WIRE-ROPE MACHINES. —Lang' 8 Laid the construction of roping known as "the Lang lay," the wires forming the strands, and the strands comprising the rope, are all laid in the same direction. Upon comparing the two illustrations, Figs. 10 and 11, the difference between an ordinary rope and one accord ing to the last-mentioned construction will be readily apparent. In Fig. 11, it will be noticed that both the wires composing the strands and the strands forming the rope are laid in a right-hand direction, and, con sequently. the component wires follow a dextral spiral axially to the rope. An advantage of this construction is that a longer continuous sur face of any wire is exposed to wear, and the crowns of the strands are less pronounced; therefore, whilst more uniform wear is promoted, the cutting ten dency of the wires is reduced, and the durability of the rope correspondingly increased.
Latch and Bachelor's Lock;ed-coil Rope.—The principle incorporated in this manufacture consists in the employment of various suitably shaped wires, which, when closed together, interlock and present a structure with a uniform wearing surface, in which each component wire is permanently held in its proper normal position. The transverse section, Fig. 12. shows a rope composed of an ordinary wire core, around whieh a series of cylindrical and radial wires are closed, followed by an outside shell of sectional wires, which are locked or held down in position. The various succeeding layers of wires are laid in alternate directions—i.e., one to the right hand and the next to the left, and soon, as in the manufacture of some compound strands previously referred to.
The modern of wire-strunding and rope-closiny maehinery is shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The selected wires of requisite gauge are con tained or coiled upon the holibins shown, or mounted in the "flyers,'' carried by the circular frame, which is fixed to a horizontal shaft mounted in bearings, so as to be free to revolve through the intervention of appro priate gearing. The outer ends of the wires are passed through apertures provided in the annular framing and nozzle plate running in the headstock bearing, and thence are curried through the fixed closing block or die—shown closed by menus of the weighted lever—to the draw-off drums. The hempen or wire core is drawn in centrally from the back of the machine through the tubular horizontal shaft, and as the machine revolves and draws in the core, the wires are twisted spirally round the same. The tandem grouping or arrangement of the bob
bins is worthy of notice, and consequent easy angle at which the wires are concentrated at the nozzle plate, and drawn through the closing (lie. In this manner the strands are twisted up without bending or straining the component wires, whilst any undue slack arising from any _ . .
unequal running of the bobbins is ingeniously pushed back from the aforesaid die. The bobbins mounted in the flyers, or fork-shaped frames, are controlled by an eccentric motion at the back of the machine, as shown in the closing machine, Fig. 14, so that whilst the circular carrying frame revolves, they are always maintained in a vertical attitude, in order to prevent any individual twisting of the wires. Each bobbin is mounted on an independent transverse axis, and provided with a tension band and adjusting screw, so that they may he set to pay the wire out uniformly. The draw-off drum at the opposite end of the machine is driven by a train of gearing actuated by a spur-wheel fixed on the revolving portion of the machine, and proportioned to drive the said drum at a determined peripheral speed, in circler to obtain a required length of lay in the strand. In other words, as the revolving portion of the machine makes one complete revolution, the draw-off drum receives an angular move ment, dependent upon the proportion of lay desired, the variation of lays being obtained by the employment of `• change wheels." The finished strands are wound upon reels or bobbins, and are afterward placed in the flyers of the closing or rope-making machines, such as repre sented at Fig. 14, before referred to. This only differs from the stranding machine explained inasmuch that the bobbins are usually confined to six in number, and that they are loaded with strands in lieu of wires. Closing machines are, however, run at lower speeds —e.g., from 80 to 50 revolutions per minute—whilst those for stranding are run up to from 75 to 150 revolutions, and some even up to 300 revolutions per minute.
Roughing Frame : see Cotton-spinning Machines.
Routing Machine: see Boring _h.e\ecuallia Machines and Carving Machines.
Rounding and Straightening Machines : see lron-working Ma chinery.