Steel Casting in New Zealand

Progress, Volume VIII, Issue 11, 1 July 1913, Page 567

Steel Casting in New Zealand

Messrs. T. Waddell Si Sons, Ltd., Foundry, Christchurch

This go-ahead foundry recently installed a complete plant for the casting of —the pioneer plant in this Dominion. To drive the plant they nave installed two large electric motors generating 80-h.p. These motors drive two high-pressure blowers, and run at a very high speed to produce, the blast for the converter. The high pressure blower has a capacity of 1500 cubic feet of air per minute at a pressure of 51b. per square inch. The low pressure blower for melting the pig-iron works at a pressure of lib. per square inch, and these are housed in a concrete building. The moulding shop is 175 ft. long, 15ft. high, and about 33ft. in width, built of brick. The principals for the roof are made of steel, which are covered with galvanised iron. Inside the foundry there is a heavy travelling crane to lift up to nine tons. The converter is also in this building, which has a capacity of six tons per day, and castings can be made from this converter up to two and a-half tons in one piece. Any kind of steel can be made by this process, from the very hardest manganese steel to the softest mild steel. The pattern shop is a new building, and has an electric motor for driving the woodworking machinery, such as lathe, bandsaw, and other tools necessary for an up-to-date pattern shop. Messrs. Waddell and Sons are doing a great variety of work for all parts of the Dominion, such as manganese ploughshares, for which they have got large orders, also traction engine castings. This firm are far ahead of any other firm in the Dominion

in their steel-casting work, and we are glad to hear that they are kept very busy.