Improvements in Machines for Forming Tubular Articles from Sheet Metal or the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 14th Oct. 1895-Accepted, 16th Nov., 1895
Improvements in Machines for Forming Tubular Articles from Sheet
Metal or the like.
I, JAMES PINFOLD, of 233 Park Road, Aston near Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in machines for forming tubular articles
from sheet-metal or the like.
The object of my invention is to construct an improved machine for forming
tubular articles from strips or sheets of metal and bending or flanging the edge of
the same either outwards or inwards. In one such machine I perform the
operations that in the manufacture of cartridges for instance, are performed by
separate rolling and "bumping" machines.
According to my invention I support in a fixed headstock upon a suitable frame,
a mandrel and gearing for rotating it. The said mandrel is provided with a head
which corresponds in form to the shape that the interior of the completed tubular
article is intended to possess.
In proximity to the mandrel I hinge to the frame two or more arms upon each
of which an adjustable roller is mounted. Suitable springs or other devices are
provided to retain the arms in such positions that the rollers thereon will normally
be kept close to the head of the mandrel, with their axes parallel thereto; but
these devices are arranged to yield to allow the adjustable rollers to move outward
from the mandrel when necessary. I may substitute for the arms and springs any
other suitable means whereby the rollers are enabled to move inward and outward
or upwards or downwards relatively to the mandrel.
Upon the frame I mount a movable headstock arranged to be reciprocated
thereon in line with the mandrel aforesaid, by automatically operating mechanism
or otherwise. The movable headstock carries an annular die, which is secured
thereto. One end of the die is chamfered within and without, and is presented
towards the head of the mandrel. The interior diameter of this annular die is the
same or approximately the same as the intended exterior diameter of the tubular
article.
Within the annular die is a cylindrical punch carried upon a rod which is free
to slide endwise in the movable headstock in the direction of the reciprocating
movement of the latter; suitable means are provided for limiting the movement of
the punch away from the mandrel. The acting face of the punch is preferably
concave; it is presented towards the head of the mandrel and acts upon the edge
of the tubular article to bend the same.
I sometimes provide means, preferably geared to the driving-gear of the machine,
to cut metal strips into the required lengths, automatically or otherwise, as the
material is fed to the rolls.
Moreover I sometimes provide a self feeding device geared to the motive
mechanism of the apparatus or otherwise arranged, to feed the strip or sheet of
metal towards the head of the mandrel; or 1 may feed by hand. A guide to
prevent the possibility of the bending of the metal by the rolls in the wrong
direction, is secured to the machine, in proximity to the mandrel, or the top
roll is placed out of the centre to ensure the end of the sheet of metal being

page_text: bent in the right direction. Preferably I provide upon the annular die a
suitable gripping device or extractor to pull the completed article from the
mandrel.
In the operation of the machine a strip or sheet of metal or the like is fud
towards the mandrel and rolled into tubular form on the mandrel by the combined
action of the mandrel and the adjacent rollers. The movable headstock is then
advanced so that the front end of the aunular die carried thereby forces the rollers
outward from the mandrel and encircles the tubular article thereon. Just as the
annular die completes its movement over the rolled article, the punch which has
moved forward therewith is first stopped by coming into contact with the end of
the tubular article and is immediately afterwards forced onward again by the
advancing movable headstock which comes into contact therewith and causes it to
act powerfully to turn over the edge of the tubular article. Upon the completion
of this operation, the movable headstock is retired, and, in retiring, the gripping
device aforesaid removes the completed article from the head of the mandrel, and
the punch by coming into contact with a stop while the headstock continues to
retire, pushes the said article out of the annular die.
In an alternative construction according to my invention I form a hollow spindle
revolving in the bearings of the fixed headstock. The mandrel upon which the
sheets of metal are to be formed moves endwise through the said hollow spindle,
being held in its proper position by suitable mechanism when the article is being
rolled and bent inward or outward as required, but on the return of the loose head-
stock the sliding mandrel commences to move through the hollow spindle in an
opposite direction at the same time that the movable headstock recedes ; the
forming punch advancing at the same time forces the finished work out of the die,
and thus ensures the release of the finished tube. Or I may use the moving
mandrel and have both headstocks fixed. In this case the sliding mandrel, after
the sheet of metal is rolled around it, advances into the fixed die, and after
completing the operation of bending the metal to the required form returns to its
original position, the forming punch moving up at the same time to force completed
work out of the die.
Dated this 14th day of January 1895
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Machines for Forming Tubular Articles from Sheet
Metal or the like.
I, JAMES PINFOLD, of 233 Park Road, Aston, near Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Engineer, 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:-
My invention has for its object an improved machine for rolling strips of sheet
n:etal into tubular form and for providing an internal or external Hange at one end
of each tube. My said improved machine is furnished with means for feeding
intermittently a long strip of sheet metal to the rolling devices and for cutting off
at intervals from such long strip a length sufficient to form the tube, the
operations of feeding forward the strip, cutting off a suitable length, rolling into
a tube the length so cut off, flanging the end of the tube and delivering the
finished tube, being successively performed by the machine without manual
assistance.
My said improved machine is specially adapted for forming the metal tubes that

page_text: In this case the spindle is provided with a slight shoulder at ƒ for the purpose of
lifting or spreading the rollers G during such sliding movement. The corners of
the rollers are bevelled as shown to facilitate the passage of the said shoulder f
between them.
When I desire to flange the tubes outwardly instead of inwardly I do it by
sliding the tube on the mandrel towards a part of increasing diameter which bends
the end of the tube outward, the body of the tube being meanwhile supported and
prevented from buckling by the annular die J.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
1 claim is --
1. A machine for forming flanged tubular articles in which machine means are
provided for feeding sheet metal, cutting off strips of the desired length, rolling
such strips into tubes and flanging the ends of the tubes without the aid of manual
assistance, substantially as described.
2. The rollers G arranged to be movable radially to admit of the passage of the
flanging die between them, substantially as described.
3. The annular die, in combination with the flanging plunger capable of axial
movement therein, with or without the spring extractor, substantially as, and for
the purpose, specified.
4. The spindle C capable of endwise movement for the purpose of delivering the
tubes, substantially as described with reference to Figure 7.
5. The sliding spindle C in combination with a sliding plunger K, for per-
forming the flanging operation, substantially as described with reference to
Figure 8.
6. A machine for forming tubular articles, constructed substantially as described
with reference to any of the forms or modifications illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, and operating as specified.
Dated thin 11th dow of Ostahan 1805
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: guide plate e Figure 3 which answers the purpose very well. After the strip has
passed between the second roller and mandrel its curvature is sufficient to keep it
in place, and it will then continue to revolve with the mandrel between said
mandrel and the rollers G and will be formed into a tube. The rotation of the
mandrel will continue until by the operation of the cam M² the block J' is moved
some distance towards the mandrel whereupon the rod P2 and lever P are actuated
and caused to withdraw the clutch E out of engagement with the driving pulley.
The mandrel then ceases to revolve, but the cam shaft M continues its movement
and causes the die J to slide over the formed tube on the mandrel and between
the said tube and the rollers G. To facilitate this movement the end of the die
and the edges of the rollers are bevelled as shown. While the die is advancing
over the tube on the mandrel the plunger K is stopped by the contact of its
head K with the end of the tube which projects slightly from the end of the
mandrel, As soon however as the end of the recess J³ in the die makes contact
with the head K', the latter travels with the die and a blow or pressure is applied
to the overhanging end of the tube which bends the said end inward and produces
the desired internal flange. It will be observed that the corner of the mandrel is
rounded to facilitate the flanging operation. By the continued movement of the
cam M² the die J is caused to retreat and in so doing it removes the tube from
the mandrel and carries the same backward until the plunger K is stopped by the
contact of its collar with the standard L whereupon the continued movement of
the cam operates to slide the die over the plunger head K' and thereby discharges
the tube. In some cases I apply a spring catch or extractor Js Figure 6 to the
die J for ensuring the removal of the tube from the mandrel. The hook or pro-
jection of the said catch or extractor may be so bevelled as not to interfere with
the sliding movement of the head of the plunger K' in the die J. While the
rolling and flanging operations and the removal of the tube are being effected
the feeding lever Q moves back and then forward again to feed the sheet metal
to the rollers, after which the shearing knife again descends and cuts off another
strip which is rolled in its turn, the clutch E having been meanwhile again
engaged with the driving pulley D¹ by the retreating movement of the block J'.
All of the several operations are properly timed to take place in due order as will
be well understood.
I sometimes dispense with the cam M2 for working the flanging mechanism, in
which case I work said mechanism by a foot lever connected to the lever O by an
arm Yand rod Y shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.
In Figures 4 and 5 1 have shown a modification in which I dispense with the
roller-carrying levers H and mount the rollers G on spring-controlled rods
arranged radially as shown in Figure 4 and adapted to slide through holes formed
in arms e cast with or secured to the headstock. This arrangement is more
compact than that first described and answers the requirements equally well.
In Figure 7 I have shown a modification in which the spindle C is capable of
axial movement in its bearings, being controlled by a cam V on the shaft M
acting through a lever V₁ pivoted to the bed at V2. The said lever carries a pin
at its lower end which engages with the cam groove in the cam V, and another
pin at its upper end to engage with an annular groove in a collar V³ formed with
or fixed on the spindle C. The object of this construction is to ensure the
discharge of the finished tubes in case they remain on the mandrel after the die J
has retreated. The sliding movement effected at the proper time serves to with-
draw the maudrel from the tube which is prevented from moving with the mandrel
by the side of the bearing B' through which the mandrel slides.
In this modification also the friction clutch E is actuated by a cam W on the
shaft M instead of by the arrangement above described.
In Figure 8 I have shown a further modification in which the die J remains
stationary and the flanging is done by simultaneous sliding movements towards
each other of the spindle Cand the plunger K which movements are effected by
cams Z Z operating through levers Z³ and Z pivoted at Zo and Z respectively.

page_text: fixed on the shaft M. O is a forked lever pivoted at O¹ to an extension of the bed A";
each arm of the lever is forked at its upper end to engage with screws or pins O
carried by the block J. The lower end of the lever O carries a pin O' which
engages with the aforesaid cam groove M¹ and thereby serves to move the block J'
to and fro.on its guide, the cam groove M being properly shaped and arranged to
effect the desired movements of the block J at the proper time in relation to the
movements of other parts of the machine. It is necessary to stop the rotation of
the spindle C when the flanging operation is being performed and bence I provide
for this purpose a lever P pivoted at P' to the headstock and furnished at its
upper end with pins that engage with an annular groove E2 in the friction
clutch E. The lower end of the said lever is connected to one end of a rod P2
the other end of which carries a pin P³ that works in a slot P4 in the sliding
block J. This slot allows of a certain amount of free movement of the block J'
without affecting the lever P, but after such free movement has been performed
the further movement of the block J' moves the lever in one or the other direction
and slides the clutch into engagement with the pulley D'or out of engagement as the
case may be.
The feeding mechanism comprises a lever Q pivoted at Q to an extension of
the bed A', a slide R mounted on the feed table Rº, and a short link indicated by
dotted lines pivoted to a lug or ear R2 formed with the table and carrying a
pin R³ which works in a slot in the upper end of the lever Q. The strip of sheet
metal is placed on the slide R and underneath the end of the link R¹ which is
furnished with a projection or tooth R¹ that is pressed tightly on and grips the
strip of sheet metal when the upper end of the lever Q moves towards the
mandrel F thus carrying the sheet metal with it, but releases the strip when
the lever is moved in the opposite direction. In this manner an intermittent
feeding of the strip is obtained. The lever Q is actuated by a cam S on the
shaft M through the intervention of a rod Q² engaging by a pin Q at one end with
the lower end of the lever Q and by a pin Q4 at the other end with the groove in
the cam S. The rod Q2 is forked as shown in Figure 2 and is supported by the
cam shaft M which passes between the two arms of the fork. The pin Q³ can be
moved up and down in a slot Q' in the lower end of the lever Q and secured at
any desired position whereby the extent of movement of the feed slide R can be
exactly regulated.
For cutting off from the sheet metal the strips required to form the tubes,
I provide a shearing blade T adapted to move up and down between guides T¹
and to be operated by a cam U on the cam shaft M. T2 is a rod arranged to
slide in a fixed guide T³ and connected at its upper end to one end of a lever T
pivoted at T to the bed A¹. The other end of this lever is connected to a link T,
the upper end of which is pivoted to the shearing blade T. The rod T2 carries a
pin T which engages with the cam groove in the cam U.
The shearing blade remains depressed during the backward movement of the
feeding slide and by pressing on the bent edge of the strip prevents the latter from
being dragged back by the feeding slide. The shearing blade may be provided
with a rubber block or metal spring T to more securely hold the strip. T is a
guide roller carried by an arm fixed to the shearing blade T. The strip of metal
passes underneath this roller and then above the mandrel F.
The machine operates as follows, the strip of metal having been fed forward by
the feeding device, the shearing blade T descends and cuts off a strip of metal of
the required leugth. The forward end of this strip is in contact with the mandrel F
and as soon as the strip is cut off it is carried forward by the revolving mandrel
and top roller G and rolled round the mandrel. It will be seen from Figure 3 that
the uppermost roller G is arranged a little in rear of the vertical plane passing
through the axis of the mandrel by which construction the strip on passing between
the roller and mandrel is bent downward and caused to travel around the mandrel
and so to the next roller. In order to ensure that the strip shall be properly
guided and not allowed to pass outside the second roller G, I provide a curved

page_text: are used in some cartridges to strengthen the powder chamber. It is also
applicable for making tubes for other purposes.
Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate my invention
Figure 1 is a front elevation partly in section of my improved machine, portions
of the feeding, rolling and shearing apparatuses being removed.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the machine looking from the left in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an end view of the headstock looking from the left in Figure 1, the
controlling springs and adjusting screws of the rolling devices being removed.
Figure 4 is an end view of a modified form of headstock and rollers, the latter
being carried by spring-controlled rods instead of by levers.
Figure 5 is a side view of a portion of said headstock and of one of the rollers
and its carrying rod.
Figure 6 is a sectional view of a portion of the flanging apparatus furnished with
a spring catch for a purpose hereinafter described.
Figure 7 is a front view partly in section of a portion of a machine constructed
according to a modification of my invention.
Figure 8 is a similar view of a further modified form of my improved machine.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A, A are standards supporting a horizontal bed A' on which is mounted a
headstock B. C is a spindle or mandrel capable of rotation in bearings B', B¹
formed in the headstock. D is a sleeve loosely mounted on the spindle C; D' is a
driving pulley mounted on the sleeve D and adapted to be secured thereto by a
screw d. The driving pulley is internally coned at D2 to fit a conical friction
clutch E mounted on the spindle C with a capability of sliding axially but not of
rotating thereon. E' is a feather or key to ensure that the spindle C and clutch E
must turn together.
F is a mandrel removably secured in the end of the spindle C. G, G, G are
three rollers that serve to form the tube by causing the strip of metal to roll round
the mandrel F as hereinafter described.
In the construction shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 the said rollers G are carried by
the ends of levers H which are pivoted to lugs H' formed with a part of the head-
stock. The said levers work in slots b' formed in arms or extensions 6 projecting
radially from one of the bearings B' of the head-stock, and are coutrolled by
springs H2 (see Figure 2) situated in recesses 62 (see Figure 1) in said radial
extensions. H³, H³ are screws for regulating the initial compression of the
springs H². The said screws work through caps or covers H' secured to the ends
of the radial arms or extensions b. To ensure the positive rotation of the rollers G
the said rollers are furnished with toothed wheels G¹ that gear with a central
toothed wheel G2 secured on the spindle C.
The apparatus for forming the flange at the end of the tube comprises an annular
die J and a plunger K. The die J is removably secured by a screw J' in a slide
block J which can slide on a guide J' in a direction parallel with the spindle C.
The said guide J2 is carried at one end by the headstock and at the other end by a
standard Ladjustable on the bed A'. The recess J³ or internal diameter of the
annular die is sufficiently large to pass over the mandrel F and the tube thereon
for a purpose hereinafter described. The plunger K can slide axially through the
die J and through the standard L which supports the rear end of the plunger.
The said plunger is formed with a head K that loosely fits the recess J³ of the
die, and is furnished with an adjustable collar K to limit the backward sliding
movement of the plunger as hereinafter described. The working face of the
head K' is made concave as indicated by the dotted line.
To operate the said plunger and die and other parts hereinafter described of
the machine, I provide à cam shaft M mounted in bearings in the standards A, and
geared by a series of gear wheels N with the beforementioned sleeve D, so that
the cam shaft makes one revolution for every 15 or 20 or other number of revo-
lutions performed by the spindle C according to the arrangement and ratios of
the wheels N. M¹ is a cam groove formed in the circumference of a cam block M³