| OCR Text |
Show HEXAGONAL POWDER. ! How the Explosive is Manu-1 '' factured. i 1 COMPRESSED Bi HVuKijJLiG KISIMNES. ' Something About the Press That Dues I tho Work. j ' A number of persons who vi-.e iti-d t he H'.'cin of the diatrou-j powder carried away vrirh lhe:n, as mementos of the explosion, liUie MX-sided pieces uf a black material which they generally supposed to btr iron or some soft metal. These mementos were six sided, about 1 J inches long, one inch in diameter, mid were pierced by a small round hole. They appeared to be blank six sidod nuts, ready to be tapped or threaded to make them available on the bolts of the mill machinery. They appeared to be innocent inno-cent little things, e.-isy to pilfer and convenient con-venient to carry, aud served nicely as mementos of the great explosion. In reality these innocent looking mementos me-mentos are lumps of concentrated ex-plusive ex-plusive energy. They are prisim; or lumps of prismatic powder. The name is doubtless owing to the peculiar shape given to eacli piece or block, which is that of a short hexagonal prism. This form is the result of intense pressure to which the powder is exposed in its passage pas-sage through a powerful hydraulic press. It was chosen fur the same reason that the honey bee chooses to make the cells in its rnnib hexagon economy of space. In building cartridges for big guns out of this powder the pieces fit snugly to-got to-got her. The compression has put every possible possi-ble ounce, of force into the prism, the small size of the prisms enable the gunners gun-ners accurately to measure the force of eitch charge, and the hexagons pack together to-gether without loss of space iu the load chamber of tho gun. In the manufacture i of tbis powder science has learned to mm tho charge of powder before putting it into the gun barrel. The concentration of power by means : of the hydraulic press is so great that ! solid prisms of this powder loaded into a ; gun would probably burst it, and if not ; would be wasted by ejectment from the gun before it was all burned. The round hole in the prisms of powder, which j makes them m complete duplicate of a I blank six sided iron nut, is to secure cx-i cx-i paiieion equally in all directions, and toin-I toin-I suro tho combustion of all the explosive, i The machines by which these prisms 1 of concentrated power are manuf acttired i are models of compact, strong and accurate accu-rate working machinery. One of them Btands about eighteen feet high, and will weigh about CO, 000 pounds. It occupies a floor space 4 feet 4 inches by 3 feet 4 inches, is capable of exerting a pressure of 135,000 pounds on a surface of about hfly-fonr squaro inches in area, and will make fifty-four prisms of powder at every stroko of its pistons. The most apparent feature of this press is i ts weight and strength, and its snrpris-' snrpris-' ing characteristic is ease of movement : and control. It is composed of two water I cylinders and two rams, connected by ! four polished iron rods about four and a half inches in diameter, standing on a rectangular foundation. The cylinders and rams aro at opposite ends of these rods. The rams work toward each other centrally with the rods. Between the rams are four cast iron plates six inches thick, 3 feet 2 inches by 4 feet 0 in area, three of which move with the ram and one is stationary. This stationary plate is perforated with fifty-four fifty-four round holes, about two inches in diameter, that have been partially filled with brass bushings. Through these bushings are the six sided holes in which j the powder is compressed. THE PROCESS. Working directly over this plate is a similar one attached to the ram of the upper cylinder, and guided by the four polished iron rods which fit into a hall round recess at each of its corners. It i& armed with six sided brass plungers, which in its descent pass into the six sided holes in the stationary plate. Below Be-low the stationary plate is anothei plunger plate similar to the upper one. and below this is the needle plate. Tin. needle plate is armed on its upper surface sur-face with fifty-four long steel needles, which extend up through the lower plunger plate and into the hexagon holes in the stationary pLite. These needles make the round holes in the prisms of powder. The power of these presses is generated in the cylinders simply by pumping water into them and behind the rams. The cylinders are 11, 12 and 13 inches ir: diameter. The upper one has two com partments the ram filling the lower one. and above it is a cylinder with a lifting piston by which the ram is raised after its downward stroke in compressing tin powder. The lower ram is raised by pumping water under it, and is lowered by letting tho water out, which will be accompli sited automatically. In operation the parts of this press are so adjusted that the plungers of the upper up-per and lower plunger plates and the needles approach each other through the movement of the rams. The holes in the stationary plate are stopped on th-lower th-lower side by the ends of the plungers, and the needles entering through the plungers extend up through the stationary station-ary plate. The hexagon holes are then filled with wet powder and tho rams brought together, exerting a pressure o( 2,.riii0 pounds on. the powder in each of the bole.-:, compressing into a solid hex-agonal hex-agonal prism 1 inches long, one inch in diameter, with a hole of about JJ iuch in diameter through it longitudinally. Wilmington News, |
