US268222A - Manufacture of steel blooms and billets - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) v 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' W. HAINSWORTH.

MANUFAGTURE OE STEEL BLOOMS AND BILLETS.

(No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 2.

W. HAINSWORTH. 'MANUFACTURE 0E STEEL BLOOMS AND BILLETS.

No. 268,222. Patented Nov; 28, 1882.l

(No Model.)` 3 sheets-sheet s.

- W. HAINSWORTH.

MANUPAGTURB 0F STEELBLOOMS AND BILLETS.

lul-l' 4 I4'mi molds.

UNITED STATES PATENT Unsinn'.

VVILIJIAM HAINSWORTH, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IVIANUFAC'TURE OF STEEL BLOOIVIS AND BILLETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,222, dated November 28, 1882.

4Application tiled November 4, 1881. (No niodel.l i

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I WILLIAM HAtNswoRTH, ot' Pittsburg, county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented or discovered `a new and useful Improvement in Manufacture ot' Steel Blooms and Billets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a tull,clear, concise, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-like letters indicating like parts- Figure l, Sheet 1', is aside elevation, partly in vertical section, of an apparatusillustrative ot' my present invention. Fig. 2 is a top or plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section in theplane of tlielinexx,Fig. l. Fig. 4 is an end elevation ot' the crane-caremployed, and a sectional view of the tracks and one mold. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a side elevation, to an enlarged scale, of one ot' the roll-cars ein ployed, as in Fig. l, and a longitudinal vertical section of another, asa-lso the line ot` the Fig. 6 is a top or plan view, to a like scale, of one of the roll-cars, but with the middle set-screws sectioned on one side in the line x x', and on the other side in the line m2 x2 of Figi 5, and Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-section in the plane ofthe line x3 of Fig. 6.

In the manufacture ot' ingot iron and steel it has been usual to cast the material into upright ingot-molds, from which theingots were removed as soon as chilled, and then, after being reheated, to pass them through a train oi blooming-rolls, so as to produce whatare known as blooms77 volves considerableloss. The metal chills and solidies on the outside rst, and then the shrinkage, which results from the cooling and solidilication ot' the interior, gives to the upper end of the ingot an irregular form, usually hollowing or cup-shaped, but `for other or peculiar reasons the upper end of the ingot sometimes takes a bulging or dome shape. In either case a portion ofthe upper end, or that which in the'linished or subsequently-wrought product corresponds to the upper end of the iugot, has to be cut or sheared olf as waste material; also, the shrinkage of the ingot usually gives to the vertical or longitudinal sides of the in got a slightly hollowin g or concave shape, and the blooming operation has to be resorted This method ot' operation in,-V

to, partly to reduce suchirregularity and bring the ingot to a bloom form, either rectangular in cross-section, or bulging somewhat up and down the middle ofthe sides, or with flat sides and beveled or rounded corners.

My present invention is directed to the elimination ot' these difficulties or objections, and I accomplish it wholly or in part by subjecting the metal immediately after pouring,and be- 6o fore complete soliditication, and while still in the molds, to the action of one or more reducing or compressing rolls, whereby compression goes on at the same time with the shrinkage,

so that irregularities which otherwise would be caused by shrinkage or other agency are at once worked down, and an ingot is produced which has practically the perfect form ot' the bloom, and which also has no irregularlyshaped end, to be cut oli' and thrown away or 7o into the scrap-pile as waste material.

In what l now believe to be the best form of working my invention I employ two railway-tracks, It R', laid side by side in convenient proximity 'to each other and conveniently 75 near to the furnace, chamber, or hearth from which the molten metal is tappe-d, run, or poured out. 0n any suitable foundation along between the rails ot'one track, R, I lay one or more ingot-molds, a, but preferably a series 8o or row of them in line, end to end. These molds are of trough shape in crosssection, with closed ends, but open on top. The inner sides are inclined suflciently, if need be, to

insure a ready discharge of the completed inimmediately over the line ot' ingot-molds a, 95

and with a delivery-hole, d, therein, so that metal run out of the ladle may be run into the molds. The ladle, being tilled or charged in any known way, is run onto the track R', and

on coming opposite the first mold ofthe series too the stopper d is removed, and this and the following molds are filled, the ladlecar being The 9o moved along with only the speed necessary to this end. The next part ofthe operation relates to the rolling or compression of the contents ofthe mold or molds while the same is undergoing change of form from shrinkage or otherwise, and in part, at least, before it fully solidiies. To this end I employ one, two, or more cars or trucks, B, and mount on, in., orto each car or truck frame one, two, or more rolls, c. These rolls are so set or adjusted by bearings, setscrews, &c.-such as are usual in the artthat their peripheries shall operate by a rolling and reducing or compressing effect on the surface of the metal in the molds a, the first or forward one compressing or working down on the surface of the inetal-say one thirtysecond or one sixty-fourth otan inch, more or less-and each succeeding one (if more than one are used) being set to work a little lower than the one forward ofit-say bythe saine amount, more or less. The length of each rolling-surface, measured in the direction of the rollaxis, is, as near as may be, equal to the width of the top inside ofthe ingotanold,

as in Fig. 7, but must not bind seriously.

ln making the rolls any suitable material may be employed, but to guard against the eti'ects ofthe excessive heat of the metal I prefer to make the forward roll or rolls with a tace of ganister, ire-clay, or other suitable refractory material, dried and baked, or otherwise nular or ring form and slipped into the shafts; y also, when so desired, I arrange on the forward end of the forward car a spool or drum, b, on which I wind a sheet or sheets of sheet iron or steel, and payout the same as the rollears move along, so as to interpose the sheet between the rolls and the molten metal. rlhis gives a partial protection as against heat, and also aids in getting and preserving aiiatteued face in the ingot, as against any tendency of its fluid or semi-duid body to take some irregular form. The sheet'acts as a protection to the steel as against oxidationand also slightly as a chill to harden or set the upper face ofthe ingot; but, if so preferred, the sheets for this purpose may be cnt to size and onebe placed, by hand or otherwise, on top ot each mold as soon as the moldisfilled. The roll car or cars thus made and ittedare caused to move along the track lt, following the pouring, so that as rapidly as thel molds are tilled the contents thereof shall be subjected to the action of the roll or rolls7 as above indicated. Hence the rolling and cooling ot' the metal go on at the same time, so that as irregularities ot' shape in the ingot arise, as a result ot cooling, such irregularities will be worked down, and when the ingot becomes fully solidiiied it will have regularly-shaped sides and-ends,sothatsomuch ot the blooming operation as heretofore has been required to work down or out the concavities or other irregularities in the sides of the ingot will not be required. Also, in the ingots as I thus make them there is no irregnlarly-shaped end to be cut oft' as waste material, and the entire ingot cati be worked into useful product. Also, this rolling action thus pert'orined tends tovexpress or press outof the metal and out of the mold those gases or gasbubbles which are sometimes present in ordinary steel casting.

It will be observed that in working this invention with the best results the amount of reduction or compression given to each .ingot should be as nearly as practicable equal or approximately equal to reductionl ot' bulk caused by shrinkage. or otherwise, so that, so far as possible, the eXudation ot' metal over the sides ofthe mold (in case rolling is commenced before the surl'aee chills) or forward from one mold to another will not ordinarily occur to any serious extent. Thejoints between molds may be protected by loam, as at r, Fig. 5, or in other desired way, such as will preventthe molten metal from getting down between the ends of the molds7 and at the saine time per mit the rolls to pass readily and without inliury from one mold to the next. In case the rolls sag or hang below the level ot' the tops of the molds an incline, r', Fig. l, should be added at the end of the row ot' molds. The end walls ofthe molds should be a little lower than the sides, as shown-say about as much lower as the ingot is to be worked down or reduced by the action of the roll or rolls.

'As thus far described, the rolls are intended to operate in compressing solely or chiefly by their own weight; but it' before the last roll or the later operating-rolls have done their work the ingot shall in any ease have become so far solidljed that such weight is insufficient for effecting the compression described, then such roll or rolls, operating 011 what is practically a higher level, will litt the car from the track, or sustain a portion of its weight, so that the downward or compressive effect of such roll or rolls will be correspondingly increased by the amount of such weight taken ott' the track and thrown onto the roll or rolls. It will also be understood that the rolls rotate by friction as they are moved along, and that additional weights may be put onv the cars, it' desired. For the purpose ot' moving the ladle-ear and the roll car or cars thus progressively and simultaneously along the tracks any suitable means may be employed-as, for example, a rope or chain, D2, leading to a stationary engine or other motor, or a pushing-engine or locomotive, B', but the power should be suehiu either case as is under ready control, especiallyas to speed, and such speed will he regulated hy the condition ofthe work to be done. After the ingots have been thus made and worked l clear both tracks and run onto the track R a crane-car, Rand a platform-car, l. 'lo move them a locomotive, B2, or other motor, may be employed. 0n the crane-car P is a oratie, a, preferably a hydraulic crane, ha\rs ing a flexible supplypipe, regulating-cock, cyl- IOO IOS

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inder, and piston, as shown, (Fig. -I,) together with other necessary appliances. The gib n carries, by a flexible suspensory, a yokedevice, n2, such as is usually employed in kindred operations. The \oke isv connected with the ingot-molds c by means of trunnions a', Figs. 2

and 4, and the molds are then hoisted, swung.

over the platformcar P', the molds are inverted, one end swinging over between the depending chains of the yoke, and the ingot is deposited on the car, as indicated at c2, Fig. 2, and 'the empty ingot-mold is reset for another pour, as at a3. The ingots are thus emptied one after another and reset for another lling and rolling operation, as before.

In connection with the invention thus described or as yet to be described, I include all mechanical equivalents and all changes of devices and apparatus which involve substatitially like methods of operation; butjnote should be made that in working this part of my invention I do not limit myself to thcuse ot' cylindrical rolls, for the rolling-faces may face ofthe ingot.

be made slightly concave in the direction of their length,ora fillet or bead mayrnnaround each cylindrical roll end, so as to make a bevel or rounded corner at each edge of the upper rIhis, in connection with a like tillet at the side corners of the bottom of the mold, will give an ingot somewhat more nearly the usual bloom shape,and such or other li ke moditica tions are hereby expressly included herein.

The method of operation described I apply not only to the production, as above set forth, ot' ingots of a bloom form or condition, which hence may be termed bloom-ingots, butalso to the production of what I term billet-ingots. It is well known that ordinary blooms are by further working brought to some spe- .cial form or shape, called billets/as a preparatorystep to the production ofsome article ot' commerce.

By carrying the improvements above described a step farther I am enabled to pro duce direct from the molten material in an ingot-mold an ingot-billet or an ingot in billet form, such that by the use otordinary reduc ing and working rolls such ingot-billet can be worked into an article of commerce. This further slepin the operation isillustrated in Sheet 3, where Fig. 8 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal vertical section, of theroll-cars and rolls which l employ,together with thetrack and ingot-mold and metaltherein. Fig.9 is a transverse sectional view of one ot' the cars, track, and ingot-mold. Fig. 10 is a top view of the same sectioned through the middle adjusting-screws; and Figs. 11 to 16 are transverse sectionsthrough theingotmold and ingot, illustrative of the work done by the successive rolls.

Like letters 4indicate like parts, as in the previous sheets, and operating in like manner, except as hereinafter explained.

For convenience of illustration and description I have shown and will describe this part of my invention as applied to the making of ingot-billets for making channel-bars. `For this purpose I use a single mold, (t, of trough form, arranged between the rails of track R, as before. The proper amount of metal required for making the ingotbillet desired be ing ascertained, a movable dam-block, z, of

y proper size to ill the trough crosswise, is 'arranged at such point that so much ofthe moldcavity as is back of such block will suffice to contain such amount ot' molten metal. Such metal is then run or poured into the ingot-niold a in the manner above described. or otherwise, and it is then ready for the rolling operation.

For this purpose, I employ a series ot rolls, s 8

' ing from shrinkage, and also works down the previously-forined depression, so as to bring the product to the shape substantiallyas shown in Fig. 14. While the metal is still cooling, approaching solidification, and shrinking 1t is acted on in like manner and for likeifpurposes by the next following roll s2, and so on by the successive rolls, as many as may be desired, until it is brought to the desired form in cross section-#say as in Fig. ll--which is a suitable billet form from which, by known methods of working, to make-a channelbar.

rIhe number of rolls employed may be varied at pleasure; but'preferably as many are employed as can be brpugljt to act on the contents of any one ingot-moldbefore the same have fully solidified'. YVhile I have shown several such 'rolls I' have done so chiey to illustrate the probab'le'extreme limit of the operation set forth` O 'd-inarily I will so shape the iirst roll of the ,series that, acting on the still plastic material,.it will reduce it to the shape and approximately to'the size required in cross section, and th'e n use'. the following` roll or rolls ot' the series merely to work down the irregularities resulting' from cooling, as

above set forth. rIhe operation thus described will necessarily result in the elongation of the molten or partly molten body Ofmetal, and

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hence as the tirst roll approaches'the end ot',

l t, Y

4 :fessee ticularly such shapes as are known under the names of H -iron,77 Tiron,I-loars, angleiron,&c. rIherolls employed in this operation differ from those shown and described with reference to Sheets l and 2 in that some portion of the rolling-surface enters the body of the unsolidilied or partly-soliditied metal to such depth and in such manner las displacing it to destroy its otherwise substantial rectangular or bloom form; and the operation differs both in the respect thus suggested and in the fact that not only are irregularities caused in cooling obliterated by compression, as in Sheets l and 2, but at the same time the material is shaped, reduced, and elongated, and all before complete soliditication takes place. Hence the method last described is included herein in its application to all the various shapes of billet product to which it is applicable.

' It will also bewithin myinvention to mount the roll or rolls ina suitable housingor frame and move the mold or molds along under such roll or rolls, other conditions being substantially the same. And I may also add that the ingot mold or molds may be arranged at the side of the track R., instead of between the rails, and the rolls may then project over the side of the car, though less advantageously; also, the molds may be arranged in curved order around a center, or an annular pan be employ ed with the necessary modifications in other parts; and, in fact, the ladle-car may be operated on the track R ahead of the rollercars, if so preferred.

The blooms and billets produced by the operations described, in s0 lar as they may involve patentable invention, will forni the subject-matter ot' a separate application.

I am aware that it has been proposed to pass a heavy roller over the surface ot' castiron castings with reference to getting rid of blow-holes, as described in English Patent No. 714 of 1874s, but my invention goes beyond this, and, in fact, belongs in a di'erentdepartnient of metal-working, in that, (among other thin0s,) lirst, it relates solely to cast malleable iron or steel,'and notto cast-iron, which latter is not malleable; and, second, in that I not only compress the metal so as to express the gases, but also reduce it so as to chan-ge its form or lessen its size in cross-section.

I claim herein as my invention-n l. The method ot making ingot-iron or steel ingot-billets by subjecting the metal while still in a tluid or semi-huid condition7 wholly or in part, and while inclosed in an open-topped box or trough, to the action of one or more rolls, some part of the operative face or faces of which operates beneath the otherwise even surface ofthe metal, at the same time increasing the length of the trough, whereby the metal is re` duced in crosssection, elongated and brought to the desired billet shape before complete soliditication takes place, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a track, one or more ingot-molds arranged in line therewith, and one or more cars, each carrying one or more rolls, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A car carrying a series of two or more rolls, the lower operative face of each successive roll being slightly below the corresponding face of the previous roll, iu combination with an open-topped iugot-mold adapted to receive the metal and present it to the action of suoli rolls bet'ore complete solidilication takes place, substantially as set forth. v

4. In combination with two parallel tracks, a series of iugot-molds arranged end to end along one line of tracks, a rolling mechanism operated along the same line of track to compress the metal while cooling, and a hoisting and dumping mechanism operated along the other line of tracks to hoist, empty, and replace such ingot-molds for another lling, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination, on the same car, of rolls c and sheet-iron cooling` and feed drum b, substantially as set forth.

6. In combination with a roll or rolls arranged to operate on the metal of an ingetmold before complete soliditication, a sheetmetal sheet interposed betweenV the Vroll or rolls and the metal in the mold, substantially as set forth.

7. In combination with a series of opentopped ingot-molds, a', a loam-covering, 1', at the meeting joints ofthe molds, substantially as set forth.

8. In combination with an open-topped ingotmold, a movable dam-block, z, substantially as set forth.

9. In combination with a car or truck and a track and one or more molds arranged along the track, a series of two or more rolls ar ranged on the car or truck and adjusted at the proper level for reducing the metal in the molds, substantially as described, with reference to adding the weight of the car to the weight ot' the rolls, as the resistance to reduction increases in the ingot.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WI LLIAM I-IAINSWORTH.

fitnessesz GEORGE H. CHRISTY, It. H. WHIT'rLEsEY.

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