IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR SPIRALLY GROOVING WIRE
Year: 1885

page_text: I ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the county of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINES FOR SPIRALLY GROOVING WIRE," a communication from Alexander Reuben
Benton of Boston, in the state of Massachusetts, United States of America and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This Invention has relation to machines for spirally grooving metal wire of that
class in which the wire, which is to be grooved, is drawn through a revolving die,
which said die is provided with a series of hardened steel rollers, adapted to impress
upon the wire passing through the die a series of, longitudinal indentations, giving
the wire a cross or X shape. The wire, as it is drawn through the revolving die,
is wound upon a reel or drum, mounted in bearings on the frame which carries
the post or bearing in which the revolving die is mounted.
On the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a top view of this improved machine for grooving wire spirally.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.
Figure 3 is a detail view showing the recessed casting and anti-friction balls.
Figures 4 and 5 are similar views showing slight modifications in the manner of
securing the anti-friction balls; and
:
Figure 6 is a view of a portion of a piece of wire grooved by this machine.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
In machines of this class as heretofore constructed, there has been considerable
difficulty in grooving thin wire, for the reason that the friction of the shoulder of
the revolving die against the end of the box or bearing in which it revolves, has
been so great as to frequently break the wire in passing through the die and
turning it, and there has also been a drawback in the shape of the wire not having
any guide for its passage between the rollers which indent the wire to form the
groove, so that the grooves would not be of even thickness all around. the wire,

page_text: These difficulties are successfully overcome by the 'construction of this improved
machine, which shall now be described more fully with reference to the figures on
the sheet of drawings hereto attached.
On the said sheet of drawings, the letter A indicates the bearing in which the
die B, having the revolving cutters C, rotates. This bearing. A is properly
supported upon the bed plate of the machine, and the revolving die has a tubular
shaft which is inserted through the hollow bearing, as clearly shown in Figure 2.
A rotary motion is imparted to the tubular shaft of the die, and the die, by a
suitable arrangement of gear wheels meshing with one another, and by means of
which the drum upon which the grooved wire is to be wound after it leaves the die,
may also be revolved. The periphery of the said drum should be in a line with the
centre of the aperture in the tubular die-shaft, as is clearly illustrated in Figure 2,
so that the wire, as it emerges through the tubular shaft, will be received upon and
pass around the drum.
The forward end of the fixed box or bearing A, has an annular recess D, in the
bottom of which a flat ring E, of steel, is placed and inside of which recess a number
of large balls F, of steel or other hard material, are placed, having a number of
smaller balls, G, placed between them, the large ball projecting slightly out of
the recess.
A flat ring H, of steel or similar hard metal, is placed between the shoulder of
the die and the end of the bearing, so as to bear against the exposed portions of the
balls, and it will be seen that the said balls, bearing against the hard steel rings E
and H, will offer very little friction, thus allowing the rotating die to turn without
obstruction.
In place of the smaller balls G segmental strips or blocks I, may be used, by
interposing the same between the projecting or larger balls, the balls and the blocks
revolving freely in the recess in precisely the same manner as the larger and smaller
balls, and this modified construction is shown in Figure 4. Again, if desired, the
recess D, may be dispensed with, and a number of smaller recesses J, as shown in
Figure 5 may be made in the end of the fixed bearing A, each of which recesses is
provided with an anti-friction ball, projecting slightly out of the recess in which it
is placed. These several devices all operating substantially in the same manner,
that is to say, they serve to reduce the friction between the fixed bearing and the
revolving die-head to a minimum, as the wire is drawn through the die in the
direction of the arrow, which has, of course, a tendency to cause the revolving die-
head to bind against the bearing. As stated at the outset of this specification, in
machines of this class as ordinarily constructed, and where no means are provided
for reducing the friction between the revolving die and the bearing in which it
revolves, the strain of the wire, as it is drawn through the revolving die-head
between the grooving rollers, is sometimes so great that it will cause the shoulder
of the die head to bind against the shoulder of the bearing, and thus stop it from
revolving, unless great pressure is brought to bear on the revolving mechanism,
which is apt to break the wire. This difficulty is entirely obviated by the
construction and arrangement of the anti-friction rollers as hereinbefore described,
and even the thinnest kind of wire may be successfully grooved spirally without the
slightest danger of breakage.
Secured upon the bed plate of the machine, in any suitable manner, is a post or
upright K, which has a longitudinal aperture L in its upper end, and the said
aperture registers and is concentric with the bore through the die, and with the
space between the revolving dies or cutters between which the wire is to be fed.
Inserted into this aperture L, is a guide sleeve or tube M having a perforation or
bore of a diameter slightly in excess of the diameter of the wire to be grooved ;
the said guide sleeve being fixed in place by means of a set screw N, or some
similar fastening.device. By changing these sleeves according to the thickness of
the wire, it will be seen that the wire will be fed to the grooving rollers with
absolute accuracy, so as to enter even between said rollers, and not more to one
side than to the other; and it follows that the grooves or indentations will be of

page_text: even depth on all sides of the wire, and not of greater depth on one side than on
the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is
1. In a machine for spirally grooving wire of the described construction, the
combination of the bearing recessed in its forward end; the anti-friction balls
placed in the said recess or recesses; the flat ring bearing against the exposed or
projecting portions of said balls; and the shoulder die; substantially as and for the
purpose shown and set forth.
2. In a machine for spirally grooving wire of the described construction, the
combination of the bearing having an annular recess in its forward end; a flat ring
placed in the bottom of the said recess; anti-friction balls of a diameter greater
than the depth of the recess, and anti-friction balls of a diameter smaller than the
depth of the recess, placed in the intervals between the larger balls; the rotary die
having the shoulder and the flat ring placed between the shoulder of the die and
the forward end of the bearing; substantially as and for the purpose shown and set
forth.
3. In a machine for spirally grooving wire of substantially the described
constructing, the combination of the rotary die with an upright having a guide-
sleeve or tube in its upper end, the aperture through said sleeve or tube registering
and being concentric with the bore of the die; substantially as and for the purpose
shown and set forth.
4. In a machine for spirally grooving wire of substantially the described
construction, the combination of the rotary die with an upright having an aperture
in its upper end concentric with the bore of the die, and a removable guide-sleeve
or tube secured in the said aperture and provided with a central bore of a diameter
slightly in excess of the diameter of the wire to be grooved, substantially as and
for the purpose shown and set forth.