Improvements in the Manufacture of Metallic Tubes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Oct., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 29th July. 1898-Accepted. 24th Sept., 1898
Improvements in the Manufacture of Metallic Tubes.
I, HARRY PERRINS, of 22, Grange Road, Smethwick, in the County of Stafford,
Roll Turner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to the manufacture of wrought steel and wrought
iron tubes for all purposes and particularly for gas steam and water and cold drawn
seamless tubes for cycle construction and other purposes.
By my invention I am enabled to form at one heat a finished wrought iron or steel
tube from rolled steel or other rolled iron bars of particular sections as hereinafter
described thereby effecting a considerable saving in the cost of manufacture as
compared with some other processes where the tube under operation has to be heated
one or more times before being finished. When applying my invention to the
manufacture of cold drawn tubes I form and roll the tube down to a certain diameter
and thickness by my invention and then reduce and finish the tube by cold drawing
in the usual way.
In carrying out my invention I first form what I call a piled hollow bloom as
follows: In an ordinary rolling mill with rolls turned to the proper shape I roll
mild steel or iron bars which are of a semi-circular or other trough shape in cross
section so that when two short pieces of these bars are laid with their hollow sides
together they will together have a tubular form. The sides of the bars corresponding
with the outside of the tube have a flat or flats rolled on them so that when one bar
is placed on the other as above described the flat side will form a base to prevent
rolling about in the furnace when being re-heated as hereinafter described. I roll
other bars also of a semi-circular or other trough section and of such a size that
when two of these smaller trough section bars are placed together with their hollow
sides adjacent they will fit within the aforesaid two outer bars and be supported
thereby and they are by preference so placed that whilst the two outer bars meet in
a horizontal plane the two inner bars meet in a vertical plane thus the longitudinal
joints of the two outer bars are lapped by the two inner bars and the longitudinal
joints of the two inner bars are lapped by the two outer bars. In order to prevent
the two inner bars from turning in the trough of the outer bars the latter are by
preference, although not necessarily, rolled with a groove or grooves in their hollow
faces in which groove or grooves a corresponding longitudinal rib or ribs or thickened
edges rolled on the outer surfaces of the inner bars fits or fit. The bars rolled as
above described are cut into short lengths according to the size of tube which is
required to be produced and two of the outer trough section bars and two of the inner
trough section bars are placed together as above described these forming what I call
a piled hollow bloom made in four segments.
The said piled hollow bloom is now heated to a welding heat in a furnace so that
the meeting surfaces of the bars forming the hollow bloom adhere and it is then
rolled into a tubular form by being passed through rolls which may be arranged in
any convenient way like those now used for rolling ordinary hollow blooms into tubes,
a stationary mandril being provided in the gates of the rolls to support the inside
of the tube while it is being rolled.

page_text: .
In order to roll the bloom into a tube quickly whilst it is at the proper heat I
prefer to use several pairs of rolls placed in a row one in front of the other with a
stationary mandril passing. through the corresponding gates or passes of the various
pairs of rolls the said passes and the plugs or swells on the mandrils between the
rolls being so shaped that after the piled hollow bloom has been threaded on to the
mandril and passed through the first pair of rolls it is elongated and reduced in
diameter to a certain extent and then it is passed along the mandril and through the
next pair of rolls and further reduced and elongated and so on along the mandril
and through the other pairs of rolls until the proper reduction in diameter and
thickness and elongation have been obtained, and this can be carried out to such an
extent as to roll the bloom down at the one heat thin enough to form some kinds
of wrought iron and steel tubes such for instance as gas steam and water tubes, and
when as aforesaid a further reduction of thickness and diameter and increased
elongation are required this is done by cold drawing on a draw bench or by other
well known means.
The diameter of the mandril between any one pair of rolls and the next pair is
made small enough to allow the tube to pass freely along it the mandril being made
with swells or plugs between each pair of rolls to support the interior of the tube
as it passes through the rolls. The various pairs of rolls are placed so far apart that
the tube has passed out of one pair before it enters the next.
The above described arrangement of several pairs of rolls and one stationary
mandril passing through all with swells and plugs between the rolls can be employed
for rolling ordinary hollow blooms into tubes in the same way as for my improved
hollow blooms and thus enable a greater elongation and reduction of the tube to be
obtained at one heat than is possible when the hollow blooms are rolled down in the
usual way.
It will be evident that instead of what I have called the piled hollow bloom being
made of four bars as above described, the said piled hollow bloom may be made of two
three or more than four bars which are rolled to a trough section so as to fit together
and form a piled hollow bloom for rolling into a tube as above described.
Dated this 5th day of October 1897.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Metallic Tubes.
I, HARRY PERKINS, of The Hawthorns, Wollaston, Stourbridge, in the County of
Worcester, late of 22, Grange Road, Smethwick, in the County of Stafford, Roll
Turner, 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 has reference to the manufacture of wrought steel and wrought iron
tubes for all purposes and particularly for gas steam and water and cold drawn
seamless steel tubes for cycle construction and other purposes.
By my invention I am enabled to form at one heat a finished wrought iron or steel
tube from rolled puddled bars or from other rolled iron bars or rolled steel bars of
particular sections as hereinafter described thereby effecting a considerable saving in
the cost of manufacture as compared with some other processes where the tube under
operation has to be heated one or more times before being finished. When applying
my invention to the manufacture of cold drawn tubes I form and roll the tube down
to a certain diameter and thickness in accordance with my invention and then reduce
and finish the tube by cold drawing in the usual way.

page_text: I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on which
Fig. 1 is a cross section of a piled hollow bloom formed of four rolled iron or steel
bars in accordance with my invention for rolling down into a circular section tube
such as shewn by Fig. 2; Fig. 3 shews separately one of the two outside bars of the
said piled hollow bloom; Fig. 4 is a separate view of one of the inside bars of the
same; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation and Fig. 6 is a plan of pairs of rolls arranged
in a series and a bulbed mandrel which I employ in carrying out my invention but it
is to be understood that to this machinery I make no claim; Fig. 7 shews on a large
scale the piled hollow bloom entering the first pair of rolls.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In making round section wrought iron or steel tubes in accordance with my
invention I first form what I call a piled hollow or tubular bloom as follows:-In
an ordinary rolling mill with the rolls turned to the proper shapes I roll puddled
iron bars or other iron or mild steel bars of the two trough section shapes represented
in Figs. 1 3 and 4. Two of these bars, marked A¹ A2, are both of the same section
and form the outside of the pile. The section of each of these bars A¹ A² somewhat
resembles half a hexagonal cylinder the division being longitudinal through two
opposite angles. The side a¹ or bottom of the trough is flat to form a base for the
pile to stand on and the other two sides a² a³ are somewhat rounded approximating
the shape of the required round tube. Care must be taken that the bars A¹ and A²
when Fig. 1 has been built up are so proportioned as to leave a small space between
them at the lines of junction at at. When these two bars A¹ A2 are laid with their
hollow sides together as shewn in Fig. 1 they together have a tubular form. The
other two bars B1 B2 which formn the inside of the pile are both of the same cross
section resembling half a cylinder which has a circular or approximately circular bore
and on the outside is of approximately hexagonal form the division being longitudinal
across two opposite sides, the bars being of the proper size and shape so that, when
laid with their hollow sides together they will fit between the two bars A¹ A² as shewn
in Fig. 1. In building up the pile one of the outside bars say A¹ is placed on its
base a¹ and the two inner bars B1 B2 are then placed within the trough of the same
with their meeting edges vertical as shewn in Fig. 1. The other bar A2 is then placed
on the top so as to enclose the two bars B1 B2 and thus the four bars form as shewn
by Fig. 1 what I call a piled hollow bloom made in four segments. It will be seen
that the longitudinal joints formed by the meeting of the two outer bars A¹ A² are
lapped by the two inner bars B1 B2 and the longitudinal joints formed by the meeting
of the two inner bars B1 B2 are lapped by the two outer bars A¹ A².
No core or
other filling material is required in forming this pile nor do the bars require to be
bound or otherwise fixed together as the peculiar shapes of the bars prevent them
from changing their positions relatively to one another unless the pile is upset, as
it will be seen that the two inner bars B1 B2 cannot turn inside the two outer bars
nor can the latter get askew with each other.
+
This piled hollow bloom is now raised to a welding temperature in a suitable
furnace, being placed with one of its flat sides a¹ on the furnace base or bed. By
the pile having two flat sides a¹ a¹ forming the top and bottom of the pile
respectively, it can be turned over in the furnace and will stand steady on either of
the flat sides and be effectually prevented from rolling about in the furnace. When
at a welding temperature the pressure of the uppermost outer bar as A2 (Fig. 1)
upon the inner bars B1 B2, and the pressure of the said bars B1 B2 upon the lower
outer bar A¹ all caused by the fact that the spaces at a permit of the weight of the
bar A2 to press upon B1 and B2 and all three A2 B1 and B2 to press upon the inner
surface of A¹ causes the parts to become united or partially welded along their
adjoining circumferential surfaces, and by such welding before removal from the
furnace the years will be secured and retained in their proper relative positions
during the subsequent rolling operation which completes the welding.
When the said piled hollow bloom is being heated in the welding furnace it
is found that the peculiar shapes of the bars as illustrated assist the adhering of
the inside bars to the outside bars, because as the former become hot they expand

page_text: somewhat after the welding or uniting of the circumferential surfaces has occurred,
thereby pressing their rounded sides more closely against the inner surfaces of the
two outer bars.
The rolling operation is accomplished by means of rolls and a stationary bulbed
mandril by preference arranged as represented by Figs. 6 and 7 but it is to be under-
stood that I do not make any claim to this machinery or apparatus as part of my
invention.
I prefer to employ six pairs of grooved rolls (more or less according to the required
reduction in area of the tube) marked respectively C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 arranged in line
with their axes horizontal as in an ordinary rolling mill and provided with semicircular
grooves e forming circular passes of gradually diminishing area from the first pair of
rolls C to the last pair Co. The stationary bulbed mandril D which at its front end d¹
engages with a fixed stationary cross bar E is carried through the passes of all the
rolls and provided with plugs or swells marked f one for each pair of rolls arranged in
the pass to support the interior of the tube as it is being rolled. The said heated
piled hollow bloom is threaded on to the mandril D at its front end d¹ (the mandril B
having previously been lifted out of the cross bar E) and then is rolled through the
first pair of rolls C¹ and through each of the other pairs in order and is gradually
reduced in diameter and lengthened until when the tube has passed through the last
pair of rolls C it will be of the required finished size.
The various pairs of rolls are placed so far apart that the tube will not enter one
pair until it has passed out of the preceding pair so as to allow of the tube being
turned a quarter round on the mandril before the tube enters the next pair of rolls.
This is necessary in order to roll down any rib or fin which may be formed on the
tube at the junction of the rolls.
The piled hollow bloom enters the first pair of rolls C¹ with the junction formed by
the meeting faces of the two outer bars A¹ A2 vertical as represented by Fig. 7 the
object of this being that the surfaces of the two rolls pressing on the pile in the
directions indicated by the arrows in Fig. 7 will very effectually press the two outer
bars A A² together and against the two inner bars B1 B2 thereby at once perfectly
welding the four bars together.
Thus the piled hollow bloom is rolled down at one heat thin enough to form some
kinds of wrought iron and steel tubes such for instance as gas steam and water tubes
but when a further reduction of thickness and diameter and increased elongation are
required this is done in the case of the steel tubes by cold drawing on a draw bench
or by other well known means.
The accompanying drawings shew what I consider to be the best shapes of the
four bars for forming the hollow pile but it will be evident that my invention is
not confined to the exact shapes of the bars shewn as these may be varied to some
extent without departing from the nature of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
is :-
The manufacture of wrought iron and steel tube from hollow blooms formed by
piles of inner and outer bars so shaped and arranged as to cause them to hold
together and to unite in the furnace when raised to a welding temperature, substan-
tially as described and as illustrated.
Thoth dove of Tulu 1000
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.