GB468184A - Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of continuous metal strip - Google Patents

Abstract

468,184. Making continuous metal sheets. STEVENS, A. H. (United Engineering & Foundry Co.) Nov. 13, 1936, No. 31045. [Classes 83 (ii) and 83 (iv)] Welding; shearing.-In a method and apparatus for making continuous metal strip or sheets by welding shorter sheets end to end, the ends of the sheets are clamped in aligned position, the crop ends are cut off and the cut ends are welded together without unclamping. In the apparatus the shorter sheets S are fed from a drum &c. 5, Fig. 2, through flattening rolls 60 to a clamp 7. The drum is supported by rollers 55 which are driven from an electric motor through reduction gearing to feed the sheet, and the rolls 60, of which the upper one is adjustable at 63, are driven by the same motor and gearing. The sheet is guided through the clamp by vertical rolls 8 adjusted by right and left-handed screws 67. The movable transverse jaw 71 of the clamp is operated by pneumatic cylinders 72, or alternatively pneumatic cylinders may engage the sides only of the sheet. The shearing machine 10 and welding machine 11, Figs. 2 and 3, are arranged in tandem transversely of the sheet feed and are moved alternately into operative position by means of racks and pinions 24, 25 rotated by an electric motor and gearing, and beyond these are further vertical guide rolls 14, a clamp 13 similar to the clamp 7, pinch rolls 83 driven by an electric motor and gearing to feed the welded sheet through the machine and a winding off drum 19 driven by a further electric motor and gearing. A bottom cradle 94 of usual construction receives the finished sheet. In operation, the first sheet S<1> is fed entirely through the machine onto the drum 19, until its crop end projects under the shears 10, and is then secured by the clamp 13. The lower blade 33 of the shears is next raised by eccentrics 35 rotated by an electric motor 38 and gearing 37 to sever the crop end, which drops onto a gutter 40, and the severed end of the sheet is raised as shown in Fig. 2, either by adherence to the fixed blade 31 or by an electromagnet 95. The second sheet S is then fed into the machine so that its crop end projects through the shears, the side rolls 8 being adjusted in order to align the two sheets, and the clamp 7 is then operated, after which the crop end is severed by the lower blade 33 and falls into a gutter 40. The shearing machine is then moved laterally by the motordriven pinions 25 and the welder 11 aligned with the sheet, the lower bar electrode 42 being lowered to clear the butting sheet ends by means of a pneumatic cylinder 47 acting through toggle links 43. The distance between the sheet ends may be varied by adjusting the position of the clamp 13 through hand-operated eccentrics 78, Fig. 2, and the bar 42 is then raised by the cylinder 47. Clamps 50, Fig. 4, are then actuated to grip the ends of the sheets S, S<1> and a number of arc welding electrodes 51 are traversed along the seam by mechanism at 52. After welding the continuous sheet is wound on the drum 19 until the crop end of the sheet S is under the shears and the process is repeated for attaching subsequent sheets. Instead of severing the ends of the sheets S, S<1> separately, the two ends may be overlapped and severed simultaneously. In a modified form of apparatus, the welding and shearing machines are fixed on the foundation 20 in tandem in the direction of sheet feed and the clamps 7, 13 are mounted on a carriage movable on rails along the sheet by means of racks and motor-operated pinions. The sheets are fed along a bed formed of bars which pass through slots in the clamps and lie below the clamping surfaces and after the crop ends have been severed, either separately or simultaneously, the carriage carrying the clamps is moved to cause the butting ends to be aligned under the welding electrodes. The rolls 60, 83 and the drums 5, 19 may be rotated whilst the carriage is being moved, or the racks and pinions on the carriage may be dispensed with and the sheets and carriage fed by the rolls. The continuous sheets are subsequently rolled.