US2143336A

US2143336A - Production of metal articles

Info

Publication number: US2143336A
Application number: US73796A
Authority: US
Inventors: Walton Alexander Richard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-04-11
Filing date: 1936-04-10
Publication date: 1939-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1956-01-10

Description

Jan.. l0, 1939. A. R. wALToN PRODUCTION OF' METAL ARTICLES Filed April l0, 1936 Patented Jan.. 10, 1939 PATENT OFFICE Application lipril 10, 1936, Serial No. 73,796 En Great Britain April lll, i935 d Claims.

This invention relates to the production of metal articles such as sheets, slabs, billets, rails, wires or other shapes and it has for object a method and apparatus whereby an improved product may be obtained in either the structure of the metal or by the elimination of irregularities, such as pipes, blow-holes, slivers, fills and iins, and in which a saving in cost may also be eected. y

The invention is particularly applicable to the production of steel and iron sheets.

The invention is of the kind in which molten metal is poured or run on to driven rolls by which it is rolled and from which it is delivered has been proposed comprising a pair oi driven rolls containing molten metal between them, a

curved guide table to receive the solidified metal therefrom and a rolling mill to which the solidified metal is delivered for further treatment and forming. It has been proposed to have circumferential grooves or corrugations in the cylindrical faces of the rolls with the object of causing the length of metal to issue therefrom with longitudinal corrugations the full Width of the rolls to increase the strength of the length of metal.

Due to the great heat to lwhich the rolls are submitted they tend to become distorted and to develop re cracks. It is an object of the present invention to provide means to overcome these disadvantages.

According to the invention therefore apparatus for producing a metal article, such as a steel sheet, comprises a pair of driven rolls which are grooved, ribbed or corrugated longitudinally, and means to deliver molten metal to said rolls, for example a ladle having a pouring orifice at the bottom, and rollers having peripheries which are complementary to the peripheries of the rolls to which the molten metal is delivered and which are mounted to have rolling engagement with said rolls.

The article produced by said rolls may be sub--` mitted to a further treatment in an apparatus, such as a, rolling mill, to nish or semi-finish it.

With the object of removing gases from the molten metal before casting and to prevent slag from being included in the poured metal a still further feature of the invention consists in introducing the molten metal from a melting furnace into a ladle at or towards the bottom thereof, for example below the centre, and running the metal to the driven rolls from the ladle through a pouring orifice at the bottom thereof.

An apparatus according to the present inven- (bi. 22e-57.5)

tion for producing steel sheets directly from molten metal will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:-

Fig. l shows partly diagrammatically one form of apparatus,

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the rolls,

Fig. 3 a view from the right of Fig. 1 of the ladle only, Fig. 4 a modified form of ladle, also partly dia- 10 grammatically, and

Fig. 5 shows a still further modification.

Referring to Fig. l, l is the ladle of inverted conical or triangular shape in cross-section with a pouring orice 2 of narrow slot form extending 15 across the bottom. Said orifice is closed by a gate 3 which slides within the ladle and is operated by a rack and

pinion

4, 5. Also towards the bottomv is a second or filling orifice 6 which is also closed by a sliding gate I operated by a rack and pinion, 8, 9. Said lling orifice connects with a lilling funnel lil on the outside of the ladle. Driven rolls II, I2 are so disposed in relation to the pouring orice 2 that the stream of molten metal, indicated at 24, is delivered on to one roll Il at the side adjacent the other roll it.

The rolls i i, I2 are groovecl, ribbed or corrugated longitudinally as shown at 23 the corruga tions preferably being shallow and comparatively wide. Rollers i3, i4 having peripheries which are complementary with those of the rolls II, I2 have rolling engagement therewith respectively. The further rollers I3, It are mounted on shafts I5, I6 carried in bearings Il, I8 respectively. 35 Said bearings are adjustable to provide for and maintain pressure of the rollers i3, IB on the rolls Il, I2, as for example, by means of the screws I9, 20. The rolls II, I2, and if desired the rollers I3, I4 may be cooled by water or other 40 means if desired.

At each end of the rolls II, I2 is a disc 21 carried on a spindle 26 which is freely rotatable in a bearing in the frame of the apparatus and is surrounded by a spring 28 urging the disc into 45 surface contact with the respective adjacent ends of the rolls. These discs 21 close the ends of the gap between the rolls on the side open to the stream 24 of molten metal and prevent the escape of the latter from between the rolls in the lateral direction.

The rolls, ll, I2 are of alloy steel capable of withstanding the melting point of Bessemer or open hearth steels, that is, to withstand a heat at least up to 3,300 F., and they may be either solid or built up of a series of rings or segments.

Adjacent the rolls II, I2 is a horizontal roller conveyor 2| arranged opposite to a. 2 or 4 high rolling mill 22 of known form.

In use, the pouring orice 2 being closed, metal from a melting furnace is introduced into the ladle I through the funnel I0 and the filling orifice 6 and when the ladle is lled said lling orifice is closed by the gate 'I by operatingthe rack and pinion 8, 9.. By introducing the metal from the bottom of the ladle impurities and gases rise to the top and impurities can be removed. When the ladle has been filled the pouring orice 2 is opened by operating the rack and pinion, 4, 5, and the metal is delivered in a wide stream 24 to the rolls II, I2. As indicated the stream is preferably delivered to one roll (I I) at a point opposite the other roll. The said rolls form it into a sheet 25 with transverse corrugations, during the production of which irregularities, such as pipes and blow-holes, are eliminated in a more satisfactory manner than hitherto and at the same time the sheet, which solidies or partly solidies as it is produced, has its passage through the rolls facilitated. 'I'he rolls are driven at such a speed that the metal is carried through as fast as it is delivered to them. Said sheet is delivered by the rolls I I, I2 to the roller conveyor 2i by which it is fed directly andwithout reheating to the rolling mill 22. It is rolled by said mill into lengths of a desired section.

The filling funnel I'Ii may be separate from the ladle and removable.

The rollers I3, I Il are maintained under pressure in contact with the rolls II, I2 whereby re cracks in the latter are prevented or largely so. Any tendency to overheating of the rolls is reduced by reason of the fact that the metal is carried through as fast as it is delivered to the rolls.

The modified form of ladle illustrated in Fig. 4 is closed at the .top except at one corner I5 and .the filling funnel I0 is arranged to deliver the molten metal to the ladle at said corner, the ladle then being arranged in a position in which the pouring orifice 2 is at a slightly lower level than the point I5 at which the molten metal is introduced. As the ladle I is lilled the gases included in it rise to the top and escape and any impurities rise to the top and may flow away through the opening I5. After the ladle has been lled it is rotated through about (in anti-clockwise direction as shown in the drawing) to move it to a position in which the pouring oric'e 2 is at the bottom as is illustrated in Fig. 1. Such filling of the ladle from one side and subsequently rotating it to move the pouring orice to the bottcm is found to produce a similar eiect in eliminating gases and impurities to the introducing of the metal from the bottom of the ladle. In this form of apparatus a gate is not required to close the iilling orice of the ladle.

It will be understood that the gate for the filling or pouring orifice may be on the outside of the ladle if desired and said gates may be rotary or sliding and may be operated by any convenient gear.

The axes or rotating centres of the rolls II, I2 to which the molten metal is delivered may be level or one somewhat above the other as is found necessary or desirable. The pouring orifice has been described in the specic example of Fig. 1 as of narrow slot form. If the article to be produced is of other than sheet form theorifice may be correspondingly of different shape. 'I'he present invention is however particularly suitable for the manufacture of thin sheets.

If desired the one side of the funnel I0 may be constituted by a side of the ladle I as is indicated in Fig. 5.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for producing a metal article comprising a pair of driven rolls each formed peripherally with longitudinally extending depressions and elevations, rollers having peripheries which are complementary to the peripheries of the pair of driven rolls, means holding the said rollers in rolling engagement with the said driven rolls, and means to deliver molten metal to said driven rolls.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, including means to provide a pressure between a. roller and a driven roll.

3. Apparatus for producing a metal article comprising a pair of longitudinally corrugated rolls disposed adjacent one another in 'parallel relation to provide a gap therebetween, means rotating the said rolls in optmsite directions to cause the adjacent portions of the rolls to travel in the same general direction, the said gap always being defined by complementary surfaces of the two.rolls, means co-operating with the ends of the rolls to close the ends of the said gap, rollers having peripheries which are complementary to .the peripheries of the corrugated rolls, pressureapplying means holding the said rollers in rolling engagement with the said corrugated rolls at points thereon remote from the gap between the rolls, and a ladle containing molten metal disposed above the pair of corrugated rolls and having a pouring orifice at the bottom to deliver the said molten metal into the entry'to the said gap.

4. In apparatus for producing a metal article by pouring metal into the gap between a pair of driven parallel rolls, means to deliver molten metal to the said gap consisting of a ladle having a metal pouring orifice at the bottom and a metal lling orice located near the bottom, a gate for closing the said pouring orifice, a gate for closing the said filling orice and a lling funnel connected to said iilling orifice.

ALEXANDER RICHARD WALTON.