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Title: |
1892 Article-C. E. Lipe, Vertical Milling Machine |
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American Machinist 04 Feb 1892 pg 1 |
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Insert Date: |
12/18/2011 5:21:56 PM |
This machine was designed for special work, and is, therefore, not adapted to a wide range of operations. It is very heavy in all its parts, with powerful driving gear, enabling it to take heavy cuts, which are often necessary in heavy manufacturing. The platen of the machine is 5 feet in length by 2 feet in width, and can be fed so that the cutter will face the entire length of the bed. The vertical spindle is carried in a frame, which may be elevated or depressed by means of the upper hand wheel shown in the cut. The mechanism for this purpose is the usual bevel gear and screw arrangement. There is no provision for horizontal adjustment of the cutter. It is necessary to bolt the work in such position on the platen that the parts to be faced come in line with the cutter. While the absence of this adjustment, which is so usual in machines of this character limits the range of work that can be done, it enables the machine to be made much more rigid and simple, as the number of joints between the cutter and the work operated upon are reduced to a minimum. The spindle is counter-weighted, so that the vertical adjustment is easily made, and when adjusted in position is secured by bolts, clamping the spindle frame to the uprights of the machine. The cutter can be raised high enough to accommodate work 15 inches thick.
The spindle is 5" in diameter at the lower end, and has a bearing over its entire length. It is slightly tapered to facilitate perfect fitting, and also for taking up wear, and to the upper end is directly attached a spur gear 24" in diameter, with 4" face. This gear is driven from a pinion in the rear, which slides up and down on a vertical splined shaft when the adjustments for height are made. The lower end of this vertical shaft carries a worm gear, which engages with a worm on the horizontal shaft, supported in bearings in the housings. The driving pulley is on the opposite side from that shown in the cut, while the feed is taken off from the small pulley shown in front. The proportions of the gearing are as follows: Driving pulley, 24" in diameter by 5" face; worm gear, 12" in diameter; worm has 4 threads, each about 1" pitch, so that the ratio of the worm to the worm gear is about 9 to 1 ; the spur pinion driving the large gear is 6" in diameter, making the ratio between the spur gears 4 to 1; the entire ratio being about 36 to 1. It will therefore be seen that the driving mechanism is exceptionally strong. The feed is operated by belting from the dtiving shaft down to the countershaft near the base of the machine, as shown. This shaft, as well as the other two heavier shafts, extend through to the opposite side, where a double set of worms and gears reduce the speed to the proper amount to give motion to the heavy shaft, carrying the spur gear as indicated. This shaft also carries a spur gear in the center of the bed, which engages with a rack on the table, similar to the driving gear of the planer. The lower hand wheel shown in the cut carries a pinion, which meshes with the spur gear, as shown in front. This enables the table to be controlled by hand. The circular face-plate, shown on top of the platen, is a special chuck designed to hold work, on which there may be several parts or bosses that require facing off. The several parts can be brought successively in line with the cutter by loosening the clamp bolts and turning the work by hand to the required position, a center pin being provided to keep the face-plate in position on the bed. The automatic feed is thrown in and out by means of the upright shaft and lever shown just back of the hand wheel. As this machine is designed solely for manufacturing purposes, it was not deemed necessary to provide for extensive adjustments in any direction. The rate of feed is governed by the size of pulleys, represented in the front four pulleys being provided for this purpose, two only being in use. The largest and smallest sizes are shown in the cut. The two intermediates are of such diameter that, "when used, the same length of belt will drive. These pulleys are splined, and easily pulled off the ends of their respective shafts, "when the change of feed is desired. By reversing the pulleys shown in the cut, the fastest rate of speed will be obtained. The two intermediate pulleys also give two rates of feed, which are sufficient for all ordinary purposes.
The aim of the designer has been to obtain a very stiff, rigid tool, with but few working parts, and one of sufficient driving capacity to take the heaviest cuts without jar or chatter in the work.
The machine complete weighs about five tons, and is capable of taking a cut 10" wide, 1" deep, with a feed of 8" per minute in cast-iron, or will remove about 30 cubic inches of stock per minute. The machine was designed and built by C. E. Lipe, Syracuse, N. Y. |
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