IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SHEARING. AW
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Arthur Thomas Becks, of the Firm of Becks and
Martin, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Ironmasters, for:
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SHEARING.
AW
99
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Arthur Thomas Becks
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd December 1862.
I, ARTHUR THOMAS BECKS, of the Firm of Becks and Martin, of Birming-
ham, in the County of Warwick, Ironmasters, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR
SHEARING SHEETS OR PLATES OF METAL," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to machinery employed for cutting or shearing the
sides and ends of sheets or plates of metal, and consists in arranging and
working a series of rotating cutters in the manner herein-after explained.
Two parallel horizontal shafts, situated the one over the other, are driven by
steam or other power by means of a pinion on a driving shaft. The said
pinion engages with a toothed wheel on the lower shaft, the said toothed wheel.
engaging with a similar toothed wheel on the upper shaft. Each of the said.

page_text: shafts carries near the end at which the toothed wheel is fixed a circular or rotating
cutter. These cutters are fixed on the shafts, and their cutting edges meet
and cut one side of the sheet or plate of metal operated upon; the said shafts
are hollow, and in the axis of each a screw is situated. A screw nut or box
works on the screw in the interior of each hollow shaft; by turning the said
screws by a winch or otherwise the screw nuts may be made to travel in one or
other direction on 'the screws. A second circular or rotating cutter capable of
a sliding motion is situated on each shaft, and is connected with the screw nut
or box in the shaft through a slot running nearly from end to end of the shaft.
By turning the screws the moveable cutters may be made to approach to or
recede from the cutters fixed on the shaft, so as to accommodate the distance
between the cutters to the width of the plate or sheet to be cut or sheared.
By passing the plate or sheet of metal through the machine in a horizontal
direction both its edges or sides are simultaneously cut or sheared parallel.
The ends of the plate are cut by means of a fifth cutter forming a pair with
the fixed cutter on the upper shaft; this fifth cutter is fixed on a horizontal.
shaft situated parallel to and in the same horizontal plane as the upper hollow
shaft, and is geared to the said upper hollow shaft by a toothed wheel-taking into
the toothed wheel on the said hollow shaft. The ends of the sheet or plate
are cut or sheared one at a time by passing the plate in a vertical direction
between the last-described pair of cutters. The plate or sheet during the
cutting or shearing of the sides is supported as it passes through the machine
on a table provided with rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Arthur Thomas Becks in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 27th May 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ARTHUR
THOMAS BECKS, of the Firm of Becks and. Martin, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Ironmasters, send, greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand. eight hundred and sixty-two, in. the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors; give and grant unto.
me, the said Arthur Thomas Becks, Her special licence that I, the said.
Arthur Thomas Becks, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such

page_text: others as I, the said Arthur Thomas Becks, my executors, administrators;
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR CUTTING OR SHEARING
SHEETS OR PLATES OF METAL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Arthur Thomas Becks, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Arthur Thomas Becks, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to machinery employed for cutting or shearing the
sides and ends of sheets or plates of metal, and consists in arranging and
working a series of rotating cutters in the manner herein-after explained.
Two parallel horizontal shafts situated the one over the other are driven by
steam or other power by means of a pinion on a driving shaft. The said
pinion engages with a toothed wheel on the lower shaft, the said toothed wheel
engaging with a similar toothed wheel on the upper shaft. Each of the said
shafts carries near the end opposite to that on which the toothed wheel is
fixed a circular or rotating cutter. These cutters are fixed on the shafts,
and their cutting edges meet and cut one side of the plate or sheet or sheets
of metal operated upon. The said shafts are hollow, and in the axis of
each a screw is situated. A screw nut or box works on the screw in the
interior of each hollow shaft. By turning the said screws by a winch or other-
wise the screw nuts may be made to travel in one or other direction on the
screws. A second circular or rotating cutter. capable of a sliding motion is
situated on each shaft, and is connected with the screw nut or box in the
shaft through a slot running nearly from end to end of the shaft. By turning
the screws the moveable cutters may be made to approach to or recede from
the cutters fixed on the shafts, so as to accommodate the distance between the
cutters to the width of the plate or sheet or sheets to be cut or sheared. By
passing the plate or sheet or sheets of metal through the machine in a hori
zontal direction both their edges or sides are simultaneously cut or sheared
.

page_text: parallel. The ends of the plates are cut by means of a fifth cutter forming a
pair with the fixed cutter on the upper shaft. This fifth cutter is fixed on
a horizontal shaft situated parallel to and in the same horizontal plane as the
upper hollow shaft, and is geared to the said upper hollow shaft by a toothed
.wheel taking into the toothed wheel on the said hollow shaft. The ends of
the plate or sheet or sheets are cut or sheared one end at a time by passing
the plate or sheet or sheets in a vertical direction between the last-described
pair of cutters. Or the cutting or shearing of the ends of the plates or sheets
may be effected without the said fifth cutter, by passing the plate, sheet, or
sheets in a horizontal direction between the fixed pair of rotating cutters
described, and supporting the plate, sheet, or sheets on a moveable table. The
plate or sheet or sheets during the cutting or shearing of the sides are
supported as they pass through the machine on a fixed table.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure represents in front elevation a cutting or shearing machine con-
structed according to my Invention; Figure 2 is a back elevation of the
same; and Figures 3 and 4 represent an end elevation and plan respectively
of the said machine.
a, b, are parallel horizontal shafts situated one over the other, and driven
from the main shaft c. Motion is communicated to the shaft c by means of
the toothed wheel d, and the motion of the shaft c is transmitted through the
-pinion e and toothed wheelf to the shaft b. A toothed wheel g on the shaft a
gears with the toothed wheelf on the shaft b, and communicates motion to
the upper shaft a. Each of the shafts a, b, carries a fixed circular cutter
marked h and i respectively, the cutting edges of the said cutters working in
contact or nearly in contact. On the opposite ends of the shafts a, b, are
two other rotating cutters o, p, capable of being made to slide along the
said shafts a, b, and thereby to approach to or recede from the fixed rotating
cutters h, i. The shafts a, b, are hollow, and are furnished respectively with
screws k, l, situated in their axes. Each of the screws k, l, passes through a
screw nut or screw box carried by the collars m, n, of the moveable cutters
o, p, the said screw boxes passing through slots 9 in the hollow shafts a, b.
By turning the screws k, l, by winches applied to the square ends k², l³, the
'moveable cutters o, p, may be brought to the required distance from the fixed
cutters h, i, that is, to the distance equal to the width to be given to the cut
or sheared plate, sheet, or sheets. By passing the plate, sheet, or sheets of
metal to be cut or sheared through the machine in a horizontal direction, both

page_text: their edges or sides are simultaneously cut or sheared parallel. The plate,
sheet, or sheets are supported in their passage through the machine on the
table s, the said table being capable of being raised or lowered by means of
screws and slots at t.
When the machine is to be used for cutting or shearing the ends of the
plates or sheets of metal I add to the said machine a fifth cutter marked u.
This cutter is carried by the shaft w supported on a standard y, and rotatory
motion is given to the said shaft w by a toothed wheel a thereon gearing with
the toothed wheel 9 on the upper hollow shaft a. The cutter u forms with
the fixed cutter h a pair of cutters, by means of which the cutting or shearing
of the ends of the plate, sheet, or sheets is effected. The plate, sheet, or sheets
the ends of which are to be cut or sheared, are held in a vertical plane, and
are made to descend vertically between the cutters h, u. After one end of the
plate, sheet, or sheets has been cut or sheared the plate, sheet, or sheets are
turned, so as to bring the other end under the operation of the cutters h, u.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8, of the Drawings represent the arrangement of the
cutting or shearing machine which I employ when I use only four cutters to
cut or shear both the sides and ends of the plate, sheet, or sheets. Figure 5
represents a back elevation of the said machine; Figure 6 is a plan of the
same; and Figure 7 represents an elevation of one end of the machine; and
Figure 8 represents an elevation of the opposite end of the said machine.
a, b, are the rotating hollow shafts; h, i, are the fixed rotating cutters, and
o, p, are the movable rotating cutters, the said shafts and cutters being similar
in construction to those described in the machine, Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
The shafts a, b, are driven by the toothed wheels f, g, on the ends of the
said shafts from the driving shaft c; u is the fixed table upon which the plate,
sheet, or sheets, the sides of which are to be cut or sheared, are supported
during the cutting or shearing of the said sides; a is a moveable table upon
which the plate, sheet, or sheets are supported horizontally during the cutting
of the ends of the plate, sheet, or sheets by the fixed rotating cutters h, i. The
said table a travels upon a wheel y. That end of the table a nearest the
cutters h, i, slides on a fixed bar z, eyes or knuckles (one of which is shown
at 2 in Figure 5) on the under side of the table engaging with and sliding on
the said bar z as the said table is moved. The plate, sheet, or sheets, the ends
of which are to be cut or sheared, are fixed on the table between the
flanges 3, 4. The flange 4 is moveable so as to accommodate plates or sheets
of different widths. The under side of the said flange 4 carries a screw box 5,
which works on a screw 6 underneath the table. By turning the said screw 6
by means of the winch 7 on its end, the distance between the fixed flange 3

page_text: 1
2
and moveable flange 4 can be adjusted. The standard 8 has an opening 10
made in it, through and along which opening the end of the plate, sheet, or
sheets is passed to be cut or sheared by the cutters h, i (see Figure 7). The
plate, sheet, or sheets marked 11 (indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6) having
been fixed between the flanges 3 and 4, the table x is moved upon the wheel y,
and the end of the said plate, sheet, or sheets brought under the operation of
the rotating cutters h, i, and the said end cut or sheared off. The plate, sheet,
or sheets 11 are removed from the table x, turned and refixed so as to bring
their opposite end under the operation of the rotating cutters h, i, and the said
end thereby cut or sheared. Instead of one end of the table x sliding on the
bar by means of eyes or knuckles on its under side, the said under side of the
table may carry concave rollers which work upon the bar z as the table is
moved. Two of these rollers on the under side of the table are indicated in
dotted lines in Figure 7, and marked 12. When thin plates or sheets are cut
or sheared there is risk that the said plates or sheets may buckle or bend
upwards during the action of the cutters, in which case the sides will not be
cut or sheared truly parallel. In order to prevent this buckling of the plates
or sheets I employ a roller 27, which bears upon the upper face of the plates
or sheets, and prevents them from rising or becoming convex. The said
roller 27 is supported by brackets. 28, carried by the arms 29. The said
arms 29 are connected with the uprights of the machine in the manner
represented in the Drawing. The brackets 28 are capable of being fixed at
any required distance apart on the bars 29, so as to receive rollers 27 of
different lengths, according to the width of the plates or sheets to be cut or
'sheared. For general purposes three rollers of different lengths are sufficient.
A roller similar to the roller 27 may be applied to the machine, Figures 1, 2,
3, and 4, for preventing the buckling of the plates or sheets during the
cutting or shearing of the sides of the said plates or sheets. I return the
cutters when they are soft or moderately hard, without removing them from
the machine, by means of the turning tools 13, 14, 15, and 16. The turning
tools 13, 14, are fixed in the cross piece 17, and the turning tools 15, 16, are
fixed in the bracket 18 carried by the standard 8. The said tools 13, 14, 15,
16, can be advanced the required distance against the faces of the rotating
cutters and afterwards fixed by screws, as represented. The face of the upper
fixed cutter h is turned by the tool 13, and the upper moveable cutter o
having been made to approach the cutter h by turning the screw in the
interior of the shaft a, the face of the said cutter o is turned by the tool 14.
The fixed lower cutter i is turned by the tool 15, and the moveable cutter p,
having been brought near to the said cutter i by turning the screw in the

page_text: interior of the shaft b, the face of the said cutter p is turned by the .tool.16:
I give the shafts a, b, during the turning of the cutters, a much slower speed
than when the cutters are employed for cutting or shearing the plate, sheet, or
sheets. I effect this slow motion of the shafts a, b, as follows:-On the
driving shaft c is a sliding clutch 19, which can either be thrown into or out
of gear with the shaft carrying the pinion 19ª, taking into the toothed wheel f,
or with the pinion 20, which is loose on the shaft c. When the clutch 19 is in
gear with the pinion 19" a quick motion is transmitted to the shafts a, b, through
the said pinion 19* and toothed wheels f, g. When, however, the clutch 19
is in gear with the pinion 20, the said pinion 20 transmits a slow motion
through the toothed wheel 21, pinion 22, shaft 22, pinion 23, and toothed
wheels f, g, to the shafts a, b, and I employ this slow motion during the
turning of the cutters h, i, o, p, by the tools 13, 14, 15, 16. The distance
between the cutters h, i, is adjusted by slightly advancing the upper cutter h
in the following manner :-Pins 24 are fixed in the standard 8; upon these
pins the cross piece or tail pin 25 is situated and adjusted. The end of the
shaft a works in the said cross piece or tail pin 25, and by means of the screw
nuts 26 on the screwed pins 24, the position of the cross piece or tail pin 25
and cutter h can be accurately adjusted. For holding the shaft a steadily to
its work, the other end of the said shaft may be provided with a cross piece or
tail pin similar to that represented at 25, excepting that it must be sufficiently
large to cover the toothed wheel g. Instead of fixing the last-named cross
piece or tail pin horizontally, it is connected to the framing of the machine in
a position midway between the horizontal and the vertical. The lower shaft b
may also be provided with cross pieces or tail pins of the kind described for
holding it to its work. The moveable cutters o, p, after the turning are
restored to the proper positions on the shafts a, b, by means of the screws in
the interior of the said shafts, as herein-before explained.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and represented in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, arranging or combining and working the parts of machinery for
cutting or shearing sheets or plates of metal, essentially in the manner herein-
before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Secondly, arranging or combining and working the parts of machinery for
cutting or shearing sheets or plates of metal, essentially in the manner herein-

page_text: before described and illustrated in Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accompanying
Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Arthur Thomas Becks, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
ARTHUR THOMAS BECKS. (L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.