The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

2,000 TON, 3,000 TON, FORGING PRESSES. 61 be seen, therefore, that exceptionally large pieces can be treated in this press. Thus, quite recently, rings measuring 3.400 metres (11 ft. 2 in.) in diameter, 0.S00 metres (1 ft. 8 in.) high, and 0.110 metre (4f in.) thick, were forged on mandrils in the machine. Water under pressure is supplied by a non-condensing steam engine with two cylinders, combined with an accu- mulator charged to 400 kilogrammes per square centimetre (2.54 tons per square inch). The accumulator is provided with. three cylinders, which enable the working pressures to be regulatecl to 1,200 and 2,000 tons. The press is furnaces is of specially large eapacity for taking pieces of exceptional dimensions. O wing to 'the great height of the 2,000-ton press, it was necessary to raise the building to 14 metres (46 ft.) above the ground level. This machine is used for making all classes of solid forgings, and hollow pieces forged on supported, or on non-supportecl mandrils, such as rings of large internal diameter, and hollow shafts. The press can take ingots as large as 1.200 metres (3 ft. 11^ in.) in diameter. 3,000-Ton Forging Press.—The 3,000-ton forging press was put down in 1895. The general arrangement to -F- C c -X- .■i 'S - /SOTratfeJ oFBr/cJ^e Fig. 142. 6,000-Ton Hydraulic Plate-Shaping Press. served by two 100-ton travellers on overhead tracks. The ingot or other piece being forged, is lifted and turned when in the press, by hydraulic mechanism, while travelling, both longitudinal and transverse, is effected mechanically. The following are some particulars of this installation : Span of travelling crânes Length of travel longitudinally ,, ,, transversely Height of rails above floor level m. 11.125 25 10 11 ft. in. 36 6 82 0 32 9 36 0 Three coal-fired furnaces, provided with air-blast and fittecl with boilers are used to heat the ingots ; one of the is the same as that of the 2,000-ton press ; it occupies a position in the centre of the armour-plate shop, and is served by 100-ton overhead travelling crânes, and by three coal-fired furnaces, one of which is not yet completed. The details of this press, which is illustrated by Figs. 144 to 147, Plate XXXI., and by Figs. 148, 149, pages 64 and 65, differ considerably from those of the 2,000-ton press ; the top cross-head is fixed, the columns are placed nearer to each other, and the press, as a whole, is built more compactly. The pumps deliver direct into the forging cylinder, so that no accumulator is employed, the work done by the pumps being, therefore, in proportion to the energy required, as with the 6,000-ton armour-plate bending press