IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CORRUGATED PLATES AND TUBES SUITABLE FOR THE USE OF BOILER MAKERS." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Armitage, Managing Director, and Thomas
Gillott, 'Engineer, both of the Farnley Iron Works, near Leeds, in the County
of York, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
CORRUGATED PLATES AND TUBES SUITABLE FOR THE USE OF BOILER
MAKERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Armitage & Thomas
Gillott at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 30th September
1881.
RICHARD ARMITAGE, Managing Director, and THOMAS GILLOTT, Engineer, both
of the Farnley Iron Works, near Leeds, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CORRUGATED PLATES AND TUBES SUITABLE FOR THE
USE OF BOILER MAKERS."
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of corrugated plates
and tubes suitable for use in Cornish and other boilers, the object being to avoid
the straining of the fibres of the plates subjected to corrugation, and generally to
facilitate the manufacture of the tubes.
In carrying out our Invention we take, say, rectangular plates of suitable
dimensions manufactured in the ordinary rolling mills, and having heated them
we subject them to the action of a pair of rolls which are grooved longitudinally
or in lines parallel to their axes, one of such rolls being mounted in fixed bearings
and the other in bearings which are held in position by means of hydraulic
apparatus under the control of the attendant. The plate to be corrugated will, if
its end is required to be plain, be submitted to the grooved rolls while they are out
of gear, and when the forward end of the plate has passed the line of bite of the
rolls, the roll, which is mounted in moveable bearings, is brought with force upon
the plate to form the first corrugation. The rolls being now in gear rotary motion
is imparted to them, and the plate is thereby drawn forward and corrugated
without the fibres being strained or torn, the sheet metal in its forward progress

page_text: being simply laid over and under the flutings of the rolls. Before the rear end of
the plate has reached the bite of the rolls we stop the rotation of the rolls and
part them; this will allow of the removal of the corrugated plate, the rear end
being left plain or uncorrugated. If it be desired to introduce a plain portion
into, say, the middle of a plate, the rolls are parted just before one half the length
of the plate has been passed through (by releasing the pressure of the hydraulic
apparatus), and the plate being then shifted forward in the rolls to any required
extent, the corrugating may be renewed and proceed as first explained.
In order to convert plates of this character into tubes we submit, immediately
after they leave the corrugating rolls or after the reheating of the plates, the
corrugated edges to pressure in corrugated dies in order to bring the edges to the
curve which the plate is intended to take. We then reheat and bend the plate
by passing it edgewise between rolls which are formed with transverse grooves
and arranged like ordinary bending rolls.
These bent plates may have their longitudinal edges connected by welding or
by rivetting thereto an overlying corrugated strip of metal. When the latter plan
is adopted we corrugate the strip by passing it between corrugated, concave, and
convex rolls, which may be an extension of the corrugating rolls, or the joint strip
may be corrugated in the parallel portion of the corrugating rolls, and afterwards
bent transversely in the corrugating dies.
Either method will give the strip a curve breadthwise corresponding to the
curved surface to which it is to be applied. By the mode of manufacturing
corrugated tubes above described a considerable diminution in the cost will be
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Richard Armitage & Thomas Gillott in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 24th March 1882.
RICHARD ARMITAGE, Managing Director, and THOMAS GILLOTT, Engineer, both
of the Farnley Iron Works, near Leeds, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CORRUGATED PLATES AND TUBES SUITABLE FOr the
USE OF BOILER MAKERS."
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of corrugated plates
and tubes suitable for use in Cornish and other boilers, the object being to avoid
the straining of the fibres of the plates subjected to corrugation, and generally to
facilitate the manufacture of the tubes.
In carrying out our Invention we take, say, rectangular plates of suitable
dimensions manufactured in the ordinary rolling mills, and having heated them we
subject them to the action of a pair of rolls which are grooved longitudinally or in
lines parallel to their axes, one of such rolls being mounted in fixed bearings, and

page_text: the other in bearings which are held in position by means of hydraulic apparatus
under the control of the attendant. The plate to be corrugated will, if its end is
required to be plain, be submitted to the grooved rolls while they are out of gear,
and when the forward end of the plate has passed the line of bite of the rolls, the
roll which is mounted in moveable bearings is brought with force upon the plate
to form the first corrugation. The rolls being now in gear rotary motion is
imparted to them, and the plate is thereby drawn forward and corrugated without
the fibres being strained or torn, the sheet metal in its forward progress being
simply laid over and under the flutings of the rolls. Before the rear end of the
plate has reached the bite of the rolls we stop the rotation of the rolls and part
them; this will allow of the removal of the corrugated plate, the rear end being
left plain or uncorrugated. If it be desired to introduce a plain portion into, say,
the middle of a plate, the rolls are parted just before one half the length of the
plate has been passed through (by releasing the pressure of the hydraulic apparatus)
and the plate being then shifted forward in the rolls to any required extent the
corrugating may be renewed and proceed as first explained.
In order to convert plates of this character into tubes we submit, immediately
after they leave the corrugating rolls or after the reheating of the plates, the corru-
gated edges to pressure in corrugated dies in order to bring the edges to the curve
which the plate is intended to take. We then reheat and bend the plate by passing
it end wise between rolls which are formed with transverse grooves, and arranged
like ordinary bending rolls.
These bent plates may have their longitudinal edges connected by welding or
by securing the lapped edges by revitting, or by revitting over the abutting edges
an overlying corrugated strip of metal. Whon the latter plan is adopted wo
corrugate the strip by passing it between corrugated, concave, and convex rolls,
which may be an extension of the corrugating rolls, or the joint strip may be
corrugated in the parallel portion of the corrugating rolls, and afterwards bent
transversely in the corrugated bending dies.
Either method will give the strip a curve breadthwise corresponding to the
curved surface to which it is to be applied.
The
In the accompanying Drawings, Figure 1, Sheet I. is a front elevation partly in
section; Figure 2, Sheet I., a plan partly in section; and Figure 3, Sheet II., a cross
section of corrugating rolls constructed in accordance with this Invention.
fluted roll A is carried in bearings D which are supported by the bars d, and fixed
when in work, but adjustable by the screws d', d², d³, and d, and the fluted
roll B is supported by bearings on the hydraulic rams E, and capable of vertical
movement. These rolls A and B are suitably mounted in housings or standards C, C,
which housings are securely fixed to the bed plate E.
The heads of the bydraulic rams E (see Figure 3, Sheet II.) are enlarged for the
purpose of forming bearings for the roll B, and provided with adjustable pillars e, c,
which limit the extreme position of the moveable roll when the latter is lowered
for the admission of the plate to be corrugated. The separation of the rolls is
shewn by the diagram, Figure 4, Sheet II. Suitable brasses are provided for the
bearings of the rolls, and by preference, but not necessarily, of the form shewn,
so as to be capable of lateral adjustment by means of packing wedges or screws.
For the roll A at its opposite ends a chock or bearing D is supported by a cross
bar d and bolts d', the chock D being adjustable longitudinally and transversely
by screws d², d², d³, d³. Vertical resistance while in work is provided for by
the screw d' and bearing a similar to those employed in ordinary rolling inills.
The fixed roll A is coupled by the spindle S to the driving shaft of the steam,
hydraulic, or other engine or gearing employed to turn the rolls. Spur pinions P, P,
are keyed on to the ends 8, 8, of both roils; the ends 8, 8, projecting beyond the
pinions P, P, are square or of other convenient form, and are so set that at certain
positions the sides of the square ends 8, 8, are in vertical and horizontal planes
when the fluted projection of one roll is immediately opposite the fluted recess of
the other roll, as shewn in Figures 3 and 4, Sheet II. The frame G, suitably

page_text: carried by a projecting arm 9', roller g³, and links g³, or by other convenient means,
is of a form and width suitable for being passed over the ends 8, 8, of the corru-
gating rolls A and B, and thus prevent the turning of either roll A or B on their
axes. Tables H, H, are provided on both sides of the corrugating rolls to receive
bearing bars ², which may be fitted with adjustable stops h. These stops are
shown arranged to support rollers to facilitate the movement and handling of
the plates to be operated upon by the corrugating rolls A and B. The bars h
may also be graduated to facilitate the adjustment of the stops h with respect to
the corrugating rolls.
The
The corrugating rolls A and B may have any convenient form or number of
grooves or flutes other than those shewn in Figures 3 and 4, Sheet II.
housings C, C, may also be arranged with the bydraulic cylinders and rams E in
the upper part of the housings, as shewn by Figure 5, Sheet II., instead of in the
lower part, as shewn by Figures 1 to 3, Sheets I. & II. In this case the lower
roll A, Figure 5, Sheet II., is the one to which motion is communicated by the
prime mover, and the upper roll is lifted by pressure applied to the underside of the
piston E, Figure 5. The other details will be substantially as before described with
reference to Figure 3, and capable of similar modification. Any steam, bydraulic,
or other engine may be used for rotating the corrugating rolls A and B, but the
arrangement preferred is to fix on the shaft, by which motion is communicated to
the spindle S, a toothed pinion, which pinion gears into a rack, the said rack being
moved to and fro by admission of water under pressure to a hydraulic cylinder in
which a piston or ram works, the ram or piston being coupled to the rack, and
both rack ard cylinder-being of such respective-lengths-as to-communicate tho
-necessary-number of revolutions_to_the_spindle_S_and the rolls A and B. This
arrangement, which is well known, we prefer to use on account of the easy manner
in which the rotation of the rolls A and B may be controlled.
The working of the corrugating mill, Figures 1, 2, and 3, is as follows:-
When the flutes or longitudinal ridges and grooves of the rolls A and B aro in
the relative positions to each other, shewn in Figure 3, the roll B is lowered by
discharging water from the hydraulic cylinders until the rams E, E, descend to the
extent limited by the adjustment of the pillars e, e.
But in the arrangement
shewn by Fig. 5, water is admitted to the underside of the hydraulic piston E to
separate the rolls to the required extent. The frame G may be passed over the
square ends 8, 8, of the rolls A and B, either before or after the parting of the rolls.
The rolls A and B will thus be held in the positions relatively to each other, shewn in
Figure 4, Sheet II., so as to admit of a plate p being passed between them. The stops /
are so adjusted as to gauge the distance that the plate p is to be passed between the
rolls before commencing the corrugations. Water under pressure is then admitted
to the hydraulic cylinders, and the rams E, E, advance the moveable roll B into
contact with the plate p, thereby putting the grip of the rolls onto the plate.
Thus the first corrugation is produced by direct pressure, the rolls being prevented
from rotating by the frame G. This being effected the frame G is removed and a
rotary motion is communicated to the roll A, pinions P, P, and roll B, by the means
before described. If the plate has only to be partially corrugated the motion of
the rolls A and B is arrested at the required point. The roll B is then to be with-
drawn, the plate moved forward to the distance required for securing the plain
surface, and the corrugating may then proceed as before. Or the plate may be
corrugated by one operation in the manner represented at Figure 5*, Sheet II.,
which shews the forward and rear ends left plain.
From the foregoing it will be understood that the principal object of this
Invention is to corrugate (wholly or partially) plates of wrought iron, steel, or
other metal for use in boilers where plain portions at each end are required to
form flanges for attaching to other parts of the boilers in which the corrugated
plates are used, or where a portion or portions in the intermediate parts of the
said corrugated plates are required not to be corrugated (to facilitate the
attachment of cross tubes), when the corrugated plates are prepared to be formed

page_text: into cylinders with the corrugations transverse to the axes of the said cylinders.
But there are also other applications where partially corrugated plates may be
required to which this Invention is equally applicable. Plates also having
thickened edges parallel to the corrugations may be corrugated in the rolls
described.
When the corrugated plates are to form cylinders, we take the plates immediately
after they leave the corrugating rolls, and while hot bend the ends which have to
abut against each other or overlie the one the other between dies, such as those
shown at Figure 6, Sheet II., the lower die H being fixed, and the upper die K
attached to a steam or hydraulic piston or suitable mechanism for giving a down-
ward pressure thereto. By the action of these dies the corrugated edges of the
plate are bent to the curve required, the dies being shaped to correspond with the
diameter of the tube intended to be formed. Our object in thus setting the extreme
ends before curving in the bending rolls is to ensure a perfectly cylindrical form
where the ordinary bending rolls do not curve the plates, and so form the surface
that the joint strips (when used) are perfectly closed when revitted up. The plates
are next to be reheated, and the bending is completed in the ordinary bending rolls
or by other means afterwards described.
When cylindrical tubes are to be joined by rivetting the longitudinal seams we
make corrugated joint strips for butt joints by passing bars of iron or steel through
the portions a and b of the rolls A and B, Figures 1 and 2, Sheet I., which bend
the strips transversely while being corrugated, but it will be obvious that the
curving may also be done after corrugating in the straight parts of the roll by
curving the joint strips in the dies, shewn at Figure 6, Sheet II.
The ends of the plates being set to the required curve by the dies, shewn in
Figure 6, the plates are then reheated and bent in the ordinary rolls used by boiler
makers, but with transverse ridges and grooves to fit the corrugations. This method
of bending is shown by Figure 7, Sheet III., in which the two lower rolls R2, R³, are
fixed in suitable bearings, and the upper roll R' is forced downwards by suitable
means so as to curve the plate P by the simultaneous pressure of the roll R' and
the rotation of the rolls R³, R³.
But it will be obvious that by a modification of the dies, shown at Figure 6, plates
may be bent entirely without using the bending rolls, shewn at Figure 7. This
modification is shewn by Figures 8 and 9, Sheet III., in which Figure 8 is a side
elevation partly in section, and Figure 9, a front view of an arrangement for curving
corrugated plates manufactured according to our Invention; S is a cylinder in
which works a piston attached to the rod T, into which cylinder water under
pressure or steam is admitted by valves ¹ and . The cylinder S is secured to or
may be in one piece with a main standard Y, which standard forms a support for
two pillars X, X. On the top of the pillars X, X, and extending from one pillar
to the other, is a girder W on which a die V2 is placed, of a suitable radius and
containing the required number of corrugations and plain portions for the plates to
be bent thereon. Pillars x, x, are carried by the girder W, these pillars forming
guides for the upper die V', and capable of being removed when the die V' has to
be changed for one of a different shape. Instead of making the upper die V' in
one piece, a girder permanently attached to the piston rod T and loose dies may be
used, similar to those for the lower set V2 and W, and instead of being in one
length, as shewn, the dies may be in two or more lengths with one or more plain
intermediate faces.
The action is as follows:-A plate P previously heated is placed on the lower
die Vand subjected to the pressure of the die V₁ forced by steam or water
under pressure acting on the piston T in the cylinder S, the plate for a width
corresponding to that of the dies is thus bent, after which the die V' is raised and
the plate shifted forward to receive the pressure of the die V1 on the part adjacent
to the bent portion. This shifting forward of the plate and descent of the die V₁
are repeated until the plate is curved for the whole length of the corrugated
portion.

page_text: When the corrugated plates bont into the form of a tube are required to be
welded instead of being rivetted together at the joint or joints, we prefer to overlap
the edges of the plates either after or without scarfing or bevelling the said edges,
and weld the same on a block with a corrugated face similar to the lower block V²,
Figures 8 and 9, Sheet III., but attached to the projecting arm of an ordinary
welding bar. If welded by hand hammering this lower block would suffice, but
for welding by power hammers we would fix to the head of a steam hammer a
corrugated block similar to the die V, Figs. 8 and 9, Sheet III, but shorter and
narrower, by which the heated edges of the plates would be welded together, the
corrugated stationary block being on one side of the plate and the corrugated block
on the hammer head operating on the opposite side.
When a plate corrugated in the manner described has to be joined along the
corrugated edge to a plain plate, we take the plate after being corrugated and bent,
and cut the centre of the corrugations longitudinally for a short distance at the
edges of the plate for a length necessary for the required width of the joint. The
portions where cut after the corrugations are flattened will overlap each other, and
these overlaps are to be then welded together, leaving a plain margin along each
side of the plato at right angles to the corrugations, this plain portion forming the
part where the corrugated plate is joined to the plain plate.
By the mode of manufacturing corrugated tubes, as above described a
considerable diminution in the costs will be secured, and undue strain on the
metal avoided.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of "Improvements in the
Manufacture of Corrugated-Plates_and_Tubes Suitable for the Use of Boiler
Makers," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, we wish-it-to-
be understood that under the above in part recited Letters-Patent-we-claim,
First. Manufacturing corrugated plates with plain portions lying parallel to the
corrugations in the manner and for the purpose above described, whereby the
straining of the fibres of the metal is avoided.
Secondly. The conversion of the corrugated plates into tubes in the manner above
set forth, whereby a true cylindrical form is obtained, and a close longitudinal join
is ensured.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Armitage and Thomas Gillott, have
hereunto set our hands and seal, the Fifteenth day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and eighty two.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by
the said Richard Armitage
and Thomas Gillott in the
presence of
EDWARD WHITELEY,
Clerk to Messrs. Turner & Hewson,
Solicitors,
RICHP. ARMITAGE. (L.S.)
THOMAS GILLOTT. (L.S.)
Leeds.