US1744584A - Connecting-rod babbitting and boring machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 21, 1930. H. c. SHOEMAKER 1,744,584

CONNECTING ROD BABBITTING AND BORING MACHINE Filed'oct. 12, 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 21, 1930. H. c. SHOEMAKER 1,744,534

CONNECTING ROD BABBITTING AND BORING I ACHINE Filed Oct. 12, 1925 a Shets-$heet 2 WWW Z W Jan. 21, 1930. 1-1. c. SHOEMAKER 1,744,534

CONNECTING ROD BABBITTING AND BORING MACHINE Filed 001:. 12, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 u I I x V//// /A| Wfl Al k! z 6 v Z4 as 25/ 35 2 30 CZZHwZZFr:

Patented Jan. 21, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY C. SHOEMAKER, OF FREEPORT, ILLINOIS Application filed October 12, 1925.

ter described capable of accurately machin-' ing the hearings to the desired size and absolutely concentric with the rods.

Secondly, to provide a machine which is easily and quickly adjustable and operates with equal facility on a wine variety of sizes and kinds of connecting rods.

Thirdly, to provide a machine wherein any misalignment of an end of a connecting rod, due to its being bent or twisted, can be detected so that proper attention may be given to this matter before rebabbitting.

F ourthly, to provide a machine wherein the rod, during babbitting, is firmly suppor ed by its own wrist pin and is otherwise held securely to insure smooth and square boring; a special feature consisting in the provision of a pair of supports at opposite sides of the c 'ank pin end of the rod to avoid the rods sagging and also to avoid chattering and digging of the being tool when finishing to size, and

Fifthly, to provide a machine wherein the connecting rod is first accurately centered, then poured, using a babbitting core or mandrel, and finally bored out to size, all on the same machine and without changing the set ting of the rod, the operating parts used in the centering and pouring and in the boring operations being movable away from operative position to give free access to the rod for either operation without being hampered by the presence of the parts used in the other operation.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will be brought out more fully in Serial No. 61,942.

the course of the following detailed description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, Wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with the present invention showing the set-up preparatory to pouring after the rod has been centered;

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the set-up for boring to size;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the base of the machine and is partly in section, being taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4: is a sectional detail through the table and babbitting'core or mandrel to show the relation thereof to the connecting rod prepan atory to pouring. This view is taken on the line H of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 5 is a similar section showing a centering tool mounted on the table or platform to locate the end of the connecting rod concentric with the table before pouring and boring.

Throughout the views, the same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts.

The machine comprises a base 6 arranged to be mounted and fastened at the pads 7 on the top of a bench or other suitable support at a convenient elevation for opearting the machine. The base 6 has a longitudinal slot 8 along which a tail block 9 is arranged to be adjusted to suit different lengths of connecting rods 10. The block 9 has a screw 11 and a hand nut 12 for fastening the same rigidly in adjusted position. The block 9 is slotted vertically, as shown at 13, to provide adjustability for a gib 14 secured in adjusted posi tion in the slots 13 as by means of bolts 15. The vertical adjustment is to accommodate rods having different Widths of crank pin ends 16, as will hereinafter appear. The gib it provides upper and lower V- shaped bearings 17 and 18, respectively, for the reception of the opposite ends of a wrist pin 19 held in the usual manner in the piston end 20 of the connecting rod 10. Set screws 21 engage the wrist pin 19 on opposite sides of the end 20 of the rod, and another set screw 22 is ar ranged to engage the end 20 of the rod 10 to secure the rod firmly in position for pouring and boring, as will hereinafter appear, the rod previously having been properly centered, as will be fully described hereinafter. The screws 21 and 22 are provided in a bracket 23 extending forwardly from the gib 14 to the front side of the connecting rod, as shown. The purpose in supporting the rod 10 on its own wrist pin is to insure first of all that the babbitted bearing will be absolutely square with the rod. Supporting the rod in this fashion also has the aevantages, as will presently appear, that the crank pin end 16 may more readily be centered and that any misalignment of this end of the rod due to the rod being bent or twisted can more definitely be determined. In the centering of the rod, the block 9 is left slightly loose and the set screws 21 and 22 are not'tightened securely, so that the crank pin end 16 of the rod may be shifted to central relation with the table or platform 24. After such alignment is secured, the set screws 21 and 22 are then tightened and the block 9 secured in position by the tightening of the hand nut 12. This adj ustment of the rod holds for the entire babbitting operation and the rod is not loosened again from its fastenings until it is removed from the machine after babbitting.

The table or platform 24 is provided on a pedestal 25 slidable in a hole in the base 6 and arranged to be lifted by hand into the desired position and clamped by a hand screw 26. The top surface of the table is perfectly fiat and smooth and truly horizontal and at right angles with the bearings 17 and 18 of the gib 14, above-described. hen an old rod to be rebabbitted is first placed in the machine and supported by its wrist pin, the table 24 may be brought up to the crank pin end thereof to determine if the rod is straight and in shape to be rebabbitted. Frequently where a bearing is burnt out, the rod has been subjected to severe hammering and may be bent or twisted. The operator can read ily determine if any straightening is necessary before rebabbitting by noting whether the rod lies flat on the table 24.

Referring for the moment to Fig. 5, the rod 10 is centered with respect to the table 24 by means of a centering tool 27. The latter comprises a post 28 having a reduced end 29 fitting a socket 30 provided centrally in the table 24. A hollow head 31 on the post 28 has a screw 32 threading in the bore 33 thereof. The tapered inner end 34 of the screw 32 co-operates with the pointed ends of a plurality of pins '35 radiating from the bore 33. The pins 35 are of identical lengths and, when expanded by the action of the screw 32, bear against the inside of the crank pin end 16 of the connecting rod and serve to center the same with reference to the table 24 is an obvious manner. As previously described, the rod fastenings are made tight only after the rod has been properly centered.

The rod, when properly centered, is also supported against swinging on its wrist pin and against possible sagging, by a pair of jaws 36 and 37. The jaw 36 is free to oscil late in the end of ascrew 38 adjustable by a hand wheel 39 in a block 40. The block 40 is adjustable in the slot 8 of the base 6 and may be fastened in position by the tightening of a hand nut 41. The jaw 37, similarly to the jaw 36, is free to oscillate in the outer end of a jack screw 42 adjustable by hand in the base 43 of the block 40. The jaws 36 and 37 are in the form of enlarged, flat pads to span the channeled sides of the connecting rod. The universal adjustability of the jaws in the screws 38 and 42 accommodates any irregularity in the rods so that th e may be held securely without danger of flexing the same and destroying the accuracy of the babbitting. During the process of babbitting, the bearing cap 44 is held on the rod by its usual bolts 45 but, in place of the usual nuts. special nuts 46 are threaded on the bolts 45 which have extensions 47 providing a convenient place for gripping and holding the rod. The usual shims 48 are put in place with the cap 44, as shown. A pair of vise jaws 49 and 50 engage the extensions. 47 of the nuts 46. The jaw 50 is provided on abracket 51 arranged for pivotal adjustment with respect to a post 52 and to be secured by a hand nut 53 when properly adjusted. The post 52 is swiveled in a socket provided in the base 6 of the machine and, in turn, is arranged to be clamped by a hand screw 54 in a well-known manner. The jaws 49 and 50 are tightened by a hand nut 55 operating on a screw 56 extending upwardly from the bracket 51. It will be noted that the sides of the jaws 49 and 50 are beveled, which serves in a measure to accommodate any irregularity in the relation of the two extensions 47 to avoid the danger of flexing or twisting theend of the connecting rod and thus destroying the accuracy of the babhitting. The supporting of the end of the connecting rod on both sides of the bearing precludes the possibility of the rod sagging and avoids the danger of chattering and digging of the boring tool when finishing to size.

Referring for the present to Figs. 1 and 4 particularly. the table 24 provides a support for a babbitting core or mandrel 57. The latter has a reduced end 58 which fits the socket 30 in the table 24, as illustrated. The mandrel 57 centers a collar 59 for casting one flange of the rod bearing. An. upper collar forms the other flange. Babbitt metal is poured from a ladle into the space about the core 57. The metal hardens within twenty minutes or so after pouring, whereupon the machine may be used to bore out the bearing to size, The table 24 is dropped out of the way by loosening the hand screw 26' and the core 57 and collars 59 and 60 are removed, leaving the rod in the condition shown in Fig. 2.

A vertical spindle 61 carries a boring tool 62 in its lower end, which is secured by a set screw 63. The tool 62 is set by a micrometer to bore out a hole of the exact diameter desired. The micrometer is easily engaged over the cutting end of the tool 62 and the opposite side of the spindle 61, in an obvious manner. The spindle 61 is rotatable in spaced bearings 64; provided on a bracket 65 having a hub portion 66 slidable vertically on a column 67 mounted in the base 6. The adj ustment of the spindle 61 with the bracket 65 is accomplished by a lead screw 68 threading in a nut 69 formed integral with the bracket 65. The screw 68 is turned by a hand wheel 70 having a crank handle 71 thereon and turns in a bearing '72 provided in the end of an arm 73 rigid with the column 67. The spindle 61 oscillates with the column 67 with respect to the base 6 from the inoperative position shown in Fig. 1, to the operative position shown in Fig. 2. A lug 7st at the base of the column 67 serves to limit the swinging movement of the spindle 61 by engagement with a stop screw 75, adjustable in a lug 76 provided on the base 6. In its forward position, the spindle 61 lies in central alignment with the table 24 and hence is aligned accurately with respect to the end of the connecting rod 10. The spindle 61 is driven by a crown gear 77 splined on the upper end thereof. This gear meshes with a pinion 78 on a counter shaft 79. The shaft 79 is received in a bearing 80 provided on an arm 8i extending off one side of one of the bearings 64. The shaft 79 is fitted with a pulley S2, and a belt 83 passing over the pulley S2, is driven from a pulley 84 on the armature shaft 85 of a motor 86. The motor 86 is hung on the side of the bearing 66 opposite the bearings 6st to offse the weight of the spindle 61 and its operating parts, to make for a nicely balanced structure. The weight of the entire equipment operating on the column 67 is suitably counter-balanced by weight; on a cable 87 secured at its free end to the bearing 66 and passing over a k v 88 down through the column 67 which is made hollow for this purpose. The balanced construction described enables easy feding by hand of the boring tool. Hand feeding, experience has taught, is of advantage in that t permits the operator to gauge the proper feed for different sizes of bearings and differences in the density of the Babbitt material used, and the arrangement is rendered far less complicated and more commensurate with the requirements of the machine. The boring spindle, when brought to operative position, is adjusted vertically to bore out the bearing of the connecting rod, the column 67 being meanwhile clamped against movement by a hand screw 89 operating in the base 6 at the foot of the column 67. The switch for controlling the motor 86 may be mounted on the bracket 65 or on the bench on which the machine is supported, whichever is most convenient in the particular case. The boring out of the rod to the desired size divides the bearing in halves at the shims 48 at too opposite sides of the cap 44. The turnings may conveniently be caught in a pan placed on the table 24 under the end of the connecting rod. Ample space is left beneath the rod for this purpose, as illustrated in Fig. 2. This eliminates any wasting of Babbitt material which is rather expensive and also avoids littering up the bench and the machine with the turnings. The turn ings are thrown back into the Babbitt furnace and remelted for future use.

From the foregoing description, it will appear that I have provided a novel bearing 'babbitting and boring machine whereon both the pouring and boring of the bearing can be accomplished without complicated adjustments or tedious setting-up operations. The machine is capable of use on a large variety of sizes and kinds of connecting rods. The maximum length of rod accommodated by the machine is limited only by the length of the base; and the width of the bearing that can be accommodated is limited only by the extent of the vertical adjustment of the tail block gib. A large variety of sizes of 'babbitting cores or mandrels is provided and different lengths of boring tools are provided to accommodate different diameters of connecting rod bearings.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a frame, a platform wherewith to center and determine the straightness of the bearing end of a connecting rod, said platform having a suporting post slidably received in a bore provided therefor in said frame Whereby the platform has adjustment with respect to the frame and may be moved to an out of the way position when desired, a tail block adjustably mounted on said frame for movement toward and away from said platform, means on said tail block for supporting the piston end of the connecting rod by a pin, like its wrist pin, said rod being swingable relative to said pin when so supported whereby the same may be centered with the platform, and means for securing the bearing end of the connecting rod in its centered position, said means comprising a pair of extension nuts threading on the connecting rod bolts and extending from the rod beyond the platform, and means universally adjustable with respect to the frame engaging and gripping the outer ends of said extension nuts.

2. A device of the character described comprising a frame, means for centering the bearing end of a connecting rod in a certain position with respect to the frame, means adjustable on the frame with respect to the last mentioned means for supporting the piston end of the connecting rod in the centered position of the rod, and means for holding the bearing end of the connecting rod in its centered position, said means comprisingapairof extension nuts threading on the connecting rod bolts so that they extend from the end of the rod, a post adjustable endwise in a bore provided therefor in the frame, a bracket swiveled on a transverse axis on the outer end of said post and arranged to be shifted relative to the extension nuts in the adjustment of the post, and a pair of jaws provided on said bracket for clamping the extension nuts.

3. A device of the character described comprising a frame, means on said frame for supporting the wrist pin end of a connecting rod, a table on said frame having a flat true face adapted to have the flat side of thebearing end of the connecting rod abut the same to determine the straightness of the rod, said table having a pedestal portion slidably received in a bore provided in said frame whereby the table is adjustable toward and away from the rod supported on the frame and may be moved first to the rod to test the same for straightness and also for centering and babbitting and then moved to an out of the way position to permit the easy boring thereof, said table having a center hole provided therein coaxial with a boring bar on said device and arranged to receive means for the centering of the bearing end of the connecting rod with respect to the boring bar and also rranged to receive a babbitting mandrel, and means for fastening the rod in its centered position.

l. A machine as set forth in claim 3 wherein the table is arranged to be raised to operative position and is arranged to drop by gravity to inoperative position, and including manually operable means on the frame cooperating with the pedestal portion of the table for releasably holding the same in raised operative position en aging the under side of the bearing end of the connecting rod, said table being arranged when released to drop to an out-of the-way inoperative position.

5. In a device of the character described comprising a frame, means thereon for supporting a connecting rod on a pin, like its wrist pin, and means for centering the bearing end of the connecting rod in a certain position with respect to the frame, means for holding the latter end of the rod in its centered position comprising a pair of extension nature.

HARRY O. SOHOEMAKER.

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