A NOVEL MACHINE OR APPARATUS FOR ENGRAVING THE METALLIC SURFACES OF PRINTING ROLLERS OR CYLINDERS
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of No. 10, Salisbury Street, Adelphi
Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "A NOVEL MACHINE OR APPARATUS
FOR ENGRAVING THE METALLIC SURFACES OF PRINTING ROLLERS OR CYLINDERS."
- A communication from Mons' Pierre Elie Gaiffe, of Paris, in the
Empire of France.
Sealed the 12th March 1858, and dated the 18th September 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th September 1857.
I, WILLIAM SMITH, of No. 10, Salisbury Street, Adelphi, Civil Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NOVEL MACHINE
OR APPARATUS FOR ENGRAVING THE METALLIC SURFACES OF PRINTING ROLLERS OR
CYLINDERS," (a communication from Pierre Elie Gaiffe, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, Engraver,) to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in engraving printing cylinders by an entirely new
method, by the combined arrangements described hereafter, which can be
applied to any engraving machine constructed upon the pantographic principle.
When the pattern to be engraved has been drawn on a sheet of paper, it
is traced out on the cylindrical surface of a brass or copper pattern mullar,
and afterwards covered with suitable insulating varnish; this pattern mullar A,
shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 on the annexed Drawing, being a plan and end view
thereof; it is of the same size as the cylinder B, to be engraved, and is made
of sheet brass or copper about of an inch thick. A wooden block is fitted
within the mullar, iron pegs being driven in the centre of both ends to allow

page_text: it to run on the centre points h, h. A spring or metallic blade r presses
upon the edge of the mullar A, being perfectly insulated from the frame by
a bone or ivory piece i, or any other nonconducting material. This blade is
for completing the circuit of a galvanic battery to the negative pole n of the
coils E, whilst at the other pole p the fluid passes directly from the battery.
The coils or electro-magnet is fixed behind the engraving tool b or its holder
C, into which a soft iron keeper m is fixed. The distance of the keeper from
the magnet m is regulated according to the intensity of the electric fluid, or
to the nature of the pattern to be engraved. A spring R, which can be
lengthened if required, keeps the tool b against the cylinder B, whenever the
circuit is broken, and for causing the tool to cut the required depth into the
cylinder.
An upper framing H, H, having two parallel guide rods F, G, is actuated
by a screw V, which works in a nut D, sliding between the guides F, G. A
metallic point, as shewn in Fig. 2, is carried by and insulated from the slide D
by the holder I, a wire n connecting the slide D with the battery. A spur-
wheel is fitted upon the end of the screw V, and works into suitable; gearing,
the whole being set in motion by turning a handle. The main adjusting screw,
which is not shewn in the Drawing, works the slide or tool holder C, which
is carried along when the cylinder B is revolving; the tool 6 cutting in a spiral
course around the cylinder. The connecting wire p connects the battery to
one of the poles of the magnet E, whilst the other wire is attached to the
point a of the pattern mullar. When this point comes in contact with the
metallic surface of the mullar, connection is made at the point a through the
mullar spring r and the coil E, when the circuit being completed, the electro-
magnet draws back the slides c, c, by attracting the soft iron keeper m, which
immediately stops the cutting action of the tool. On the contrary, if the
point a comes in contact with the varnished or painted part of the mullar,
the circuit is broken, and the spring R brings the tool b in contact with the
cylinder B, which continues to cut during the time the point is bearing on
the varnished part of the mullar. The proportion between the surfaces of the
cylinder B and mullar A being previously calculated, their respective rotative
motion is produced in the same ratio by the combination of spur wheels and
pinions which work them. If the pattern is composed of several shades, the
darkest ones are first painted and engraved, and afterwards the lighter ones.
The rod d, which is attached to the tool 6 on its holder, is worked by an.
eccentric working at a high speed, which gives the tool a to-and-fro motion
and causing it to make undulatory cuts.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th March 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SMITH, of No. 10, Salisbury Street, Adelphi, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the
year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Smith, Her special licence that I, the said William Sinith,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such other's as I, the said William
Smith, executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "A NOVEL MACHINE OR APPARATUS
FOR ENGRAVING THE METALLIC SURFACES OF PRINTING ROLLERS OR CYLINDERS,"
(a communication from Mons Pierre Elie Gaiffe, of Paris, in the Empire of
France,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Smith,
by an instrument in writing under my or their or one of their hand and seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same, is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawings:
This Invention consists in applying an electro-magnetic apparatus for
engraving and delineating with a graver or diamond the metallic surfaces of
printing, rollers or cylinders. The process can be applied to any engraving
machine upon the pantographic principle by the addition of certain mechanical
parts, as represented in the annexed Drawings, the same letters of referrence
referring to similar parts in the several views.
Fig. 1, Sheet 1, of the accompanying Drawing, exhibits a plan of the
engraving machine. Fig. 2, a front view partly in section, and taken through
the line A, B, of the plan. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, exhibits a view one end of the

page_text: machine, Fig. 4, being a view of the opposite end of the machine. Figs. 5
and 6 are detail views of the various parts, but upon a larger scale. The
whole machine is mounted upon a stout cast-iron sole plate; E, is the
sole or base plate, resting upon a strong wooden bench D', having legs or
footings L', L'. The cast-iron plate E' may, if desired, rest upon iron
stands. J is a sliding carriage, upon which rests the electro-magnetic appa-
ratus E, E; the slide J is actuated by means of the screw F'. Bis the cylinder
to be engraved. A setting mandril y, carrying a cog wheel I', is fixed upon
one of the axles of the cylinder B, having set screws arranged around it for
the purpose of adjusting the cylinder to be engraved. O, O', straight and
cylindrical guiding pieces, between which the carriage J slides; P, eccentric,
upon which bears a rod t in connection with the engraving tool b; this eccentric
imparts to the toolholder a to-and-fro motion, causing the tool to cut zig-zag
lines in the surface of the cylinder. Such lines, it is found, better and retain
the colour used for printing, and also gives to the print quite a different and
better appearance. Motion is imparted to the machine by means of the handle
S fixed on the shaft T, carrying the bevil pinion U, which gears into a similar
bevel pinion U' upon the square shaft x, and upon which it slides freely. Upon
the shaft a revolving it communicates by means of the intermediate pinions a', a",
a similar but slower motion to the driving screw F', the eccentric b', and the
connecting rod c'. This rod c actuates a catching hook d Fig. 4, which
catches into the teeth of a ratchet wheel, a', fixed on the rod of the driving
screw F', and thus giving to it a rotary motion drives along the carriage J.
The pinion e' fixed upon the other end of the shaft x impels the cylinders or
roller B, which is to be engraved, by means of a set of cog wheels and pinions
e", "", e, e, and I', which may be combined in various ways for the purpose
of driving the cylinder B at the required speed and to the exact proportion of its
diameter to that of the pattern mullar A. A rotatory motion is also imparted to
the pattern mullar and to the screw V, which drives the carriage D, having upon
it the spring touching point a, by means of a set of cog wheels v, v', v", "",
which can be combined in various ways for varying the speed of the pattern
mullar, and the froward motion of the carriage D. V' is a lever corresponding
to the framing L, bearing the guiding rods F, G, on which the carriage D
slides, this carriage bearing the spring point a. The lever V', having a weight
thereupon, is for the purpose of pressing more or less the point a upon the
pattern mullar. M, M, tie pieces or rods for connecting the screw nut of the
carriage J to the frame L, L, which bears the pattern mullar and the motion
belonging thereto. s, s, center points for holding the axle z of the lever V'.

page_text: Let it be supposed that the width of the pattern to be engraved be
the same as the length of the pattern mullar, which is about one-sixth
part of the cylinder and half its diameter; then the said pattern will be
engraved six times in the length and twice on the circumference of the
cylinder. The pattern mullar A, on which the pattern is either engraved or
painted, as may be required, is placed on the frame L, L, and held between
two center points h, Figs. 1, 2, 5. Upon one of the ends of the pattern mullar
a catching peg is attached, which catches in the cog wheel, and is carried
round with it in its rotatory motion. The carriage D, having upon it the touching
point a, is brought to the begining of the pattern mullar, on which a starting
point is marked, so as to bring it back to the same place at each operation.
At each new overcut great care must be taken in calculating the combina-
tion of the pinions and wheels to be placed on the various shafts, so as to have
the rotating motion of the cylinder B and pattern mullar A to revolve in the
right proportion: for instance, the latter should revolve twice whilst the cylinder
revolves once, it being twice the diameter of the pattern mullar, and the main
driving screw F¹ of the machine must drive the carriage J, having upon it
the electro-magnetic apparatus E and cylinder engraving tool b, at precisely
the same speed as the screw V drives the carriage D, upon which the touching
point a of the pattern mullar is mounted; for if the one should progress or
revolve quicker than the other, the pattern would be altered and disfigured in
its breadth, After the cutting depth of the engraving tool has been regulated,
and the first cut made deeper than the next one, it having to print the deeper
or darker shade or tint, the space of the soft iron plate m attached to the tool
C, C, Figs. 5 & 6, should be regulated, and the conducting wires p, n, from.
the battery connected. To ascertain if the engraving tool is well regulated in
its motion, the circuit should be interrupted by raising up and lowering several
times the touching point a on the pattern mullar. A starting point should also
be marked on the dividing plate of the screw V, so as to bring the carriage
back each time to the same place when begining each new overcut. If the
pattern is to have four different shades or degrees of depth in the tint, the
first or deeper cuts being engraved first, and all being rightly arranged, the
machine is set in motion by turning the handle S, and the cylinder B and pattern
mullar A revolving the carriages J & D of both driving screws will slide
together, and the engraving tool b will cut a zig-zag line in the surface of the
cylinder B, the line cut by the tool b, the intervals of which can be modified
at pleasure, and will form a pattern similar to the one delineated, painted, or

page_text: engraved on the surface of the mullar A with an insulating varnish, because when
the point a comes into contact with the surface of the pattern mullar, which
are covered over with the insulating varnish, the electrical circuit is broken
or incomplete, and the electro-magnet E, E, loosing its power of attraction,
the spring R is released and presses with its whole force the tool 6 against
the cylinder B which is revolving, and continues to cut so long as the point. a
is in contact with that part of the mullar which is covered with the insulating
varnish. But as soon as the point a comes into contact with the metallic part
of the mullar, which is free from varnish, the tool & will stop cutting, because
the electro-magnet E, E, on account of the circuit being restored or com-
pleted, will attract the iron keeper m, and with it the toolholder C, C. The
same effect will take place during the whole time the point a moves along
the entire length of the pattern mullar, and on the surface of which, and on
account of its rotation, it draws a helical line. At the same time the engra-
ving tool 6 will have moved forward as far as the point a, namely, both will
have travelled the same distance. The carriage D, upon which the touching
point a is mounted, is then brought back by hand to its starting point on
the mullar, and the same operation is performed six times successively till
the engraving tool 6 has arrived at the other end of the cylinder B, which will
terminate the first cutting on the whole length. When at this period of the
operation the second shade of the pattern in relation with the first one is
engraved on the mullar, and the cuts of the engraving being filled with insu-
lating varnish, the mullar is again fitted in the machine with the touching
point a on the starting mark, the cutting depth of the tool being then regu-
lated, but at this operation it should not be as deep as the first, the machine
being afterwards set in motion in the same manner as for the first cut, and
after six successive travels of the carriage D, the second overcut is completed.
There are then two shades (or tones or depths) to be engraved on the cylinder
B, the first one being darkened by the second by reason of the tool having
been placed on the edge of the first cut, by pushing forward three or four
teeth of the ratchet wheel 2' of the main driving screw F'. When the tool b
has reached the end of the cylinder, a third shade or tint in relation with the
two first ones is engraved in a similar manner on the pattern mullar; the tool
is arranged so as to cut a little deeper, and care should be taken this time to
bring the tool between the two first cuts, and to alter the position of the
eccentric in order to have the cuts crossing one another through the centre.
The effect obtained by this process is thus, the depth or darkness of the first
shade is doubled, the second one is finished, which forms a small, square, and
very soft grain, and the third one is a single cut in relation with the shade or

page_text: tint it is to produce. If a fourth shade or tint is required, it is engraved in
the same manner as the first tints, and the same operations repeated as
described, it being well understood that the depth of this cutting must be
lesscued.
RULES TO BE OBSERVED DURING THE TIME THE OPERATION IS PROGRESSING.
1st. Take care that the galvanic battery, which must have from 5 to 8 ele-
ments, operates regularly. 2nd. That the pattern mullar be always clean on
its unvarnished metallic surface. 3rd. That the touching point be very fine,
pointed, and slightly rounded off. 4th. At every new cutting, and every step
of the pattern mullar, be careful to bring the touching point exactly to the
starting mark. 5th. The tool must constantly keep the same depth. 6th. No
electric fluid must be suffered to circulate through the machine; all the pieces
must be well insulated; for that purpose a metallic blade r, Figs. 5 & 6,
which is insulated from the frame L by an ivory piece i, bears on the edge of
the mullar A, for establishing the circuit. from the galvanic battery to the
pole n' of the coils E, while to the other pole p' the fluid runs directly from
the battery.
Several modifications in the disposition of the several parts of the engraving
machine here above described may be adopted with the same result. For
instance, the machine can be made to engrave with two or several tools at
once, by placing each tool on a sperate holder and worked by a seperate
electro-magnet and spring; in this case two or more pattern mullars will be
required, each of which produce different shades or tints. The cylinders to
be engraved. may be made of brass, copper, or any other suitable metal. The
engraving system can be also applied for engraving steel mullars as used for
engraving the printing rollers by the old process.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, in the year of our
Lord 'One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE CHURCHILL,
18, Salisbury Street, Adelphi.
WILLIAM SMITH, C.E. (L.S.)