The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

THE NEW PLATE MILL. 93 The principal dimensions of the mill are : Diameter of rolls ... 1.200 ni. 3 fi. llj in. Length of rolls 4.250 m. 13 ft. 11J in. Total length 6.550 m, 21 ft. in. Weight of rolls — 43 tons Rising of finishing roll 0.500 m. 19}1in. ,, roughing ,, ... Total height of standards, not reckoning the screws 1.000 m. 39g in. 5.560 m. 18 ft. 2ifin. Weight of standards — 48 tons Maximum weight of ingot rolled,.. — 60 tons Armour-plates will be rolled entirely in the roughing mill. Ship and boiler-plates will be rolled first in this mill and afterwards in the finishing-mill, being shifted for this purpose from one to the other. The carrying rollers, both in front and in the rear, are worked by steam, the shifting device being worked by electricity ; the electrical switches are in the centre of a platform placed between the two sets, and above the coupling shafts ; on this same platform are also five levers for working the hydraulic apparatus (four receivers and a device for turning over). One man will control the three switches and the five levers. The roll-setting screws will also be worked by electricity. As a special feature of the plant, it may be remarked that each set is erected over a long gallery, made perpen- dicular to the axis of the miils ; this gallery is level with that of the re-heating furnaces, with which it is made to communicate. This will facilitai© the direct collection in trucks, of the scale that is produced in large quantities in the manufacture of armour-plates, and which falls under the rolls and the carrying rollers. These trucks are run out on the same line with those that are used for removing tbe ashes from the re-heating furnaces’ and, on an emergency, this can be done when the mill is in füll work. The rolls will be changed with the help of the 85-ton overhead traveller, which also serves a roll-lathe placed in the same bay. The reversing engine for this train will be con- densing, and will be built by Messrs. Schneider and Co. A high range of expansion will allow of its power being varied within large limits, according to the material to be rolled ; it is designed to develope at least 10,000 horse-power. Near the engine is a steam-drying appa- ratus, heated partly by the waste gases from the annealing furnaces. The Slabbing Mill.—This mill, driven by a separate engine, will be used to roll down ingots weighing up to 12 tons. It will roll slabs not only for use in the new mill, but also for the plate-mills mentioned in the preceding pages. It also will be erected over a gallery in com- munication with that of the furnaces. Cooling Beds.—The span next to that covering the furnaces and milis, contains the cooling bed and the space for tracing out the plates. ,On leaving the rolls, the plates are carried sideways to the beds, by shifting apparatus that extends to the rear of the milis, and they are traced as soon as they have cooled down sufficiently. The cooling bed measures 80.500 x 26 metres = 2093 square metres (2,500 square yards) ; this large area was necessary, owing to the conditions prescribed in France as regards inspection. As a rule, no plate can be sheared until the inspector bas seen it as it leaves the rolls, and has stamped it for cutting off test pièces ; and as inspectera cannot witness the manufacture of the whole of their Orders with a view to stamp them as they are rolled, Messrs. Schneider and Co. are compelled to form dépôts while awaiting the inspectors’ visits. This has led them to use the whole of the space covered by a span as a cooling bed for this particular mill. A 15-ton overhead traveller, with several speeds, serves this bay for carrying the plates traced and stamped to the shearing-machines. Shearing, Annealing, Planishing.—This will not be the least interesting part of the plant. There are three shearing machines, a large one for the transverse shearing of the plates, and which can eut 4.200 metres by 50 milli- métrés (13 ft. 9tV in. by 2 in.), and two smaller ones, which eut 2.000 metres by 50 millimétrés (6 ft. in. by 2 in.). This installation bas been désignée! by Messrs. Schneider and Co. with the object of shearing plates level with the ground, and avoiding the work of turning them round, as is usually clone if only one shearing machine is used, when it is necessary to turn the plates to shear off the rough ends alternately. As Messrs. Schneider and Co. intend to roll extra long plates, that are more easily håndled with carrying rollers and shifting apparatus than in any other way, and as many of these long plates will be afterwards cut up to smaller dimensions, they decided upon having a shearing machine capable of cutting 4.200 metres (13 ft. in.). This machine will be also used for cutting off the rough ends of the plates; this done, the plates will be carried by the rollers and shifting apparatus alternately from one to the other machine, for the shearing off of the edges. The shears will be fitted with the necessary mechanical appliances for the exact adjusting of the plates under the shear-blades, whatever be their weight and dimensions. When sheared, the plates will be carried in the same manner to the two annealing furnaces. It will be seen, therefore, that manual labour will be reduced to a minimum. The annealing furnaces are of the same type as those already described, but of larger dimensions. As mentioned above, the waste heat coming from these furnaces will be used for drying the engine steam. When annealed, the plates will be shifted to the planishing machine ; this contains seven rolls, and will be worked electrically. It will be noted that the arrangement adopted for shearing, annealing, and planishing, owing to its symmetry and to the position of the various machines with regard to the cooling bed, is specially advantageous : a plate can be annealed before shearing, by shifting it direct from the cooling bed to the annealing furnace. On leaving the annealing furnaces, the plates can be planished before they have completely cooled down. These advantages will prove p