Machinery 1961 (nem teljes évfolyam) (5 db) [antikvár]

926 APRIL 26. 1961 MACHINERY VOLUME 98 Abstracts of Principal Articles A Brazilian Machine Tool Plant P. 928 In this article, which concludes the series devoted to the production of lathes in large quantities by Maquinas Agrícolas Romi, S.A., Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Brazil, reference is first made to the Romi Foundation, a welfare and social service organization instituted by the company, and to the technical training school that has been established. A prototype hydraulically operated turret lathe, used in the machine shop at the main plant, is then described, and the use of profile turning and thread chasing equipment on IMOR lathes is discussed. Assembly arrangements for lathes at the Santa Barbara works are next considered, and some details are given of various testing units, the company's Hydro-Velomatic drive unit, the Synchromatic feed gearbox, and the Prismatic 4-way tool-post. Finally, reference is made to the company's future development plans. (Machinery, 98—26/4/61.) Spring Strip Manufacture Preparation and Spring E. A. Knight & Sons, Ltd., Station Close, Potters Bar, Middlesex, stock and prepare all types of spring strip material for the manufacture of high-grade springs, the production of which they also undertake. An associated company. Sterling Springs, Ltd., manufacture and stock watch main-springs for the horological trade, and share the facilities of the same factory, which include gang slitting machines, capable of cutting minimum strip-widths down to s'j in., and special edge grinders. A Swiss machine, provided with a series of abrasive bands, is used for polishing the edges of spring strip material. (Machinery, 98—26/4/61.) Recent Developments in Die Casting by the Alumasc Low-pressure Process P. 953 Recent developments in connection with the low-pressure die casting process operated by Alumasc, Ltd., include a mains frequency holding furnace which has been designed by the company in conjunction with Wild-Barfield Electric Furnaces, Ltd. A semi-automatic control unit has also been introduced, whereby the pressure of the air within the furnace for filling the die, and the period for which this pressure is maintained, can be accurately controlled. Dies for producing a 2-choke carburetter body, a box casting with vertical external walls, and a leg for a draughting machine, are briefly described. (macfflnery, 98—26/4/61.) Developments in the Pressure Die Casting of Steel P. 958 This article is an abridged translation of material which was published in the journal Liteinoe Proizvodstvo and gives an account of experiences gained during experiments in the pressure die casting of steel. The topics discussed include die design, die layout, melting and feeding the metal, casting under vacuum, and injection pressures and speeds. Details are given of some of the mechanical properties of die cast steels, also of the various fhaterials from which the dies were made. (Machinery, 98—26/4/61.) Twenty Centrispun tuyere blowpipes of the form here shown have recently been supplied by Firth-Vickers Stainless Steels, Ltd., to Appleby-Frodingham Steel Co., Scunthorpe. Produced from H. R. Crown 1 steel, these blowpipes have been fitted to the Queen Bess blast furnace at the South Ironworks of the company. They will provide for injection of pre-heated air at the rate of 85,000 to 90,000 cu. ft. per min. at a temperature of 750 deg. C. and a pressure of 30 lb. per sq. in. Initially the output of the furnace is expected to be 8,500 to 9,000 tons per week, but it is planned subsequently to raise the working temperature to obtain higher production Contributions to Machinery If you know of a more eflScient way of designing a tool, gauge, fixture, or mechanism, machining or forming a metal component, heat treating, plating or enamelling, handling parts or material, building up an assembly, utilizing supplies, or laying out or organizing a department or a factory, send it to the Editor. Short comments upon published articles and letters on subjects concerning the metal-working industries are particularly welcome. Payment will be made for exclusive contributions. APRIL 26, 1961 MACHINERY VOLUME 98 927 EDITORIAL The Budget In his recent Budget speech the Chancellor of the Exchequer stressed the need for resiUence and flexibihty in the economy to " cope with the demand of the home market and the need for increased exports ". Our economic problems, he said, could not be solved either by sacrificing the balance of payments to achieve a faster economic growth, or by accepting economic stagnation in order to safeguard our external position. He recalled that he had stated on a previous occasion that we had the capacity to raise our national production by at least 3 per cent per annum over a period of years, but that an essential condition was a much larger increase in the percentage of our exports. As regards productivity, Mr. Lloyd suggested that the two sides of industry were not, in all cases, tackling the problem with sufficient energy. There were, he pointed out, too few scientists and technologists, and some industries were insufficiently accustomed to competition and insufficiently aware of the need for technical improvement if they were to hold their own with overseas competitors. Moreover, labour relations, standards of management, and techniques of selling, in some instances, were " below what is needed in the present day world." After mentioning that the trend of expansion in investment, and particularly in the manufacturing sector of industry, appeared likely to continue during the current financial year, the Chancellor went on to discuss what are described as " economic regulators." Wherea.s the Budget must necessarily be the principal instrument of regulation, with changing conditions during the intervening periods, additional means of control are deemed desirable. Monetary methods, such as adjustment of Bank Rate, the special deposits scheme, and hire-purchase restrictions have their disadvantages, and other proposals were therefore put forward. There is, for example, provision for the Government to direct by Statutory Instrument, at any time of the year, that "either a special surcharge or a special rebate should be appl ed to all the main customs and excise revenue duties and to purchase tax." The maximum permitted change in either direction is 10 per cent, and it is an essential feature of the scheme that the percentage would be the same for the charges under " all the heads of revenue affected." An additional means of regulation which has been proposed is the authority to apply a special surcharge on employers, " analogous to a payroll tax". As a temporary expedient, during the cm-rent financial year, such a surcharge, up to a maximum of 4s. per worker per week, would be collected " by attaching it to the employers' share of the national insurance stamp." It would, however, be an entuely new and separate element, the proceeds of which would be payable directly to the Exchequer. At tlie maximum amount, this surcharge would " withdraw from the economy" about L200 million in a full year. Apart from the degree of control that would thus be afforded, Mr. Lloyd suggested, the measure would have the added advantage "that when we are faced with a situation of chronic shortage of labour, it would act as an incentive to economy in the use of manpower and to investment in labour saving equipment." In this connection it may be recalled that attention was drawn in Machinery, 98/751— 5/4/61, to certain proposals put forward in the P.E.P. booklet "The Promotion of Economic Growth". Here, a payroll tax was suggested as one method whereby the inefficient use of labour could be discouraged, but it was advocated that, if applied, it should be a replacement tax and not an additional imposition. The authors of the booklet proposed that a payroll tax, should it be adopted, might be substituted, for example, for profits tax and local government rates paid by industry. Under the Budget, however, powers will be assumed to apply a surcharge on employers and at the same time profits tax, far from having been removed, has been raised. It must also be pointed otU that the authority to levy the surcharge expires at the end of the financial year, and that if Parliament is asked to grant similar power at the next Budget, fresh proposals will be put forward. If any plan is to have the efcct of encouraging investment in labour saving equipment, it appears to us essential that there should be some reasonable assurance of stability and continuity. A company could hardly be expected to place orders for additional machinery as a direct result of the imposition of the surcharge, in the knowledge that it might be retracted or substantially modified long before delivery could be expected. A somewhat similar situation is doubtless con-(Continued on page 983)