US1351404A - Babbitt-metal product and process of making same - Google Patents

Description

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS SAFER-Y, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BABBITT-METAL PRODUCT AND PROCESS OF MAKING SAME.

No Drawing.

To all whom it may concern lie it known that 1, Louis Sarnur, citizen of the United States of America. residing at 1370 (arroll St, Brooklyn, Y. in the county of Kings and State of e\\' York, have invented certain nen and useful lni prorelnenls in lmbbitt hletal lrodurts and Processes of Making Same. of which the followinp is a specification.

The pieseul imention rrlates to putting up lmbbitt metal in a novel form, whereby its usefulness is considerably enhanced, and the invention is applicable to the treatment of various kinds of babbitt. Babbitt metal is usually put up and sold in the form of bars of convenient size, and when the same is to be employed by the consumer, one or more of the bars are placed in a pot and heated until the same melts, after which it is cast into the desired form; for example, it is cast into a casing of a journal box. During the time that the Babbitt metal is held in the pot on a molten condition. it has a tendency to absorb more or less oxy gen from the air, which oxidizes some of the metals present in the babbitt and, at any rate, the absorption of oxygen by the molten babbitt is found to substantially deteriorate its properties and the properties of the resulting casting. In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that the absorption of oxygen can be reduced. to a. great extent, if the bars of Babbitt metal after cooling are plated with a metal which has a much higher melting point than the babbitt and which does not readily melt, and which is not readily taken up by the molten babbitt, but which forms a layer of unmelted metal on the top of the layer of molten babbitt.

As exam les of metals capable of producing the desired result, nickel and copper are mentioned as being particularly suitable. These metals can readily be applied to the bars of babbitt by an ordinary eleetro-plating process, and the coating of the protective metal on the bars of metal may be quite thin. say. about one-thousandth of an inch in thickness.

\Vhile electro-deposition or electro-plating of copper and nickel upon various base metals has been known for a long time, it has not been heretofore recognized that Babbitt metal could be improved and its usefulness substantially enhanced by elec- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

Application filed May 21, 1920. Serial No. 383,315.

tro-plating or otherwise applyinp a thin coating of such metals to the surface of the bars of babbitt.

\Vithont limiting the invention thereto, it is stated for the purpose of illustration, that the coating of a babbitt composed of 7- lead, 15'; antimony. I l, tin. with an electroplating of copper. of about .lHl inch thi kness has giwn good result \lso the similar application of ni kel has fl'l lll good results, However, a rtuitllltfl ub tantially less than on inch in llllllfll has been found to give satisfactory l Fiillw A coating that is .001 inch in thichnrss has been found to give excellent results Hi all tests.

The nature of the metal that forms the thin film or coatin; is not without importance. The metal must be such as will have no deleterious effect upon the bearing qualities of the habbitt. Any metal which would have a substantially deleterious effect upon the'bahbitt is excluded from emisideration in connection with this invention. (Topper and nickel have been found best adapted for use in forming the coating on the bar of Babbitt metal.

The action of the film or coating of copper (or like metal) may be described as follows: The Babbitt metal is generally in the form of small flat bars or slabs which weigh approximately five pounds. The coating or film that is deposited on the fiat bar by electro-plating covers the surface of the bar but forms no part of the Babbitt metal alloy. As a rule, the bars are not broken into pieces before being put in the melting-pot, unless the. metahworker does not wish to melt down as much as five pounds of Babbitt metal; but the bars are thrown into the melting-pot whole. Since the Babbitt metal fuses at a much lower temperature than the metal of the electroplated film or coating, this coating remains unfused and floats upon the surface of the molten Babbitt metal. which is of high specific gravity due. to its content of lead. The metal of the electro-plated coating is tough from which it results that the latter does not break up but remains intact and is borne on the surface. of the molten Babbitt metal in much the same manner as waxed paper rests upon the surface of a vessel of water. Naturally, if there is considerable or violent disturbance of the molten mixture, the tough film of copper may become disintegrated. Even though the area of the surface of the molten mixture may become, due to the expansion of the Babbitt metal as heat is ap lied thereto, greater than the area of the fi m or plating, yet sufficient of the surface of the molten mixture is covered to protect the Babbitt-metal ingredients in a very substantial manner from oxidation and the mixture from deterioration or lowering in quality due thereto. This invention is particularly useful in connection with leadbased babbitts or babbitts the tin content of which is relatively small. Tin gives tensile strength to Babbitt metal and it is likely to become oxidized; and, where the tin content is small, oxidation thereof even to the extent of a small proportion of the whole results in a serious lowering of the quality of the Babbitt metal. Many metal-workers melt down their babbitts without using a thermometer and the result is an overheating of the mixture; and the film or plating will prove particularly effective in preventing a loss of the tin content due to oxidation,

when such overheating is permitted to occur.

I claim:

1. The process of protecting Babbitt metal from oxidation while bein melted, which consists in coating the Babbitt metal, prior to melting the same, with a thin film of another metal which is without injurious action on the bearing qualities of the Babbitt metal and which has a melting point that is substantially higher than that of the Babbitt metal.

2. Babbitt metal coated with a thin film of another metal which is without injurious action on the bearing qualities of the Babbitt metal and which has a melting point that is substantially higher than that of the Babbitt metal which it coats.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the resence of two witnesses.

L UIS SAPERY. [n s.] Witnesses A. HOYT LEVY, PETER J. KIERNAN.