IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Wilson of Sheffield in the County of York
Steel Manufacturer for an invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF ARMOUR PLATES
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th May 1882.
ALEXANDER WILSON of Sheffield in the County of York, Steel Manufacturer,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES
"
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me No 3472 in the year 1877
I described a method of making hard faced armour plates by a process more direct
than any that had been done or suggested previously viz-I took a wrought iron
backing plate immediately it had been rolled down to the desired thickness and
whilst still hot and without any further preparation, I placed it in a cast iron
mould and then ran on the steel without previously subjecting it (the plate) to the
action of a reheating furnace.
My present improvements have for their object to improve the means employed
for carrying out the above process and are as follows.
As before I take the wrought iron backing plate immediately it has been rolled
down to the desired thickness; but instead of putting it into a complete mould I
make the plate itself form one side of the mould and for this purpose I place the
plate in front of a cast iron mould plate which has ribs projecting from its front
surface extending along the bottom and the two sides, these ribs are of such a
depth as is required for the thickness of the steel about to be run onto the wrought
iron backing plate; I then by means of powerful screws or hydraulic ram fixed in
a massive frame of cast iron bolsters with wrought iron stay bolts, hold the backing
plate firmly against the front edge of the ribs of the mould plate thus making a
tight joint with the backing plate and the ribs of the mould plate; the space
which is now left between mould plate and the backing plate forins a mould, the
top edge of which is open, into which I run the steel. After the steel has set I

page_text: push the now compound plate from the mould by means of a hydraulic ram fixed
in the bolster behind the mould plate; then reheat it, and roll it off to any desired
thickness as before.
The head of the ram for expelling the compound plate from the mould is made
to act against a portion of the mould plate which is made moveable and fits into a
recess in the body of the mould plate.
This I consider important as it enables me to release the compound plate from
the mould with as little delay as possible, thereby saving a great amount of heat,
by being able to put the compound plate into the reheating furnace as speedily as
possible previous to rolling it off to the finished dimensions.
The hydraulic rams may be brought back into their respective cylinders by
counter weights or small auxiliary cylinders with pistons.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alexander Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
4th November 1882.
ALEXANDER WILSON of Sheffield in the County of York Steel Manufacturer
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARMOUR PLATES
"
In the Specification of a former Patent granted to me No 3472 in the year 1877
I described a method of making hard faced armour plates by a process more direct
than any that had been done or suggested proviously viz; I took a wrought iron
backing plate immediately it had been rolled down to the desired thickness and
whilst still hot and without any further preparation I placed it in a cast iron
mould and then ran on the steel without previously subjecting it (the plate) to
the action of a reheating furnace.
My present improvements have for their object to improve the means employed
for carrying out the above process and are as follows.
As before, I take the wrought backing plate immediately it has been rolled
down to the desired thickness; but instead of putting it into a complete mould, I
make the plate itself form one side of the mould and for this purpose I place the
plate in front of a cast iron mould plate, which has ribs projecting from its front
surface extending along the bottom and the two sides, these ribs are of such a
depth as is required for the thickness of the steel about to be run on to the wrought
iron backing plate, I then by means of powerful screws or hydraulic ram fix
in a massive frame (of cast iron bolsters with wrought iron stay bolts) hold the
backing plate firmly against the front edge of the ribs of the mould plate thus
making a tight joint with the backing plate and the ribs of the mould plate; the
space which is now left between mould plate and the backing plate forms a mould
the top edge of which is open into which I run the steel. After the steel has
"set" I push the now compound plate from the mould by means of a hydraulic
ram fixed in the bolster behind the mould plate then reheat it and roll it off to
any desired thickness as before.
The head of the ram for expelling the compound plate from the mould is made
to act against a portion of the mould plate which is made moveable and fits into
a recess in the body of the mould plate.
This I consider important as it enables me to release the compound plato from
the mould with as little delay as possible thereby saving a great amount of heat
by being able to put the compound plate into the reheating furnace as speedily as
possible previous to rolling it off to the finished dimensions.
The hydraulic rams may be brought back into their respective cylinders by
counter-weights or small auxillary cylinders with pistons or a piston can be fixed
to the hydraulic ram itself.
The mould plate is separate from the cast iron bolster and readily removeable
from it so that mould plates of different sizes may be used to suit different sizes of
plates and thicknesses of steel facings or the ribs projecting from the mould plato
may with the same object be made readily removeable. The mould plate would
in this latter case then be a plain flat plate whilst the ribs would either be formed
of a wrought iron bar having in it two right angled bends so that when placed in
front of the plate the bar may lie in front of its bottom and two side edges and be
held up against the front of the plate by the backing plate when the backing
plate is pressed forwards by the hydraulic ram or two straight bars only might be
used at the two sides without any bar at the bottom.
In the accompanying Drawing Figure 1 is a plan and Figure 2 a side elevation
shewing two cast iron bolsters A connected together at a distance apart from one

page_text: another by tie bolts B both bolsters resting on and being secured to a bed plate C.
Figure 3 is an end view of one of the bolsters. One bolster A carries a hydraulic
cylinder D the ram D' of which has secured in front of it a cast iron plate E. The
other has held in front of it the mould plate F from which ribs F¹ project forwards
at its bottom and two sides, a front elevation of this mould plate is shewn at
Figure 4. The bolster against which the mould plate F is held also carries at its
centre a hydraulic cylinder G the front end of the ram of which bears against a
loose portion of the mould plate F marked F. H is the wrought iron backing
plate which is to be faced with steel. As it comes from the rolling mill it is
suspended from a crane by tongs and lowered in front of the mould plate F-the
plate E is then pressed forward against it by the ram D and it is thereby held
firmly against the edges of the ribs which project from the mould plate. The
drawing shews the plate H as being thus forced against the ribs F' of the mould
plate F. When thus held steel is poured into the cavity between it and the mould
plate. After the steel is set both of the rams of the two hydraulic cylinders are
simultaneously moved in a direction to carry the compound plate away from the
mould plate F, the plate can then be taken bold of by tongs in the ordinary manner
and lifted away by a crane to convey it to a reheating furnace and when reheated
it is subsequently rolled down to the dimensions required.
In place of the hydraulic cylinders D and G strong screws might be used to
effect the same objects but I prefer to use hydraulic cylinders as shewn in the
Drawing.
As before stated the ribs F¹ might be separate from the plate F. In this case
the plate F might be a heated plate of wrought iron or steel which can be rolled
simultaneously with the backing plate to which the molten steel when poured into
the mould will adhere so that the plate F will then form part of the completed
compound armour plate.
Figures 5 and 6 shew a plan and side elevation of a hydraulic clamp apparatus
the same as described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 but shewn holding a
heated plate F against distance bars F which rest against the two side edges of
the front face of the heated backing plate H. The heated backing plate H. would
first be set up in front of the bolster A. The heated plate F which may be of
wrought iron or steel is then put in front of the moveable plate E and when the
two bars F¹ have been inserted between the plates H and F the whole is clamped
together by forcing backwards the plate E and the mould is ready for the molten
steel to be poured into it. The bed plate in this case forms the bottom of the
mould its face where it is thus exposed to wear may be covered with ganister or
have a readiy removeable and renewable strip of refractory material or metal let
into it as at K Figure 6.
What I claim is
First. The process herein before described of taking a wrought iron backing
plate as it comes hot from the rolling mill and placing it in front of a mould
plate or plate making it to bear against ribs projecting forwards from this mould
plate or plate and then running in steel into the cavity between the wrought iron
backing plate and the mould plate or plate substantially as described.
Second The combination of apparatus herein before described and illustrated
in the Drawings for carrying out the above process.
In witness whereof I the said Alexander Wilson have hereunto set my hand
and seal this Third day of November in the year of our Lord One thousand
oight hundred and eighty two