US2365480A

US2365480A - Apparatus for polishing coated sheet metal

Info

Publication number: US2365480A
Application number: US470669A
Authority: US
Inventors: Donald A Mcarthur
Original assignee: Wean Engineering Co Inc
Current assignee: Wean Engineering Co Inc
Priority date: 1942-12-30
Filing date: 1942-12-30
Publication date: 1944-12-19
Anticipated expiration: 1961-12-19

Description

Dec. 19, 1944. A, McARTHUR APPARATUS FOR POLISHING COATED SHEET METAL Filed Dec. 50; 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 NW NW nmm Rm @MN RN ww EN QNN @m. E

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N SEH @w Q3 Q5 HH W m r M M a M 0 ab QMN Dec. 19, 1944. D, A, MCARTHUR' 2,365,486

APPARATUS FOR POLISHING COATED SHEET METAL Filed Dec. 50, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Dona/0%. McArf/u/r Patented Dec. 19, 1944 UNITED APPARATUS FOR POLISHING COATED SHEET METAL Donald A. McArthur, Warren, Ohio, assignor to The Wean Engineering Company, 1110., Warren, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 30, 1942, Serial No. 470,669

Claims.

driven to produce a wiping action thereon. The

rolls are made by packing (i. e., stacking) cloth or felt discs on a mandrel or shaft and clamping them between fixed and removable abutments in the form of collars on the shafts. Branners as previously used were capable of processing material at speeds of from 50' to 100' per minute.

In recent years, a demand has arisen for branners capable of processing tin plate at speeds as high as 600 or 700' per minute, in order to keep pace with electrolytic tinning lines. In the operation of branners at such high speeds,"however, there is a marked tendency for the material to drift laterally, i. e., to run off either to the right or the left of the machine as much as 6", instead of proceeding parallel to the center line -of the machine, despite the greatest care in entering material in properly squared and centered relation. While this tendency presents a serious difflcult in the processing of sheets, it is intolerable in the processing of strip since the latter becomes fouled on the housings or side frames of the machine in a very short time, if it does not feed straight and parallel to the longitudinal center line of the machine. Various expedients have been resorted to in attempts to eliminate this lateral drift but have been uniformly unsuccessful.

I have invented an improvement in branners or sheet-polishing apparatus which wholly overcomes the aforementioned tendency of the sheets of tin plate to shift sidewise while passing through the machine. According to my invention, each pair of branner rolls preferably includes a large. soft, cloth roll and a smaller, harder, felt roll cooperating therewith. Certain of the cloth rolls of the several pairs, furthermore, have, their fixed abutments or collars adjacent one side of the machine while the. remainder of the soft rolls have their fixed abutments or collars adjacent the other side of the machine. That is to say, some of the soft rolls are packed" oppositely from the others. Preferably, the soft'rolls of adjacent pairs are oppositely packed. For example, the soft roll of one pair maybe packed from the drive end while the soft rolls of the adjacent pairs are packed from the ends thereof opposite the drive end. The reverse packing of adjacent soft rolls seems to have the effect of equalizing any lateral thrust which might be exerted on the sheet as a result of the slight dishing of the edges of the cloth discs. branner embodying my invention feeds material along a path precisely parallel to the center line of the machine without deviation, so that coated sheets and strip, if entered straight and properly centered, are 'discharged in exactly the same manner. There is no measurable lateral drift of the material toward either side of the machne. Further details, novel features and advantages of my invention will become apparent in the Figure 5 is a transverse section along the plane of line V-V of Figure 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the branner embodying my invention comprises spaced housings in the form of side plates or frames l0 and II connected by transverse members or spacers l2. The housings I 0 and H are provided with wheel boxes I3 at each end and have wheels 14 journaled therein adapted to travel along rails i5. I

The housings I 0 and II are adapted to receive the bearings of a plurality of pairs of rolls between which the sheet metal to be polished passes successively. Entering rolls l5a and l5b are journaled in the housings adjacent one end. Additional pairs of rolls lid and llib through 24a and 24b engage the material successively and exert a wiping action thereon. The several pairs of rolls are driven by any conventional means,

Whatever the explanation, I find that a through the bridge pieces 29.

preferably by flexible spindles from a gear box (not shown). Alternate pairs of rolls are driven at diflerent speeds and the material'travels between the several rolls at a speed which is somewhat of an average between the roll speeds. This produces the desired wiping action. With the exception of the rolls Hi: and Nb, 22a and 22b, and 24a and 24!), each of the several pairs of rolls includes a small roll designated by the suffix 11" and a large roll designated by the suflix b. The rolls la and lib are both small rolls and both rolls of the pairs 22a and 22b and 24a and 241) are large rolls. All the small rolls and all the large rolls are of similar construction.

In addition to the rolls already mentioned, hollow rolls 25 and 23 are journaled in the housings and cooperate with fixed brushes 25a and 26a. Rotary brushes 21a and 2'") also engag the material. The rolls 25'and 26 and the brushes 21a and 21b are driven in the same manner as the other rolls.

The housings l0 and l I have windows 28 spaced therealong adapted to receive bearings in which the rolls are journaled. Bridge pieces 29 extend across the windows and are secured to the housings by any suitable means. Rolladjusting screws 30 each having a locknut 3| are threaded Figures 2 and 3 clearly show the manner in which the rolls are journaled in the housings. Each roll has bearing boxes 32 and 33 thereon. The bearing boxes are adapted for vertical sliding movement inthe windows but are confined against lateral movement in the housings. The bearing boxes of the lower rolls rest on the bottoms of the windows. Springs 34 are disposed between the screws 30 and the bearing boxes of the upper rolls. Springs 35 are disposed between the bearing boxes of the rolls of each pair.

The branner is provided with a hopper bottom 36 adapted to collect bran or other similar material delivered onto the sheet metal. Side plates 36a spaced inwardly of the housings l0 and II extend upwardly from the upper portion of, the hopper bottom substantially to the upper edges of the housings, to confine the bran delivered onto the sheet metal. A screw conveyor 31 journaled in the housings delivers the bran collecting in the hopper bottom to an elevator (not shown) which returns it to the bran-feeding mechanism which will be described shortly. A horizontal plate 38 mounted beneath the rolls adjacent the entering end of the machine has spaced slots and a movable plate 39 similarly slotted disposed thereon. The movable plate is connected by links 40 to crank arms 4| on a shaft '42 which extends transversely through the housings. The rate of flow of bran to the return conveyor 31 may thus be controlled. A paddle wheel 43 journaled in the housings delivers to the conveyor 31 any bran falling into the hopper bottom adjacent the discharge end of the machine.

The bran delivered to the elevator by the conveyor 31 is raised and discharged into a feed-in screw conveyor 44 extending transversely of the machine adjacent the entering end. From the feed-in conveyor, bran is discharged through the longitudinal opening therein into a distributing conveyor 45. The latter delivers the bran directly onto the sheet metal as it passesbetween the several pairs of rolls.

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the construction of the rolls (except the hollow rolls 25 and 26) Each roll comprises a shaft 46 having journals thereon goo -18o adapted to accommodate bearings 41. The central portion of the shaft designated 48 is of square or other non-circular shape. A collar 49 is secured on the shaft adjacent one end of the square portion 48 thereof as by a ,weld 50. Circular fabric discs ll suitably punched are placed on the shaft against the collar 43. When a sufllclent number of discs have been applied or packed," a removable collar 52 is applied to the other end of the shaft and secured in place thereon by a split ring 53 which snaps into a groove 54. It will be understood that the rolls are packed before the bearings and other associated parts are placed on the shaft. Oil-throwing discs 55 are placed on the shaft between the collars and the bearings. One end of the shaft is provided with a driving connection 56 which is part of a universal joint in the driving spindle.

The large and small rolls are of similar const'ruction, the only difference being that the fabric discs of the small rolls are of felt while the discs of the large rolls are of cloth such asCanton flannel. For this reason the small rolls are harder than the large rolls. Some .of the large rolls are packed from one end and the remainder from the other. That is, the collars 49 which form fixed abutments supporting the cloth discs are disposed at the end of the shaft 46 remote from the driving end, in the case of some of the soft rolls whereas in the remainder of the soft rolls, the positions of

collars

49 and 52 are reversed and the cloth discs applied from the end of the shaft remote from the driving end, instead of from the driving end as shown in Figure 4.

: The shafts for all rolls may be the same except that the groove 54 is positioned adjacent the driving end of some of the rolls as shown in Figure 4 and adjacent the other end of the remaining rolls. Preferably one half the soft rolls are packed from one end and half from the other end. It is also advantageous that the soft rolls of adjacent pairs be reversely packed. For example, the roll lBb 'might be packed from the driving end as shown in Figure 4, roll llb from the other end, roll l8b from the driving end, and

so on. The rolls 22a and 22b-are likewise preferably reversely packed as shown in Figure 3. This is also preferably true of the rolls 2% and 24b.

The reverse packing of the soft rolls as above described provides a simple and complete remedy for the problem of sidewise drift of sheets fed through the machine. When the soft rolls are reversely packed, the sheets feed straight through the machine, precisely parallel to the center line, with no measurable drift in either direction. It is helpful, in securing this result, if the small rolls are packed quite tightly so that they present a rather hard surface. The operation of the apparatus is similar to that of branners previously known, the sheet metal being subjected to repeated wipings by the several pairs of rolls, in the presence of bran or other similar material which removes any oil from the sheets and produces a high polish on the surface thereof.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be recognized that changes in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for polishing coated sheets, a plurality of pairs of rolls between which the sheets pass, said rolls being composed of a man drel or shaft and fabric disc packed thereon against an abutment fixed to the mandrel adjacent one end, one roll of each of certain of said pairs having its discs packed from one side of the apparatus and one roll of each of the remaining pairs having its discs packed from the other side of the apparatus.

2. In an apparatus for polishing coated sheets, a plurality of pairs of rolls between which the sheets pass, each pair including rolls of different diameters said rolls being composed of a mandrel or shaft and a plurality of fabric discs packed thereon against a fixed abutment adjacent one end, the discs of some of the larger rollsof each pair being packed from one side of the apparatus and the discs of the remaining larger rolls being packed from the other side of the apparatus.

3. In an apparatus for polishing coated sheets, a plurality of pairs of rolls between which the sheets pass, each pair including rolls of different hardness, said rolls being composed of a mandrel or shaft and a plurality of fabric discs packed thereon against a fixed abutment, the discs of some of the softer rolls being packed from one side of the apparatus and the discs of the remaining softer rolls being packed from the other side of the apparatus.

4. In an apparatus for polishing coated sheets, a plurality of pairs of rolls between which the sheets pass, said rolls being composed of a mandrel or shaft and fabric discs packed thereon against an abutment fixed to the mandrel adjacent one end, the rolls of each pair being of diiferent diameters and hardness, the larger rolls of each pair being the softer, and certain of the larger, softer rolls having their discs packed from one side of the apparatus and the remainder of the larger, softer rolls having their discs packed from the other side of the apparatus.

5. In an apparatus for polishing coated sheets, a plurality of pairs of rolls between which the sheets pass, said rolls being composed of a man drel or shaft and fabric discs packed thereon against an abutment fixed to the mandrel ad-' jacent one end, the rolls of each pair being of different diameters and hardness, the larger rolls of each pair being the softer, and the larger, softer rolls of alternate pairs having their discs packed from one side of the apparatus and the remainder of the larger, softer rolls having their discs packed from the other side of the apparatus.

DONALD A. MCARTHUR.