Riv′et-ing-ma-chine′.
（
Boiler-making.) A machine in which the operation of riveting boiler or other metallic plates is performed by steam-power.
Its
general principle is that of the punchingma-chine.
The first application of steam to this purpose is due to
Sir William Fairbairn, of
Manchester, England.
He employed a movable horizontal die, in conjunction with a fixed die at the head of an iron pillar; the work to be riveted being inserted between the two.
The same general construction has been adopted in subsequent machines.
Sir William Fairbairn states that the machine was contrived when he had a large number of orders on hand for his double-flued boiler and the men struck.
“In this dilemma I was driven to the necessity of supplying the place of the riveters by a passive and unerring workman, which, from that day to this, has never complained, and did as much work in one day as was formerly accomplished by twelve of our best riveters and assistants in the same time.
I desired the foreman to reverse the action of the punching-machine, and with proper dies to rivet the plates instead of punching them.
In six weeks from that date we had the riveting-machines at work, making tighter joints and executing the work with greater perfection than could possibly be done by the hammer.”
Fairbairn introduced many improvements in machinery employed for various purposes, which have been universally adopted.
His attention having been drawn to the advantage of iron as a material for building ships, in 1836 he built and successfully launched a small iron vessel.
This was one of the very first of its class built in
England.
In after life he constructed many large vessels of the same material at his shops in Millwall.
He was one of the very first to plan and construct buildings of iron.
He was chosen to assist
Stephenson in the construction of the great tubular iron bridge over the
Menai Strait, for the
Chester and Holyhead Railway.
He was chiefly instrumental in the introduction into general use of wrought-iron plate girders in building operations, as well as in railway engineering.
His principal works are on “The history and manufacture of iron,” “
Mills and mill-work,” and “Iron shipbuilding.”
He died August 18, 1874.
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Riveting-machine. |
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Riveting-machine. |
The machine illustrated in
Fig. 4349 is set in motion by a band on the pulley
a; on the axis of the latter is a pinion gearing into a large spur-wheel
b, on whose axis is a cam
c operating the riveting-lever
d, the face of the cam being steeled and the end of the lever having a roller to diminish the friction.
The riveting-lever has a fulcrum in the frame, and acts by its face upon the riveting-tool
e when punching and by a link connec-
[
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tion with the tool when retracting, the tool sliding in a socket fixed in the side frames.
The face of the riveting-tool has a depression which receives the end of the rivet and swages it to shape.
The anvil-post
f rises from the foundation, and has a rivetingblock of the shape of a frustum of a cone.
The sections of boiler are lowered from above, by means of tackle
g, the point at which the rivet is to be placed being adjusted between the punch and the anvil-block.
The rivet is placed in the punched holes, the band slipped on to the fast pulley, and the upward motion of the cam raises the lever and swages the rivet.
Fig. 4350 is a portable machine on the same plan.
Not being intended for such heavy work, its frame is less massive than that of the foregoing, and the construction and arrangement of its details are slightly different.
In Tweddel's machine (
Fig. 4351), the distance between the punch
a and anvil
b is regulated, according to the thickness of the plate, etc., by screws
c c′ and links
d. The whole apparatus is mounted on a truck, and the pressure applied by a hydraulic accumulator operated by a portable engine.
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Riveting-machine. |
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Adt's riveting-machine. |
In Adt's machine (
Fig. 4352), the work is supported on the table
a; the punch is reciprocated by a pitman
b, having a universal joint connection with the spindle
c, and actuated by an eccentric on the pulley-shaft
d; the punch spindle is at the same time revolved by a belt on the shaft of the fly-wheel
e, imparting motion to the pulley
f through two small change pulleys, one of which is seen at
g.
In another machine intended for heading caster and hinge pintles, etc., the spring-hammers strike the opposite ends of the pintles simultaneously.
The working parts are adjustable to suit rivets of varying lengths.
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Machine for riveting hinges. |
Fig. 4353 is a machine for riveting hinges.
Peculiarly shaped revolving milling-tools spread the pintle when forced against it, and form the head.
McKay and Macgeorge's hydraulic riveter is operated by water from an accumulator under a pressure of 700 pounds to the inch; water is admitted to a small cylinder, causing the dies to close upon the rivet, when self-acting valves admit the water to the large cylinder, which compresses the plates together and finishes the riveting.
After allowing the rivet a moment to cool, the handle operating the valves is reversed, when the jaws unclose.
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Hydraulic riveting-machine. |
