Improvements relating to Welding, Soldering, Brazing, and other- wise Working Metals by Electricity, and to Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 25th June, 1890-Accepted, 26th July, 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Welding, Soldering, Brazing, and other-
wise Working Metals by Electricity, and to Apparatus therefor.
I, MARK WESLEY DEWEY, of 150 North Salina Street City of Syracuse, in the
County of Onondaga, in the State of New York, United States of America, Electrician,
do hereby declare the nature of niy invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement
My invention relates to a method of and apparatus for use in my method of the
application of heat to the part or parts of metal or other material to, be welded, worked
or treated; consisting essentially, in exposing or subjecting the said part or parts to
be operated upon to the heat of a continuous electrically heated conductor in proximity
thereto, thereby heating the said part or parts to the required welding, working or
treating temperature.
My invention consists further in certain apparatus and devices hereinafter more
particularly described and claimed, and useful in practising my method described
herein, and consisting in enveloping the part or parts to be heated and operated upon
by the heating conductor, also in preventing radiation of heat from the said heating
conductor in directions not toward said part or parts, and consists still further in con-
ducting the heat from the said conductor to the said part or parts, through a
non-electric conducting or high-resistance electric conducting medium.
My invention may be utilized for effecting all manner of welding, soldering, brazing,
working or treating operations of metals, and also for operations upon partial and non-
conducting bars.
Some of the advantages of my method of heating the work for the above operations
are as follows:-
The heat is applied directly to the exterior of the bar or blank at the point to be
welded or treated and thereby heating the same to the required temperature. By
thus first heating the exterior of the bar or blank I insure a perfect weld.
It is a well known fact that bars or blanks when subjected to torsional or lateral
strain, the greatest strain is exerted near the surface of the bar or blank, especially
when subjected to flexure, in which case the central portion constitutes the neutral
axis at which no strain is exerted, while a compressive strain is exerted at one side of
the neutral axis and a tensile strain at the opposite side of said axis and said strains
gradually increase to the exterior of the bar or blank.
In view of this fact it is obvious that it is more essential that the exterior of a bar be
united thoroughly, than the interior thereof, especially when the bar or blank is
designed to resist the aforesaid strain, therefore this method is superior to that where
the heating current is passed through the bar itself, as the interior of the bar in the
latter case is heated more than the exterior, on account of the radiation of heat there-
from, and thus while a good welding or union may be effected of the interior of the
bar, the union of the exterior is liable to be incomplete, or a burning of the interior
may be caused, while the exterior is properly heated and united.
Furthermore by my invention bars or blanks of different sizes and conductivities
can be heated without varying the volume of the current, and transformation of the
current is unnecessary in many cases, or at least not to the great extent usually
required, on account of the high resistance of the heating conductor that may be
employed for my method.
In the accompanying Drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively, sectional and side

page_text: elevations of an apparatus adapted for accomplishing my method of treating metals;
Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively sectional and side elevations of another form of the
heating part of said apparatus, Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3 of
another form of the heating apparatus, Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a more simplified
form of the apparatus shown in Figure 2; Figs. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views of
modified forms of apparatus, and Fig. 9 shows another form of apparatus adapted for
carrying out the object of my invention.
Referring specifically to the drawings, A in Figures 1 and 2 represents the bar or
bars to be heated, worked or welded, supported upon two supports B and B¹ and
secured thereto by clamps 6 and 6'. Support B is stationary, and B¹ is movable
toward and from the other support, so that by the moving of the support B¹ by means
of the screw D, the bar or bars held by said supports can be subjected either to
compression end wise, or to tension or drawing out lengthwise as may be desired.
C is the heating-conductor located between the aforesaid supports at the point of
the bar or blank A to be operated upon, and is supported by two supports c and c¹
mounted upon the base-plate a of the apparatus, but insulated therefrom and from
each other by insulation d. The heating or heat radiating conductor C and its
supports may be moved to any position or location between the supports B and B² to
effect the heating of any desired point along the bar, and there fastened by means of
the clamp e.
fand are the terminals of the heating conductor, which may be of low resistance,
and are connected to the supports c and c¹.
The heating current to be employed may be generated by any suitable means, as for
instance, that described in my prior U.S. patents in metal-working, No. 402,416,
dated April 30th, 1889, and No. 408,875, dated August 13, 1889.
The supports c and c¹ form the terminals of the said heating-conductor C which
preferably envelops or surrounds the bar A and is in two parts so that the same can
be readily applied to the bar to be heated and removed from the said bar after
the temperature of the work is raised to the required extent. The upper part of the
conductor C is hinged to the lower part, in this case, by the hinge E at the ends of the
arms g and gl extending from the conductor C rearward and by means of a handle /
extending from the said upper part toward the front of the apparatus, said part of the
conductor can be easily lifted from the lower part until arrested by stops i i¹ on the
hinged ends of the arms g g¹, which stops are in such positions as to sustain the lifted
part in a rearwardly inclined position and at rest.
The said parts of C can be held separated more or less to allow radiation or the
escape of heat therefrom to control the temperature of the bar A or to permit the
latter to be observed during the heating of the same or during the working operation
after it is heated, by means of the stop-screw j extending through the arm g' and
resting with its lower end upon the top of the arm g.
The conductor C is continuous or unbroken and may be heated of course, to any
desirable extent, even to incandescence, and to prevent waste of heat, said conductor
may be enveloped or enclosed by a covering or envelope F of some refractory or
non-heat conducting material, such as fire-brick or asbestos as shown in Figures 3
and 4.
In the Figures 3 and 4 the parts of the conductor C are not hinged together, but
the upper part is intended to be lifted bodily from the lower part by means of
the handles k k.
In some cases when a very great heat is not required this apparatus may be used
without the upper part of the conductor C. Figure 7 shows a sectional view of a
modification of a similar apparatus where neither the heating conductor nor the
non-heat conducting material completely surrounds the bar A.
Figure 5 illustrates a sectional view similar to Fig. 3, but the conductor C is lined
with a substance G that may be raised to incandescence and conduct the heat from the
conductor C to the bar A with which it is in contact.

page_text: This substance G forming the lining of the conductor may be of compressed baked
clay, or carbon or other suitable substance. If composed of carbon, oxidation of the
metal when heated, will be prevented to a great extent. While linings formed of the
substance referred to are imperfect conductors of heat, they are much better than
the air and indestructible or fire-proof to a great extent, and also on account of their
high resistance prevent the low tension electric current employed to short-circuit
through them and bar A. In some cases this lining G may not come in contact with
the bar A, but simply be brought in close proximity thereto.
Figure 8 is a modification of Figure 5, and represents the conductor C formed into
a box or trough, and the lining G formed of some granulated material as carbon coal,
sand, or other substance, in which the bar A is buried.
In the simple form of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 6, the heat radiating
conductor C is simply a bar or wire connected at each end to its supports c and c¹ and
running along parallel with and in close proximity to the bar or blank A. The
heating-conductor C in Figure 9 is of the form of a coil, and the bar A is within the
same, but not in contact therewith.
It will be obvious that the apparatus may be greatly modified without departing
from the spirit of my invention as its scope is not confined to the specific form or
arrangements of apparatus shown and described herein.
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 :-
1. The herein-described method of electric welding or metal-working consisting in
placing the bar or blank in proximity to an electric heat-radiating conductor and then
passing an electric heating current through said heat-radiating conductor, partly or
wholly surrounding the conductor by a refractory or non-heat conducting material,
thereby raising the temperature of the work to the required extent, and then welding,
working or treating the work as desired.
2. The herein-described method of electric welding or metal-working consisting in
placing the bar or blank in proximity to an electric heat-radiating conductor and then
passing an electric heating current through said heat-radiating conductor, partly or
wholly surrounding the conductor by a refractory or non-heat conducting material,
conducting the heat from the conductor to the work through a non-electric conducting,
or a high resistance conducting substance, thereby raising the temperature of the
work to the required degree, and then welding, working or treating the said work as
desired.
3. The herein-described method of electric welding or metal working, consisting in
enveloping the work to be welded or otherwise operate upon or treated, in a heat-
radiating electric conductor, thereby heating said work to the requisite temperature,
and then subjecting said work to the desired operation or treatment.
4. The herein described method of electric welding or metal-working, consisting in
enveloping the work to be welded or otherwise operated upon or treated, in a heat-
radiating electric conductor, partly or wholly surrounding the conductor by a
refractory or non-heat conducting material, thereby heating the latter to the
requisite temperature and then performing the desired operation or treatment upon
the work.
5. The herein-described method of electric welding or metal-working, consisting in
enveloping the work to be welded or otherwise operated upon or treated, in an electric
conductor, passing an electric heating current through the latter, partly or wholly
surrounding the conductor by a refractory or non-heat conducting material, con-
ducting the heat from the conductor to the work through a non-electric conducting or
high resistance conducting substance, thereby raising the temperature of the
work to the required degree, and then welding, working or treating the said work as
desired.

page_text: 6. The herein-described method of electric welding or metal-working, which
consists in suitably supporting the work upon two supports, locating a heat radiating
electric conductor between the supports in proximity to and enveloping said work at
the point to be heated, surrounding both the radiating conductor and the work with a
non-heat conducting envelope, connecting the terminals of a low resistance heating
current conductor with the said heat radiating conductor, and thereby heating the
work to the requisite welding, working or treating temperature and then treating the
said work as desired.
7. The herein-described method of electric welding or metal working, consisting in
subjecting or exposing the work to the heat of a heat radiating electric conductor,
controlling the heating of the work by varying the confinement or retainment of the
heat, and thereby raising the temperature of the work to the required extent, as and
for the purpose described.
8. The herein described method of welding or metal-working, consisting in
enveloping the work, to be operated upon or treated in an electric conductor, passing
an electric heating current through the latter, thereby raising the temperature of the
work to the required extent, then removing said conductor and working or treating
the work as desired.
9. The herein described method of electric welding or metal-working consisting in
subjecting or exposing the work at a point to be heated to the heat of an incandescent
high resistance body, raised to incandescence by the heat of a continuous incandescent
electric conductor in contact with said body, thereby heating the work to the required
temperature, as and for the purpose described.
10. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating-conductor adapted to enclose the work to which it is applied and clamps to
hold the work stationary on both sides of the heating conductor.
11. In an apparatus for electric-welding and metal-working, a continuous separable
electric heating-conductor adapted to enclose the work to which it is applied.
12. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating-conductor adapted to enclose the work to which it is applied, and a covering
or envelope of refractory or non-heat conducting material enclosing both the work and
the conductor.
13. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor arranged to envelop or surround the work to which it is applied,
and clamps to hold the work stationary while being heated.
14. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor adapted to enclose the work and provided with a lining of semi-
conducting material.
15. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor adapted to enclose the work and provided with a lining of
carbon.
16. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor arranged to enclose the work, and supported independently of the
latter and connected in circuit with a suitable source of electricity.
17. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
beating conductor arranged to enclose the work, and connected in circuit with a
suitable source of electricity, and means to move the work independently of the
heating conductor.
18. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor arranged to envelop or surround the work to which it is applied, and
clamps to hold the work stationary while being heated and means to move one of said
clamps as desired.
19. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor arranged to envelop or surround the work to which it is applied,
means to hold the work stationary while being heated and means for exerting a
regulable movement of the work.

page_text: 20. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor arranged to enclose the work, and connected in circuit with a
suitable source of electricity and adapted to be moved and applied to different parts of
the work as desired.
21. In an apparatus for electric welding and metal-working, a continuous electric
heating conductor adapted to enclose the work and provided with a lining of powdered
or granulated semi-conducting material.
1000
uay vio, U.
MARK WESLEY DEWEY.
Haseltine Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.