BRITISH INDUSTRIES.

Northern Advocate, 2 December 1921, Page 7

BRITISH INDUSTRIES.

WELDING BY CLOCKWORK

In shipbuilding unci in many engineering operation, it is necessary to fix brass studs and other small parts to iron plates. This operation is usuallv performed by drilling holes in the pl:»,tc. edch hole being drilled separately. By means of a most ingenious invention recently perfected by ia British Fim», the process is carried out in a few seconds by electric welding. The working of the machine is almost entirely automatic from the moment the stud is p'aced in position. Each size of stud requires a different time for welding it to the plate, and the machine can 1: e set to give exactly the period required to make a perfect weld. The tssts which have been made proved that the machine is able to weld 120 brass studs an hour. It might be thought that welding does not give such a firm arrangement as screwing the stud into a hole in the plate, but when the welding stud is hammered the brass will break before the weld yields. Another advantage of the machine is that work can be satisfactorily carried out by semi-skilled labour. CRANE OPERATION. In the operation of .large cranes used in building construction or for dock work it is generally necessary to two men engaged, one working the controllers, and the other stationed at some convenient ipoint to signal to the first. With the aid of a device invented in Great Britain it is possible to dispense with one of these men. The device consists of a portable electric controller which can be slung over a mm's shoulder and can be supported by means of a long pointed .leg. This controller is connected by means of a strong flexible cable with a special controlled *e>,r operating .the fcrane motors. The user fcas merely to press certain buttons on the controller to make the crane v;o through all its usual evolutions. rhu3 the operator can stand at any poiat convenient for observation or he can walk about from one point to another so as to secure a complete supervision of the working of the crane. This invention should be of-the greatest assistance in saving labour in docks and on construction work generally. NEW FLAME CUTTER. For many years the oxy-acetvlene flame has been largely used for cutting plates, girders, and other pieces of iro:; or steel. The flame is so intensely hot that it rapidly melts the metal upon which, it impinges, and it is a most interesting sight to watch the flame cutting through the solid steel much as a knife will cut through cheese. For rough work the ordinary acetylene blow-pipe it quite satisfactory, but where it is desired to cut out a piece of metal with a sharp edge the blowpipe by itself is not suitable, as it leaves a ragged edge, where it cuts. The wide scope for an oxy-acetylene cutter which would give a fine edge has induced a British inventor to undertake very close research into the best form <of blow-pipe, after spending many thousands of pounds and undertaking many experiments he has succeeded in devising a blow-pipe which cuts almost as fin 3 an edge as a saw. He has developed, in conjunction with this blow-pipe, an ingenious machine which enables any shape to be reproduced; that is to say, once a pattern has been made the machine will reproduce it as .often as required by cutting metal sheets to precisely the same shape. The process is so rapid and so perfectly performed that the machine has attracted the greatest interest among railway companies, moto? car manufacturers, and others who have a large amount of reproduction work in sheet metal to perform.

SIMPLE TIPPING GEAR.

The number of devices invented for raising the body of .1 wagon so that iti contents may be tipped out on to «; dump is legion. Most of the forms adopted are slow in action if they are simple, and if the action is rapid the mechanism is very heavy and complicated, especially where side tipping :.s well as rear tipping is required. Somn ii-terest therefore will be taken in a new solution patented by a British iirm. It consists simply of an ordinury jack fixed on the chassis immediately beneath the centrc of the body, and operating in a ball-and-socket .ioint which enables it to tilt in any direction as the jack is raised or lowered. The body rests on hinges which can be :i;l justed for side tipping —to either side — or for rear tipping. When the wagon has to be tipped all that is necessary is to arrange the hinges in a suitable way and operate the jack by means of th« engine on the car. The jack in raising pushes the body over towards the side where the hinges remain fixed. The operation is quite rapid; and in the event of any breakdown of the power the mechanism can be operated by hand. The only additional weight which this invention involves is the weig.th of the jack and the girders fixing it to the chassis. POWER FOR SEWAGE. It is often said that modern methods of sewage disposal are exceedingly wasteful, because they throw away material which might be utilised to great advantage. Many of the systems developed in Great Britain are free from this reproach, and experiments recently made in the utilisation of gas from sewage show that in an unexpected quarter British engineers are attempting to secure the highest economy. In one large British city a gas plan.t was installed to give 25 horsepower for a working iperiod of six hours per day. It is driven by gas generated from the dry solid matter produced in the process of sewage disposal. The experiment has been most promising, and it has revealed a useful source of power in a district where and electricity are. not available. The power produced by the sewage gas is use<J to drive the plant which forms an' essential part in the installation for purifying the sewage; thus it affords a most desirable form of economy. EASY RUNNING. During the war the scarcity of rubber in Germany led to a feverish :.t----tempt to design vehicles which would give easy running in spite of being fitted with metal tyres. .None of the designs so produced appear to have been successful!, and wagon constructors in that and other countries are tending to the exclusive use of the soViJ rubber tyres and even of giant pelmatic tyres in order to reduce vibration and to prevent the goods carried in the wagon from being severely shaken by irregularities in the road surface. Even where rubber is cheap, however, the wear and tear on the tyros of heavy vehicles running at fairly high speed is rather serious, and there is a distinct opening for some device which would really give easy running with metal tyres. This difficult problem appears to have been solved by a British inventor. The body and frameof the vehicle he has designed are cfTried on there vertical spiral spring l ?, three to each axle, and each, axle is anchored at both ends to brackets on the frames. The various parts are designed so that when the wheels meet any road obstruction the axle can to some extent be displaced backwards as well as upwards. This horizontal movement is cleverly controlled by compensators which give considerable flexibility. The mechanism is suited to cheap dtandardiscd manufacture in quantities, and is now being thoroughly tested under working conditions in London ai-d I elsewhere.