Improvements in Rolling-mill Plant.
Year: 1890

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by THE KILMER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, of Newbergh,
in the State of New York, United States of America.]
Improvements in Rolling-mill Plant.
1, GEORGE MACAULAY-(CRUIKSHANK C.E. of 62 Saint Vincent Street, in the City
of Glasgow, Registered Patent Agent and Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, as communicated to me to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :—
This Invention has relation to rolling mill plant for reducing a bloom or billet of
metal to a rod by one continuous operation and at a single heat and the objects and
advantages of the Invention will appear in the following description and the novel
features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the drawing-
Figure is a plan of a plant constructed and arranged in accordance with the
Invention and Figure 2, is a front elevation of the several trains or rolls employed in
the plant.
Like letters refer to like parts in both figures.
The plant comprises four series or trains of rolls consisting of billet train A, a
side train B, and a bylapping pair of rod trains C and D. The billet train A, has
arranged in convenient proximity thereto the bloom or billet furnace A', and consists
of a set of rolls A², three high which are suitably connected and arranged in line with
a desired number of cooperating reducing rolls A3 and A¹.
The train A to B, performs its usual function of reducing a billet to a size which
adapts it to be operated upon by the rod train of a mill. The means employed in this
Invention for such a reduction of the reduced billet are what is herein designated as a
side train B. Any suitable straight guide B', is interposed between the billet train
and the side train B, and a similar guide B2, serves to conduct the billet, which has
been reduced from the side train B, to the first set of rolls of the section C, of the rod
train proper. The side train is located at such a distance from the billet train that
not only is sufficient room provided for a catchet to return the leading end of the
reduced billet to another set of rolls in the billet train, but to permit of the control of
the slack or surplus or even in some instances of the lack of a certain degree of length
in the product issuing from the billet train.
plant are run at
In this instance separate
The engine 1, is
As is usual in rolling mill plants the several sections of the
increased speeds from the billet train to the rod train.
engines or inotors are employed for separate sections of the plant.
geared directly with the side train B, and by means of pulleys and belts with the
billet train A, while the engine 2 is, by means of the belts and pulleys shown in full
and dotted lines geared directly with the two sections D, C, the motion being so as to
give the desired gradual increase of speed in the rolling action of each section pro-
gressively from the billet train.
Now it will be seen that by placing the train B, at a predetermined distance from
the billet train and from the first section C, of the rod train there is an opportunity
for an overfeed of material from the billet train to the train B, and from the latter 10
the first section of the rod train and there is also an opportunity to produce a slight
stretching of the material in case of underfeed thereof from either billet or side train.
The occurrence of an underfeed is liable to be somewhat rare but whenever it exists
the result is merely a very slight reduction in the area of the cross section of the
material which is more advantageous than otherwise to the remaining process of
bringing the same to rod size.
The relative arrangement of the several trains is such as to produce alternately
cross-sections of square and oval and a final circular cross section as indicated at x,
in the drawings and wherever the material emerges from the rolls with a square
гр

page_text: cross-section, curved guides or repeaters E, may be employed and thus the services of a
"catchet," are saved at each of these points in the plant. At other points, that is
where the rod emerges in oval cross-section "catchets" are employed to give the
rod the usual quarter turn upon introducing it into the next pair of rolls in a
train.
By overlapping the sections (and D, of the rod train a straight guide F, may be
employed, thereby dispensing with the services of a catcher at that point, and the
further advantage is secured of a contraction of the floor space required for the
plant. It is of course apparent that the number of pairs or sets of rolls in each
train may be increased as desired to produce a desired reduction of a billet or in other
words to effect the production of a rod of a desired size.
Heretofore there have been different arrangements of billei and rod trains with or
without the interposition of an intermediate train arranged between the billet and rod
train and in feed line with both, that is so that the last rolls of one train would feed
directly into the first rolls of a subsequent train in the plant, and heretofore also a
system of rolls having the several functions of billet and rod reducing rolls have been
arranged to cojointly and continuously operate to produce rods from billets but I am
not aware of an arrangement which simultaneously and in the manner herein before
described provides for an overfeed or an underfeed and for the same reduction in
the number of catchets required to operate the plant as is provided in the Invention
1ereinbefore set forth.
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 I declare that what claim is
1. A plant for rolling billets to rods, comprising a billet train, a side train arranged
at a distance therefrom and overlapping at one end only and an intermediate rod train
in overlapping sections substantially as specified.
2. In a rod mill plant a billet train, a side train arranged at a distance there-
from and overlapping the same and an intermediate rod train in sections having
overlapping terminals with one end of the train overlapping the side train substantially
as specified.
3. In a rod mill plant a billet train, a side train and an intermediate rod train with
one terminal overlapping the side train and the other terminal outside the limit
thereof, substantially as described.
4. In a rod mill plant a billet train supplemental reducing rolls, a side train over-
lapping the same and arranged at a distance therefrom and a rod train in overlapping
sections with both sections between the billet and side train with one terminal over-
lapping the side train substantially as specified.
5. In a rod mill plant a billet train, a side train arranged at a distance therefrom
a straight guide between the two, an intermediate rod train in overlapping sections
with one terminal overlapping the terminal of the side train and a straight guide
from the side train to the nearest overlapping terminal of the rod train substantially
as specified.
6. In rod mill plant, a billet train, an overlapping side train, arranged at a distance
from the billet train, an overlapping section of a rod train arranged at a distance from
said side train and nearer the billet train and an overlapping final section of a rod
train arranged near its first section, trains at progressively increased velocities sub-
stantially as specified.
7. In a rod mill plant a billet train, a side train arranged at a distance therefrom
and overlapping the same and an intermediate rod train in overlapping sections, with
the first, section nearest the billet train and overlapping the side train and the final
section outside the limit of the side train, substantially as specified.
Dated this Twenty-third day of Jone 1890
CRUIKSHANK & FAIRWEATHER,
62, Saint Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agents.