FORMING AND LAYING OF ROPES--FACTORY METHOD, SINGLE-MACHINE SYSTEM
Modern rope-making ingenuity reaches its high-water mark in the
compound laying-machine where the two operations of forming the strands
and laying them into a rope are combined. Up to a certain point this
method is more economical than that in which the forming and laying
are unconnected as already described. Fewer machines are required
for a given output,--hence less floor space and fewer workmen. The
time-saving element also enters in.
The compound laying-machine must, however, be stopped each time that
the supply of yarn on any bobbin is so low as to call for a fresh one.
This would occur so frequently in the case of the larger ropes as to
offset the advantages just mentioned, and the machine is therefore used
on a limited range of sizes only.
As can be seen in the picture opposite, the machine contains a
vertical shaft with upper and lower projecting arms which support the
bobbin-flyers--four in number in this particular case. The bobbins
within each flyer turn on separate spindles, allowing the yarns to
pass up through small guide plates and thence into a tube.
Each flyer is geared to revolve on its own axis, thus twisting its set
of yarns into a compact strand. At the same time all the flyers revolve
with the main shaft in an opposite direction and form a rope out of the
strands as the latter come together in a central tube still higher up.
The rope is drawn through this tube by a series of pulleys which exert
a steady pull and so keep the proper twist in the rope. From these
pulleys the finished product is delivered onto a separately driven
coiling reel, an automatic device registering meanwhile on a dial the
number of feet run.
The small reel, seen near the head of the main shaft, holds the small
heart rope which is fed into the center of certain four-strand ropes to
act as a bed for the strands.
The compound laying-machine can be had in many sizes of differing
bobbin capacity, and the extent and variety of a manufacturer’s
equipment on this type is one important indication of his ability to
turn out promptly and at a reasonable price the sizes of rope in most
common demand.
[Illustration: SHIPPING PLATFORM, PLYMOUTH CORDAGE COMPANY]
[Illustration: THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
CAMBRIDGE MASS]
Transcriber’s Notes
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