IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Kinniburgh, of the Shotts Iron Works, in the
County of Lanark, North Britain, Foundry Manager, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR.
Sealed the 9th May 1865, and dated the 11th November 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Kinniburgh at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
November 1864.
I, JOHN KINNIBURGH, of the Shotts Iron Works, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Foundry Manager, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS
THEREFOR," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the application of pressure in making moulds for
casting metals, and is applicable principally although not exclusively to articles
of a generally cylindrical or spherical form, the object being to secure increased
accuracy of form with economy in the labour required.
In carrying out the Invention according to one modification a horizontal
plate or table is fitted to move vertically within the planed or smooth sides
of a cast-iron box or frame of a rectangular or other convenient form. Con-
venient means, such as are herein-after indicated are provided for lifting the
movable table with considerable force up to the level of the top edges of the

page_text: box within which it works. The pattern or half pattern is placed on the
movable table; and over it a flask or mould box of the ordinary kind, and
into this flask the sand or mould material is filled, being piled up somewhat
above its top edges. A cover hinged to the fixed framing of the machine is
then brought down to press the sand into the flask, and this cover is fixed by
catches, whilst the final compression is given by raising the movable table.
The flask rests on the top edges of the box within which the movable table
works, and the amount of extra sand for compression, and the degree of com-
pression depend on the distance that the movable table is set below the top
edges of the box when the sand is filled in, as the upward movement com-
presses into the flask all the sand below that level. The table can be easily
set at any required distance below the level referred to, so that the degree of
compression of the sand is within easy control of those using the machine. It
is one advantage of the described arrangements that the sand which is of a
nature not permitting compression to extend through a great thickness, is
compressed from both sides, first, by bringing down the cover on the piled-up
sand above, and, secondly, by the upward movement of the table. The table
may be raised by a bydraulic ram, by steam, or other motive power applied
by a direct-acting cylinder, or through the intervention of screws or levers, or
both; and in one convenient modification two or more pairs of levers are
arranged to form toggle joints, which are actuated by a middle bar moved by
a screw.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Kinniburgh in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
KINNIBURGH, of the Shotts Iron Works, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain, Foundry Manager, send greeting.
2
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year, of our Lord:
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Kinniburgh, Her special licence that I, the said John Kinniburgh,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Kinniburgh, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree, with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter

page_text: during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MAKING MOULDS FOR CASTING, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Kinniburgh, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument 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 immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Kinniburgh, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, that
is to say:
My said Invention relates to the application of pressure in making moulds
for casting metals, and is applicable principally although not exclusively to
articles of a generally cylindrical or spherical form, the object being to secure
increased accuracy of form with economy in the labour required.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings, to be herein-after referred to, and representing a
modification of apparatus as constructed for practising my improvements.
Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section; Figure 2 is a sectional side
elevation; and Figure 3 is a plan of the apparatus. The same reference
numerals mark the same parts in all the Figures. The apparatus comprises
a cast-iron box or frame 1, 2, formed by bolting two parallel side pieces 1 to
the upper parts of two vertical end pieces or standards 2, 3. The inner sides
of the box are planed or rendered true and smooth, so that these may work
vertically inside them an accurately fitting plate or table 4 of a rectangular or.
other convenient form in plan. Convenient means, such as are shown in the
Drawings, and herein-after described, are provided for lifting the table 4 with
considerable force up to the level of the top edges of the box 1, 2, within
which it works. The pattern or half pattern 5 is placed on the movable
table, and over it a flask or mould box 6 of the ordinary kind, and into this
flask the sand or mould material is filled, being piled up somewhat above its
top edges. The sand is then pressed into the flask by bringing down upon it
a cover 7, which is hinged to strong studs 8, fixed to one of the side pieces 1:
of the framing. I prefer to form the under side of this cover with projecting

page_text: parts 9, indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2, which enter a little into the
spaces between the cross feathers or flanges of the moulding flask 6, so as to
compress the sand well into these spaces. The cover 7 is fixed and held
down by catches consisting of links 10, jointed to the side frame 1, and which
are turned up to enter between lugs on the cover 7, and have cutters 11
passed through their upper ends to catch and bear on the tops of the lugs:
The final compression is given to the sand by raising the table 4 to the top
edges of the box 1, 2, whilst the cover 7 is held down, and on the compression
being completed the pattern is gently tapped, and the table 4 with the pattern
is then lowered, after which the cover 7 is turned up, and the flask 6 with the
half mould formed in it is removed. The flask 6 rests on the top edges of
the box 1, 2, within which the movable table 4 works, and the amount of
extra sand for compression and the degree of compression depend on the
distance that the movable table 4 is set below the top edges of the box 1, 2,
when the sand is filled in, seeing that the upward movement compresses into the
flask all the sand below that level. The table 4 can be easily set at any required
distance below the level referred to, so that the degree of compression of the
sand is within easy control of those using the machine; and when once the
proper lowering distance has by a few trials been ascertained for any particular
article, then any number of moulds of perfectly uniform character can be
made with the machine without readjustment, and with the least possible care.
It is also an important advantage of the described arrangements that the
moulding sand which is of a nature not permitting compression to produce a
uniform effect through a great thickness from the surface to which it is
applied is compressed on both sides, first, by bringing down the cover 7 upon
the loose sand piled up above, and, secondly, by the upward movement of the
table 4. The arrangements represented are for moulding one pipe in each
pair of flasks, but two or more pipes may be moulded simultaneously provided
that the parts are made sufficiently wide. The flasks are made with set pins
and holes in the usual way to insure their fitting accurately together in pairs,
and the top edges of the box 1, 2, of the compressing machine are made with
similar set pins and holes, so that the half moulds being all made exactly
alike any two of them may be paired together. The appliances for raising
the compressing table 4 are arranged below it, and the lower part of the
apparatus is by preference so far sunk below the level of the ground as that
the workers can in the most convenient manner lift the moulding flasks upon
or off the machine. A strong base plate 12 is bolted to the lower parts 3 of
the end frame pieces 2, 3, and is also connected to the side pieces 1 by long
bolts 13 enclosed in tubes, which partly support the weight of the upper

page_text: parts, the bolts resisting the separating strain when compressing. On the
base plate 12 there are bolted two lug plates 14, to which are jointed two
forked levers 15. To these forked links 15 are jointed two upper levers 16,
which are jointed to the movable table 4. On the pins which connect the
upper and lower levers 16, 15, there are jointed two flat links 1-7, which are
jointed to a short link 18. The link 18 is jointed to a bar or spindle 19,
which passes through the end frame 2, 3, and through a tube 20 fixed thereto,
and its outer end is screwed to work in an internally screwed piece 21, on
which is keyed a fly wheel 22. By turning the fly wheel 22, the screw
spindle 19 is moved longitudinally, and when it is moved outwards, it draws
the levers 16, 15, nearly into vertical positions, thereby causing them to
raise the compressing table 4 with considerable force by a well-known action.
The reverse movement of the fly wheel 22 forces back the levers 16, 15, out
from the vertical, and. thereby lowers the table 4. The downward movement
of the compressing table 4 is easily determined by a nut 23 on the outer end
of the screw spindle 19, whilst the upward movement is limited by the joint
piece 24, which is screwed upon the inner end of the same spindle 19, and
which comes up against the inside of the end frame 2, 3. The fly wheel 22 is
kept close to the tube 20 by means of a flanged ring 25, which is screwed to
the end of the tube, and which encloses a flange on the internally screwed
piece 21 on which the fly wheel is keyed. The movable compressing table
may be raised by various means instead of those described, as for example, by
means of a hydraulic ram, or by steam or other motive power applied by a
direct-acting cylinder, or through the intervention of screws or levers, or both
arranged in various ways. Instead of using a cover 7 above the moulding
flask 6, the flask itself may be made close (with the exception of small air
holes), and be fixed down to the frame 1, 2, the cover being dispensed with.
In this case the movable table 4 must be lowered sufficiently for all the sand
for the flask to be put upon it, and inside the box 1, 2, before the flask is put
on, and then the table rising up to the flask will compress all the sand
into it.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is or may be performed, I have to state that I do not
restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated; but that
what I believe to be novel and original, and claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1. The making of moulds by means of a pressing table or plate, the move-
ment of which measures and determines the extra sand, and consequent degree
of compression, substantially as herein-before described.

page_text: And, 2, the compressing of the sand or mould material from both the upper
and under sides of the flask, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Kinniburgh, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JOHN KINNIBURGH. (L.s.)