Materials.
Year: 1886

page_text: Materials.
I BENJAMIN JOSEPH BARNARD MILLS of the firm of Harris and Mills of
23 Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, a communication to me from abroad by
Francisque Voland of 9 Rue Barrême, Lyons in the Republic of France, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
The cutting of fabrics and other analogous materials has hitherto been effected
by means of straight or circular shears for straight lines, or for undulated lines or
curves of large radius:-small festoons or indentations have also been obtained by
means of steel wheels with undulated waved or other shaped cutter, rolling upon
a smooth counterpart of hard material. This means cannot give a clean cut,
especially with light materials, and is further limited to curves of considerable
radius.
For cutting or producing various designs with perforations therein such as
imitations of embroidery, laces, recourse has hitherto been had to punches.
According to the present invention it is proposed to execute all these cuttings
or ornamentations from a straight line to the most complicated designs by means
of special apparatus.
•
This means consists in the employment of two engraved cylinders, in steel, one
of which carries in relief cutting blades, projecting more or less according to the
thickness of material to be cut.
These blades are arranged according to the design to be produced. The second
cylinder carries in recess the same arrangements, in such manner that being pressed
the one against the other, the cylinders can, so to say, gear together, the projections
of the one exactly corresponding with the hollows of the other.

page_text: It results from this that when a fabric is introduced between the two cylinders,
each portion of blade forms with its counterpart in effect a pair of shears, which
cuts the fabric cleanly and forcibly according to the design engraved and with
great rapidity.
The condition essential to success is the perfect agreement in design of the
cylinders, they are obtained by means of the copying machine, one of them, the
hollow or recessed one by preference, being first engraved by hand or by means of
a type wheel, serves to reproduce the other by means of pressure; if it relates to a
cylinder of large surface, it can be divided into several parts for facility of
reproduction.
Care must also be taken to give to the two cylinders equal diameters or a
proportion expressed by a whole number in order that the same parts of the blades
may always be applied to the same parts of the hollows.
Finally the cylinders in work will be driven by gearing divided with care.
With this process can be obtained even with the lightest materials and with the
most perfect cleanness, straight or curved cuts with, or without perforations,
imitations of lace, designs with perforations on a portion of its surface or even
over the entire surface of a fabric, and that with a great rapidity of execution.
The accompanying drawing shows some examples of application which will
better explain the object of the invention.
For the cutting of fabrics into bands, the cylinders are plain wheels mounted
upon two parallel axes, see Figures 1 and 3; Figure 2 represents, placed below the
corresponding wheels, the results obtained on a piece of fabric.
At a division by parallel straight cuts.
At b division by undulated parallel cuts.
At c division into festooned bands.
At d division into festooned perforated bands.
At e ornamentation, without separation, of the fabric by bands of perforation.
Figure 4 represents cylinders for the ornamentation of a piece of fabric over its
entire surface.
In these examples, the fabric has a rectilinear progress and the details of the
design succeed each other in a right line along its entire length.
For cutting or ornamenting in curved lines a single pair of cutting wheels will
be employed mounted upon a table T as shown at Figures 5 and 6, upon which the
fabric E will be guided by hand according to a line or lines previously marked
thereon.
Or a machine represented at Figure 7 and of a similar character to the
embroidering machine may be employed for this purpose. In this latter arrange-
ment the cutting wheels m, m¹ are mounted upon two vertical axes A, A¹, placed
in line with each other and united by a series of equal toothed wheels B. C. D. E.
These axes turn together by the rotation of the handle M which permits of placing
the cutting wheels in the direction of the lines of the design; the material will
therefore only require to be displaced parallel to itself in the direction of draft of
the cutting wbeels.
Motion, will be given to one of the cutting wheels or to both according to
requirement by a shaft L turning in the interior of the vertical axis and driven
from the exterior by a pulley J.
These arrangements which are given as examples may be varied according to
circumstances.
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
I claim is
1. The method of and general arrangements of apparatus for cutting, pinking
and ornamenting fabrics, leather paper and other materials substantially as herein
shown and described.

page_text: 2. The cutting, pinking and ornamenting fabrics, leather, paper and other
materials according to any given design, by means of two engraved cutting wheels
or cylinders one of them carrying small cutting reliefs in the form of blades and
the other hollows of the same form, which in combination with the blades act as a
pair of shears substantially as herein shown and described.