Improvements in and relating to Castings, such as Dies, Ingots, and other Castings.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in and relating to Castings, such as Dies, Ingots,
and other Castings.
I, ROBERT CHRISTY TOTTEN, residing at number 16, Bidwell Street, in the City and
County of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, one of the United States of America,
Gentleman, 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:―
$2
My invention relates to castings, such as dies, ingots and other castings, its object
being to provide a casting having a hard and tough surface possessing fine wearing
properties and a soft body having strength necessary for the work to which it is
subjected, and which soft body can be "machined or turned, lathed or drilled as is
found necessary, according to the purpose for which the casting is to be used.
Within the last few years a certain metal has been invented, which possesses
peculiar qualities of toughness, hardness, the steel being known as manganese-steel,
and being described in Letters Patent of the United States of America, granted to
Robert Hadfield, Numbers 303,150 and 303,151 dated August 5th, 1884, and
consisting generally stated in steel containing from seven to thirty per cent. of
manganese. This metal has attracted considerable attention on account of its peculiar
qualities as above referred to, which qualities are very desirable in dies and other
articles; but it has not been employed to any great extent on account of one great
draw-back, namely, that it is so bard that it is not practical in any way to machine or
dress it, it requiring the hardest tools for this purpose, and even when such tools
are employed requiring such slow work as to render the dressing of it practically
impossible. The metal is, however, well adapted for many purposes, such as the
faces of dies and hammers, agricultural plates, and other such articles, requiring high
wearing properties, as well as toughness sufficient to prevent the cracking or spawling
of the metal under hard blows or strains, though it has not to any extent been applied
to any of such uses.
The object of my invention is to provide a casting by which the difficulties in the
use of this manganese-steel can be overcome; and it consists, generally stated in a
casting having a facing of manganesed-steel, and a body of soft steel united thereto
by fusion so that while providing for a hard wearing face by means of the manga-
nese sicel, I am enabled to support the same and provide for the turning, planing or
other machining of the casting, and so am enabled to utilize the bard face of the
manganese steel for purposes to which it has heretofore been wholly inapplicable.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe
the same more fully, referring to the accompanying drawing, in which-
Figure 1, is a perspective view of a die embodying my invention;
Figure 2, is a cross-section of the same, and-
Figure 3, is a view of the ingot embodying my invention.
The castings embodying my invention, such as shown in the drawings, have the
body, a, formed of a steel low in carbon, and sufficiently soft to be dressed by any
suitable tools, either turned, drilled, planed or otherwise machined; and under the
term "soft steel" 1 include a steel or iron as low or free from carbon as can be cast
in a mold. The facing, b, of the casting is formed of this manganese-steel before
referred to, this metal being a steel containing a proportion of from about seven to
thirty per cent. of manganese, and the article and method of making the same being
described in said Letters Patent of the United States of America, numbers 303,150
and 303,151 above referred to. This facing or shell of manganese-steel is united to
the body of soft steel by fusion, so that the facing and body form practically one
casting, and the facing is properly supported by the body; the casting therefore

page_text: having in its facing or shell all the desirable properties found in the manganese-steel,
such as a hard working surface and a toughness which will prevent the cracking or
spawling or other such action usually found in chilled cast iron or other such hard
metal, together with the soft metal body, which can be machined or dressed as is
found necessary in fitting the die or other casting to place, or for other such
purposes where it is necessary to dress or machine the body of the casting, and
so overcoming the difficulty in the use of this manganese-steel for many purposes
in the Arts.
In Figure 3, is shown an ingot embodying my invention, having the soft steel
body, a, and the manganese steel facing, b, this ingot being capable, when properly
heated, of being rolled or forged to the desired shape, according to the article or
articles to be formed therefrom, and the ingot itself or the articles formed therefrom,
possossing the desirable qualities above referred to, namely, the hard and tough
surface, together with the soft body capable of being machined. The plates or bars
produced from such ingot, while having the hard and tough wearing surface provided
for the finishing of the plate or bar by reducing the thickness of the manganese steel
therein, so that the same can be sheared or punched much more easily than a solid
manganese steel bar. As the cost of making the manganese steel is higher than the
cost of the ordinary soft steel, the castings can be formed at a much lower cost than
like castings made entirely of manganese steel.
In making castings embodying my invention, I melt the manganese steel and the
soft metal intended for forming the same, and the proper amount of manganese-steel
for forming the facing of the casting, is first poured into a mold, and while this is
still hot, I introduce the molten soft steel, filling the mold and the two metals uniting
so as to form practically one casting. The same method may be followed in forming
ingots which are to be subsequently rolled or forged to the desired shape, and the
castings made or formed either in sand molds or metal molds as desired, though
in forming ingots, the ingot mold is necessarily cast on its side instead of on
its end.
Where the casting is to be used in the shape to which it is cast, the soft steel body
of the metal can be planed, turned, drilled or otherwise machined to bring it to the
desired shape, while if necessary the surface of the manganese steel face may be
finished by grinding.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is-
"As a new article of manufacture, a casting having a facing of manganese-steel
and a body of soft steel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth."
Dated this 4th day of February 1900
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.