A Novel Mode of Moulding Articles in Clay or other Plastic Material and Apparatus for the Purpose
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th June, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar., 1900-Accepted, 14th Apr., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
66
A Novel Mode of Moulding Articles in Clay or other Plastic
Material and Apparatus for the Purpose."
We, SAMUEL HUNT ROWLEY of Swadlincote in the County of Derby, Earthenware
Manufacturer and THOMAS TILL of the same place, Potter, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention has reference to moulding articles in plastic material and more
particularly in clay for the manufacture of articles of earthenware and it is more
especially applicable to moulding articles of irregular design.
According to our invention we effect the moulding by means of a revolving or
rocking matrix which may conveniently be in the forin of a cylinder or cylindrical
segment and a mould which moves in a rectilinear direction in contact with the
inatrix; or the parts may be reversed, that is to say, the matrix may move in a
rectilinear direction while the mould rocks or revolves. The inoulding takes place
in such manner that only a slight width of the plastic material is acted upon at one
time and consequently there is no risk of the slab or sheet of material being ruptured,
cracked or otherwise injured.
According to one way of carrying out our invention we employ a cylinder or
cylindrical segment which can be rocked or rotated on a fixed axis and a bed or tray
which moves in a rectilinear direction at the same surface speed as the periphery of
the cylinder; this synchronous movement can be conveniently obtained by means of
a rack on the bed gearing with a toothed wheel on the cylinder shaft; or the surface
speed of the two parts may slightly differ. The cylinder constitutes the matrix and
the bed or tray carries the mould or vice versa. The slab or sheet of material is
placed either on the mould or on the matrix, preferably the former, when the apparatus
is at rest. The apparatus is then put into motion with the result that the slab is
carried with the mould in a rectilinear direction under or in contact with the revolv-
ing matrix and the moulding is thereby effected. The slab may be passed more than
once under the matrix if found desirable.
Instead of the cylinder rocking or rotating on a fixed axis and the mould tray
moving in a rectilinear direction as above described the tray may be arranged to be
stationary and the cylinder to travel over it.
The apparatus may in some cases be combined with a pug mill so that the plastic
material is delivered direct from the mill to the die or matrix.
We may also make the matrices removable from the cylinder so that they may be
readily replaced by others of different design.

page_text: We sometimes put a cushion in the form of india rubber tubes or otherwise in the
bottom of the tray to diminish the liability of the mould cracking under pressure.
Dated this 7th. day of June 1899.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London. Chartered Patent Agents.
"A Novel Mode of Moulding Articles in Clay or other Plastic
Material and Apparatus for the Purpose".
We, SAMUEL HUNT ROWLEY of Swadlincote in the County of Derby, Earthenware
Manufacturer and THOMAS TILL of the same place, Potter, 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 :-
Our invention has reference to moulding hollowed articles in plastic material and
more particularly in clay for the manufacture of articles of earthenware and it is more
especially applicable to moulding articles of irregular design.
According to our invention we effect the moulding by means of a revolving or
rocking matrix which may conveniently be in the form of a cylinder or cylindrical
segment and a mould or pattern which moves in a rectilinear direction in contact
with the matrix; or the parts may be reversed, that is to say, the matrix may move
in a rectilinear direction while the mould or pattern rocks or revolves. The moulding
takes place in such manner that only a slight width of the plastic material is acted
upon at one time and consequently there is no risk of the slab or sheet of material
being ruptured, cracked or otherwise injured.
According to one way of carrying out our invention we employ a cylinder or
cylindrical segment which can be rocked or rotated on a fixed axis and a bed or tray
which moves in a rectilinear direction at the same surface speed as the periphery of
the cylinder; this synchronous movement can be conveniently obtained by means of
a rack on the bed gearing with a toothed wheel on the cylinder shaft; or the surface
speed of the two parts may differ slightly. The cylinder constitutes the matrix and
the bed or tray carries the mould or pattern or vice versa. The slab or sheet of
plastic material is placed either on the mould or pattern or on the inatrix, preferably
the former, when the apparatus is at rest. The apparatus is then put into motion
with the result that the slab is carried with the mould or pattern in a rectilinear
direction under or in contact with the revolving matrix and the moulding is thereby
effected. The slab may be passed more than once under the matrix if found desir-
able.
Instead of the cylinder rocking or rotating on a fixed axis and the mould or
pattern tray moving in a rectilinear direction as above described the tray may be
arranged to be stationary and the cylinder to travel over it.
The apparatus may in some cases be combined with a pug mill so that the plastic
material is delivered direct from the mill to the die or matrix.
We may also make tlie matrices removable from the cylinder so that they may be
readily replaced by others of different design.
We sometimes put a cushion in the form of india rubber tubes or otherwise in the
bottom of the tray to diminish the liability of the mould or pattern cracking under
pressure.
In the accompanying drawings,--
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a moulding apparatus constructed in accordance

page_text: with our invention working in conjunction with a pug mill, the apparatus being shown
with the pattern run out to receive clay or plastic material from the pug mill.
Figure 2 is a partial side elevation of the moulding apparatus without a pug inill,
the pattern being shown run in under the matrix.
Figure 3 is a plan of the moulding apparatus.
Figure 4 is a partial side elevation of a modification of the moulding apparatus,
and
Figure 5 is a vertical cross section on the line A-B of Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a vertical cross section of a further modification in which the arrange-
iment of the moulding parts is the reverse of that shown in Figures 4 and 5.
Figure 1 is drawn to a smaller scale than the remaining figures.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, 1 is the pug mill with delivery plate 2.3 is a
pattern or mould on which the article, say a lavatory basin, to be produced is moulded.
The pattern or mould 3 which is of plaster or other material and is formed with a
base or bed-piece 4 is fixed convex side uppermost and carried in a cast iron tray 5
formed on its two opposite sides with supporting fillets 6 adapted to slide longitudinally
on the slide ways 7 of a framework 8 of metal, wood or any suitable material. One
of the fillets 6 is formed as a toothed rack 9. Two standards 10 carry at their upper
ends in bearings 11 a horizontal rotary or rocking axle 12 adapted to be rotated or
rocked by any suitable means; the drawings show this to be effected by a spanner or
crank 13. On the axle 12 inside and close to one of the bearings 11 is fixed a
toothed wheel 14 gearing with the rack 9. Between the toothed wheel 14 and the
opposite bearing there is fixed on the same axle a cylinder 15 of plaster or other
material in the periphery of which there is formed the moulding cavity or matrix 16.
The internal contour lines of this matrix in vertical sectional planes at right angles
to the direction of the longitudinal travel of the matrix and pattern are envelopes
of the external contour lines of the finished moulded article in the same planes,
whilst the internal contour lines of the matrix 16 in vertical sectional planes parallel
to the direction of the longitudinal travel of the matrix and pattern are curves
produced by evolution from the corresponding external contour lines of the finished
moulded article, that is to say, the internal contour line of the matrix in any plane of
longitudinal section will be a curve adapted to roll over the corresponding external
contour line of the finished moulded article. In Figure 2, the dotted line x-x
represents the internal contour line of the matrix 16 corresponding to the external
contour line y-y of the finished moulded article. It will be seen from this drawing
that the length of the line x x is shorter than that of the line y y.
Horizontal adjustment of the bed 4 is effected by means of screw spindles 17, 17
working in the ends of the tray 5, and vertical adjustment of the bed 4 for the
purpose of controlling the thickness of the walls of the finished moulded article is
effected by means of screw spindles 18, 18 working through the bottom of the tray 5.
Or the fixing of the mould 3 may be arranged by bed or wedges in the tray 5.
The mode of working is as follows:-The pattern or mould 3 is run out by rotating
the handle 13 either to the pug mill spout plate 2 to receive a slab or sheet 19 of
plastic material as indicated in Figure 1, or, where there is no pug mill adjacent, to
a sufficient distance to clear the cylinder 15 so as to allow of a slab or sheet of clay
or plastic material being applied to the pattern 3 by hand.
When the pattern 3 is entirely covered with the plastic material, it is then run
back by rotating the handle 13 in the reverse direction, under the cylinder 15 so
that the mould with the clay 19 is carried in a rectilinear direction in contact with
the revolving matrix, whereby the moulding of the article to be produced is effected.
The mould with the clay 19 may be passed more than once under the matrix if found
desirable.
In Figures 4 and 5 the moulding segment 15 is capable of rocking or rotating only
through an angle of approximately 90° to either side of the central vertical plane of
its axle 12. 16 is the matrix or moulding cavity. The pattern or mould 3 is carried
in a tray 5 adapted to move horizontally to and fro on slide ways 7 formed on a fixed
framing 8. On one side of the tray there is formed a rack 9 gearing with a toothed

page_text: sector 14 fixed on the axle 12. To and fro motion is imparted to the tray 5 by
means of a rod 20 which is pinned in an eye 21 cast on one end of the tray and to
which to and fro motion is imparted by any suitable means.
In Figure 6 the pattern or mould 3 is formed on the moulding segment 15 which
rocks, and the matrix or moulding cavity 16 is formed in the bed-piece 4 which is
carried in the tray 5 that moves horizontally to and fro.
The matrix or moulding cavity may in all cases if desired, be formed in a separate
piece fitting removably in the moulding cylinder so that the matrix can be readily
replaced by another of different design:
The pattern or mould is also removably fixed to the bed or tray.
In some cases a cushion in the form of india rubber tubes 22 or otherwise may be
put in the bottom of the tray to diminish the liability of the mould or pattern
cracking under pressure.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we
do not claim any apparatus in which there is not a sliding and kneading motion of
the matrix as it passes over the article being moulded, but what we claim is :-
1. The method of moulding hollowed articles in clay or other plastic material which
consists in applying the clay or other plastic material to a mould or pattern and then
bringing the plastic material carried by said pattern into contact with a rotary
matrix, substantially as herein before described.
2. In apparatus for moulding hollowed articles in clay or other plastic material, the
combination of a rotary matrix and a rectilinearly movable pattern, and means for
moving said pattern tangentially to the said matrix, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3. In apparatus for moulding hollowed articles in clay or other plastic material, the
combination of a rotary cylinder having a matrix or moulding cavity in its periphery,
means for rotating said cylinder, a pattern adapted to co-operate with said matrix, and
means for moving said pattern tangentially to the direction of motion of said cylinder
at the same surface speed as the matrix, substantially as herein before described.
4. For moulding hollowed articles in clay or other plastic material, apparatus
constructed, arranged and operating substantially as described and shown
Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
in
5. For moulding hollowed articles in clay or other plastic material, apparatus con-
structed, arranged and operating, substantially as described and shown in Figures
and 5 of the accompanying drawings.
6. For moulding hollowed articles in clay or other plastic material, apparatus con-
structed, arranged and operating, substantially as described and shown in Figure 6 of
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this l
1000
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London. Chartered Patent Agents.