Having thus given an account of the leading im provements which have been made in the rope manu facture, we shall now describe one of the best modern machines which is at present in use at the manufacto ry of the Gourock Rope Company, and for which we have been indebted to Archibald Baine, Esq. the prin cipal partner.
Description of PLAIT.
Fig. 2. Exhibits a side elevation of the tackle-board an dbobbin-frame at the head of the ropery, and also of the carriage or rope machine in the act of hauling out and twisting the strands.
Fig. 3. Is a plan or bird's-eye view of the same, without the bobbin-frame.
Fig. 4. Is a front elevation of the carriage.
Fig. 5. is a yarn guide, or board, or plate, with perforated holes for the yarns to pass through before entering the nipper.
Fig. 6 Ec 7. Are side and front views of the nipper for pressing the rope yarns.
Fig. 2. a is the frame for containing the yarn bob bins. The yarns are brought from the frame and pass through a yarn guide at b. c is a small roller under which the ropeyarns pass. They are then brought over the reel d, and through another yarn guide e, after which they enter the nippers at r, and are drawn out and formed into strands by the carriage. The roller and reel may be made to traverse up and down so as to regulate the motion of the yarns.
Fig. 3 St 4. being different views of the carriage, the same marks of reference will denote the same parts of both, so far as they are visible. The carriage runs on a railway. f f is the of the carriage, g g are the small wheels on which it is supported, k k is an endless rope reaching from the head to the bottom of the railway, and is driven by a steam engine, m m is a wheel with gubs at the back of it, over which the end less rope passes and gives motion to the machinery of the carriage. n n is the ground rope for taking out the carriage, as will be afterwards described. On the shaft 2.2 (Fig. 3.) are two bevelled wheels 3.3, with a shifting catch between them ; these bevelled wheels are loose upon the shaft, but when the catch is put into either of them, this last then keeps motion with the shaft, while the other runs loose. One of these wheels serves to communicate the twist to the strand in drawing out, the other gives the opposite or after turn to the rope in closing. 4 is a lever for shifting the
.catch accordingly. 5 is a third bevelled wheel, which receives its motion from either of the other two, and communicates the same to the two spur wheels 6.6 by means of the shaft s. These can be shifted at pleasure, so that by applying wheels of a greater or lesser num ber of teeth above and beneath, the twist given to the strands can be increased or diminished accordingly. The upper of these two communicates motion by means of the shaft o, to another spur wheel 8, which, working in the three pinions (9) above, gives the twist to the strand hooks.
The carriage is drawn out in the following manner. On the end of the shaft 2.2 (Fig. 3.) is the pinion r, which working in the large wheel 11, gives motion to the ground rope-shaft s s. In the centre of this shaft is a curved pulley or drum t, round which the ground rope takes one turn. This rope is fixed at the head and foot of the ropery, so that when the machinery of the carriage is set a-going by the endless rope k k, and gives motion to the ground rope-shaft as above de scribed, the carriage will necessarily move along the railway, and the speed may be regulated either by the diameter of the circle formed by the gubs on the wheel m m, or by the number of teeth in the pinion r. (Fig. 3.) T is a small roller merely for preventing the ground rope from coming up among the machinery. At the head of the rail-way, and under the tackle board, (Fig. 2.) is a wheel and pinion Z, with a crank for tightening the ground rope. (Fig. 2. connected with Fig. 8.) exhibits the fixed machinery at the head for hardening or tempering the strands. The machi nery here is similar to that on the carriage, with the exception of the ground rope gear which is unneces sary. The motion is communicated by another end less rope, (or short band as it is called, to distinguish it from the other,) and passing over gubs at the back of the wheel 1.1.
When the strands are drawn out by the carriage to the requisite length, the spur wheels r II, (Fig. 3.) are put out of gear. The strands are cut at the tackle board and fixed to the hooks, 1, 1, 1; after which they are hardened or tempered, being twisted at both ends. When this operation is finished, the three are united on the large hook h, the top put in, and the rope finish ed in the usual way.