Now the two ends of the wire being support«I by the ends of two levers, It and k, whilst the middle of it is thrust back by the pliers, doubles it, or gives it the form of a staple. The levers h and k, which are called the side benders, must be explained before this can be clearly comprehended. They have each a motion on their respective centre pins, or axis, 21, 22, fixed in a plate, screwed upon the framing F. These two levers have arms approaching each other, in a direct line from one centre to the other ; and where they meet have a tooth i on the lever k, entering a notch in h, and operating in the manner of a cog, to cause any angular motion which is given to one lever to be communicated equally to the other. This causes the ends of /I and k, where they operate upon the wire, to mutually advance and recede from each other, by equal quantities. The motion is given to the benders by a lever k', which is part of k, but has no connection witn h, though it passes over it. To the end of k' a rod / is jointed, which passes over the axis, and has a stud, or tooth, fastened by the square nut, which is operated on by a cam upon the main axis, and, at the proper interval, draws / and k', and thus opens the benders k and h in the manner shown in Fig. 2. When this cam passes by, the benders shut or approach each other by the force of a spring /z. This operates on a lever a, which has a pin o rising from it, and pressing back a tooth of the lever h, giving them a tendency to shut. This they do the instant the cam has relieved the lever k', which retires till it rests against a screw in, determining the nearest distance they can 'approach to each other, as in Fig. 3 ; and the regulation of the cam, or the tooth of the rod k, which it acts upon, (by means of its square nut,) determines the greatest opening they can have, as in Figs. 2 and 4. The ends of the levers k and h, where they act upon the wire, have notches in them, through which the wire passes in the first instance before doubling. This is shewn in Figs. 2, 4, and 5 : t and s arc small plates of steel, screwed at the two sides of the front blade r of the pliers forming its faces ; over these the wire is doubled by being thrust in between the side benders, which then close together, as shewn in Fig. 3, and also in Fig. 7. In this state, the two legs of the wire being doubled, (in the form of y, Fig. 1,) pass, just beneath two shoulders, formed upon the steel blade 8, Fig. 4, in the manner explained in Fig. 7. These shoulders will, of course, prevent the legs of the wires from rising, and they are bent into the state of Y, (Fig. 1.) by a lever 8, fixed in the main axis, which passes by at the proper time, and raises the points a a (Fig. 3 and 7.) so high as to give them the proper quantity of the knee bend. This forms the wire, and when the cams pass by, the pliers and side benders open into the po sition of Fig. 2, when the card wire drops into a box beneath.
Considering the position of Fig. 3. as the point of commencement, we shall recapitulate the movements of this ingenious machine, to render its operations dis tinct, and shew the periods of the different parts of the process.
On turning the main axis in such a direction that the handle B (Fig. 2.) descends, the cams act in the follow ing succession : 1. The notch of the cam 1 suffers the roller D to press upon the wire, and thus holding it fast between the upper and lower rollers ; which as they turn round, 2. Advance the end of the wire a a through the dies e f, before the notches in the end of the side benders h and k, and between the pliers q and 1,r, s, until the end of it touches the screw 10. At this instant,
3. The cam lifts up the upper roller D, and the friction on the sides of the frame 1) prevents its further advance. This is the state in which Figs. 2,4, and 5, represent the machines.
4. The cam 9 presses on 11, and forces the blade r back, till the side t meets the wire ; and removing it backwards, holds it fast against the front of q, and pin ches the wire tight between the two jaws of the pliers ; whilst, 5. The cam 4 depresses the lever 5, and by the cutter g, cuts off the wire instantly ; leaving it held by its mid dle, between the pliers.
6. The cam 9, continuing its motion, drives back both parts of the pliers together, and the wire with them ; its ends being supported by the ends of the side benders, it assumes the bend of the dotted lines in Fig. 2, (though the pliers are not there represented as thrown back.) 7. A notch in the cant of the rod / now presents itself, and suffers the spring p to close the side benders h and k together, as shewn in Figs. 3 and 7, which completes the doubling into the form of y, Fig. 1.
8. The lever 8 rising, lifts the ends of the wire, and the legs being kept down by the shoulder of 8, gives the knee bend. The manner of this is shewn by the dotted lines in Fig. 5, though neither the pliers or lever 8 are there in the proper situation to effect this part of the process.
9. All the earns except one relieve their respective movements at once, and the finished Wire drops out of the pliers. T,,us t e cam 4 has, in the interim of the other operations, passed by and suffered the blade g to return by the action of its spiral spring 6 ; the cam of the rod I, and lever A", opens the side benders ; the cam 9 passes by, and permits the return of the pliers, by the spring 17, (Fig. 5.); but when the tail 18, of the blade q, meets its stop screw 16, q returns no farther, but the front blade r continues to advance towards the axis, by its spring 19, as fast as the cant 9 suffers it. This opens the pliers, and the wire falls out.
The notch of the cam 1 now comes round, and suffers the roller D to descend on the wire, and advance another portion, which is treated in the same manner as the first. These operations succeed each other with such rapidity, when the machine is in action, that the handle may be turned at the rate of 150 times per minute, without in the least injuring its operation ; and the power required to turn it is so small, that one person might turn a dozen. or if they were turned by a mill he could attend a great er number, as they very seldom do wrong, or make a false wire.
The machine is capable of making wires of any size, by the following adjustments : 1. The length of the notch in the cam 1, regulates the length of the wire which shall be cut off, because it is only as long as this notch is presented to the lifting tooth of the frame I, that the rollers act upon the wire. The screw 10 is adjusted to stop the wire when suffi ciently advanced ; but this is only a precaution, to pre vent any accidental protrusion after the cam 1 has lifted the upper roller. The cam 1, as before stated, is a cir cle; and to have the means of adjusting the length of the notch in it, the cant is made of two equal circles, or wheels, fitted on the main axis, and applied to each other, side by side, so as to make one. The back of the frame I, which rests upon their circumference, is as broad as both circles together. Each has a notch cut in it much wider than the notch in the cam is ever intended to be.