with a flexible lining as before described, the
cavity being filled with the sand, the slab or plate to be moulded being laid upon the
top of the sand, the die being firmly secured immediately above the plate to be
moulded.
The flexible lining may be single or double, simple or compound, and of any con-
venient material and the die may be moulded of lead or other suitable material or the
said die may be built together in blocks.
The object of the above described arrangements, is to obtain improved results and
to dispense with such operations as pressing between two dies, rolling and casting, and
generally to reduce the cost of manufacture.
By the employment of a finely divided substance such as sand, an approximately
uniform pressure is brought to bear against the whole surface of the plate to be
moulded in the use of sand also I am enabled to mould the plate while in a heated
state, the sand protecting the flexible diaphragm and the use of sand or its equivalent
also enables a sufficiently tight joint to be made easily and quickly at the part where
the plate to be moulded is inserted in the press.
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page_text: An Improved Process of and Apparatus for Moulding or Pressing
into Various Shapes Metal Plates and other Articles of Metal or
other Material.
I, EDWIN CHAMBERS JOHN DEVIS, of 58 Fenney Street, Higher Broughton,
Manchester, Lancashire, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved process of, and apparatus for moulding or
pressing into various shapes, metal plates and other articles of metal or other
material, and has for its objects to eliminate certain objections and difficulties in the
various methods at present employed for moulding metal plates and plastic materials,
and to provide a means of performing many moulding operations more satisfactorily,
cheaply and quickly than at present, and of producing certain forms, hereinafter
described, of great use to Boilermakers, and not at present easily obtainable.
A common method of moulding metal is by embossing or swaging them between
two suitably shaped solid Dies, one of which forms the head of the Ram of an
Hydraulic Press or a Steam Hammer, or is connected thereto. Another is by
applying hydraulic pressure direct to one side of the plate, the other being in contact
with a mould or die. Both these methods are of limited applicability and in many
cases entail unnecessary expense in machinery or apparatus, and delay in operation-
With a Steam hammer or Hydraulic press, besides the expense of accurately fitting
the moving parts and the trouble of keeping tight joints, the expense of two accurately
corresponding dies is necessary, and as motion in one direction only is possible, if the
surface to be moulded diverges much from a plane, or is very extensive, the work
usually has to be done in several operations or steps.
The method of direct hydraulic pressure above-mentioned, is not applicable to the
moulding of heated plates, or materials injuriously affected by water; and it involves
the difficulty and delay of making a tight joint after the article to be mouided is in
position. In the case of cylindrical articles such as boiler flues, ribbed or corrugated,
to which this invention is specially applicable, the moulding is usually done by means
of rolls, and the objections to this process are that the rolling is very injurious to the
welded joint, and that it is practically impossible to produce corrugation otherwise
than continuous, and of equal lengths; so that certain forms of flues of great
usefulness, and hereinafter described, cannot be produced, unless at excessive cost.
My invention resembles somewhat the second of the two processos before-
mentioned, in which hydraulic pressure is applied directly to the article to be moulded;
It consists in the use of a finely divided solid substance, (which for the sake of brevity,
I will hereinafter call powder), instead of water as a pressure transmitting medium,
pressure being communicated to it through a flexible diaphragm from any convenient
fluid. This enables me to mould plates at a red heat, the powder used being a bad
conductor of heat, and avoids the necessity of a tight-fitting joint where the plate
enters the press, as the powder does not easily leak out. It also enables me to
mould many materials which would be injuriously affected by water; and many
forms, such as cylinders, in one operation. In the case of a material such as paper
pulp, the powder also serves to soak up the superflous moisture.

page_text: In moulding corrugated Boiler flues or fireboxes by my process, the pressure being
evenly applied simultaneously all over the surface to be moulded, the metal is wholly
in compression, and there are no local concentrations of pressure tending to tear open
the weld and otherwise injure the plate, as there are when the mouldings are rolled,
swaged, embossed or otherwise formed between solid metal blocks acting on different
parts of the metal at different times-I am also enabled to leave, with very little extra
difficulty and cost, isolated parts of the plates, of any shape or size, plain or un-
corrugated, such as parts for the attachment of " Galloway" tubes and furnace
bearers, and other parts, partially corrugated, such as projecting pieces to form the
bottom of combustion chambers et cetra.
Materials such as leather, paper et cetra, as also thin metal sheets are moulded cold
by this process; but heavy iron and steel plates are preferably worked at a bright
red heat.
The exact design and material of each part of my apparatus, and the general_form
of the same, vary according to the material and form of work, to be done but I will
now describe one or two forms by which I carry out my invention.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings, shows a simple form of my powder press
used for moulding small articles when no great divergence from a plane is required;
A is a dished metal plate; forming a shallow vessel which is closed at the top by the
elastic diaphragm B, which may be of indiarubber, protected from wear by canvas, or
of other suitable material or construction; C is a ring of metal which serves to form
a joint between A & B, and to confine the powder which rests on the diaphragm ;
this part of the apparatus may be fixed-The movable part consists of an inverted
metal box or tray D, to the underside of which is fixed the mould E; it also carries
the clip bars F F.-The plate or other article to be moulded is placed on the top of
the sand, the cover is then lowered on to the press when the bars F, F, catch the
underside of the plate A, and the ring G slips down over them and holds them in
place Compressed air, water, or other suitable fluid, at a sufficiently high pressure is
then let into the space between the plate A and the diaphragm B, and communicates
its pressure through the diaphragm to the powder, which presses evenly against the
article to be moulded, and causes it to take the shape of the mould.
Figure 2, shows an apparatus for moulding largor plates-In the case of the upper
and lower parts may ho permanently connected together, and may be strengthened by
girders G, G, G, G, G; the plate to be moulded being passed through an opening
left at one side-In other respects this apparatus is substantially similar, and the
Drawing is lettered similarly to the first described.
Figure 3, shows one form of my powder press, used for moulding cylindrical or
approximately cylindrical forms; I will describe it as used for moulding corrugated
boiler flues.
A, is a strong cylindrical vessel of steel or iron; B, is a flexible lining of india-
rubber, protected from wear by strong canvas, or of other suitable material or
materials, and tightly jointed to A at each end; C, C, are top and bottom cover
plates, securely bolted in place; D, is a.guard cylinder, of sheet or plate metal, to
keep the powder in place, and passing through an opening in the lower cover plate.-
E, E, are movable jaws, capable of adjustment radially to the press, and actuated by
the lever F, or other suitable contrivance; G is a gravat or collar of double split
sheet metal to form a powdertight, but very easy fitting joint with D; H is a hopper
which together with the space between the diaphragm and the guard cylinder, is filled
with the powder-The powder is preferably sharp sand in this case; J is a vertical
bar or mandril, on which is centred or supported the mould or core K, and whose
lower end is wide enough to support the guard cylinder when necessary; L, is a
movable collar or ledge, resting on the guard cylinder, and of an internal diameter
just sufficient to clear the mould or core. The method of operation is as follows:-
The steel flue tube having been bent, welded, and heated to a bright red is lowered
on to the collar L, and pressing down the guard cylinder, enters the press with the
exception of a little margin at the top; at the same time, the jaws E, E, being open,
sand enters from the hopper to take up the slack due to the difference in diameter

page_text: between the flue tube and the guard cylinder-By a motion of the Lever F, the jaws
are made to clip the hot tube tight at the top, forining a sufficiently close joint-Fluid
at high pressure is then let into the spaco between vessel A and the flexible lining-
The pressure is thus communicated to the sand, which causes the hot tube to take the
form of the mould in the centre; the fluid pressure is then taken off, the joint at the
top broken, and the mandril lifted-This lifts the guard cylinder into its former
position, and the core and corrugated tube are raised above the press, where they can
be dotached from each other, the superflous sand being at the same time forced back
into the hopper-The mandril being then lowered again, the press is ready for
another core.
In order to economize the high pressure fluid, the slack of the sand may be first
taken up by admitting fluid at a lower pressure-The mould or core may be built
up in blocks or cast in lead or other metal on a strong core tube, and when some
of the corrugations are to be intersected by plain parts, as described with reference
to Figures 4, & 5, such corrugations are filled up either in the core K, or in the
moulding box in which it is formed, in any convenient way and at the desired places.
In another modification the mould is on the outside, and takes the form of a box
with the mouldings on its inner surface the press being at the inside.
Figure 4, shows one form of my improved corrugated furnace or flue as made for
marine boilers, with two partial corrugations under the combustion chamber and,
where such furnaces, as made at present, have to be stiffened by means of an angle or
tee bar rivetted on.
Figure 5 shows another form of my improved furnace or flue ring with a plain
circular part left for one end of a." Galloway" tube, and a smaller plain part for a
furnace bearer, these uncorrugated parts being left so while the rest is being
corrugated, instead of being formed afterwards as is now done.
Having now described the nature of my invention, some of the means by which
I carry it out, and some of the most important objects which it enables me to attain,
I have to state that I do not confine myself to the details nor to the particular forms
and materials mentioned, but I declare what I claim is :-
1st. In moulding sheets, plates or slabs of various materials, the pressing of such
materials on to a single mould or die by means of a finely divided substance in contact
with the material to be pressed, pressure being communicated to the said finely
divided substance, through an intermediate flexible diaphragm, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
2nd. The apparatus in which fluid pressure is communicated through a flexible
diaphragm to a finely divided substance for the purpose of moulding metallic and
other articles on single dies by direct pressure evenly distributed over the surface to
be moulded substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn in figures 1, 2, & 3 of
the accompanying Drawings.
3rd. The formation of welded corrugated boiler flues, furnaces, or fireboxes in
which some of the corrugations pass entirely round, and others only partially round,
leaving uncorrugated parts intersecting the lines of the latter corrugations; all the
corrugations being formed and the plain parts left uncorrugated at one and the
same operation, substantially as hereinbefore described and shewn with reference to
figures 4 & 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
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