M A R C H 1 9 4 0 ^ ^ ^ V O L U M E 30 No. 3 - Mines Magazine

124
The Mines Magazine
for March, 1940 125
that already it has received wide recognition
from various Metallurgical Engineers
as well as operators in various types of
grinding plants throughout the country.
# Arrangement oi mill, feeder and Elec
trie Ear". The microphone under the
mill picks up the sound. The control
cabinet, located at any convenient point,
regulates the feeder to hold the mill at
any desired noise level. The noise level
is controlled by the adjustment of a dial
on the control cabinet.
The "Electric Ear" consists of a cabinet
and microphone, which is placed near the
mill, and which listens to the sound. The
noise produced by the mill is instantly
transmitted to the cabinet which controls
the feeder of the mill. Experience shows
that no matter how uniform the feed to
the mill may be, that there is always irregularity
due to size variation and other
factors that are directly related to the
noise produced by the mill. Therefore,
the idea! operating condition of the mill
cannot be steadily maintained by the
operator's own hearing. Sound is an important
factor in mill operation and the
"Electric Ear" listening to the noise of
the mill, whether it is quiet, normal or
"dead", automatically and positively reports
the sound to the cabinet which immediately
regulates the feed to the mill
to produce the most efficient operating
condition.
It is apparent that the new "Electric
Ear" method is a great contribution to the
art of operating mills. It relieves the
operator of the necessity of giving close
attention to the mill, because of its ability
to increase the overall efficiency of the
grinding circuit, by maintaining maximum
capacity without danger of overloading.
In addition, through its use, a far more
uniform product is produced.
The "Electric Ear" control circuit is
responsive to the slightest change in noise
level and may he used in either dry or
wet grinding, in open or closed circuit
with standard types of classifiers. Thus by
controlling the noise level when grinding
in open circuit, for example, the fineness
can be changed and the mill kept from
overloading, even though the hardness of
the feed changes and the size varies, due
to bin segregation or other causes.
In grinding in closed circuit, either wet
or dry, with screens or air classifiers or
wet mechanical classifiers, the fineness is
controlled independently of the noise level,
as the "Electric Ear" controls the feed so
that maximum capacity, at the desired
fineness, is maintained under all operating
conditions. In fact its use permits a higher
grinding rate within limits not possible
by manual operation, and the increase of
capacity is generally In excess of 10%.
The new "Electric Ear" lends itself to
use with various mechanisms and produces
ideal operating conditions in various
and many situations. Thus are operators
given the advantages that the "Electric
Ear" provides in a wide field.
New Line of Valves
The Kennedy Vaive Manufacturing
Company, Elmira, N, Y., announces a new
line of bronze globe and angle valves
with plug-type discs and renewable seat
rings for close control in throttling service
and for general heavy duty. These valves
are made in sizes from ^/4-in, to 2-In. for
200-Ib. steam at 550° F. and 400-ib. cold
water, oil or gas, non-shock; and In sizes
from %-in. to 3-in. for 300-lb. steam at
550° F. and 600-lb, cold water, oil or gas,
non-shock.
The plug type disc and renewable seat
ring are both of copper-nickel alloy, the
seat rings being made of a harder composition
than the disc. The angularity
and length of the disc and seat ring have
been proportioned to minimize wear at
small openings and to permit tight closure
even if the faces are partially damaged
in service; and each seat ring is matched
to its companion disc to assure full bearing
surface over the entire contact area
of each.
"Plant ^ews
New Plant io Manufactxire
Ajax Vibrating Screens
Construction has just been completed on
a new addition to the factory of the Ajax
Flexible Coupling Company, Westfield,
N. Y, This addition will house their
enlarged electric welding and assembly
departments for fabrication of Ajax
vibrating screens, conveyors and packers.
In commenting on this addition to plant
facilities, Wayne Belden, Vice President
stated, "The increasing Importance of accurate
separations in processing operations
throughout industries ranging from plastics
and foods to coal and ore has focused
attention on the increased vibrating speeds
and strokes made possible by the operating
principle of Ajax-Shaler Shakers. As a
result of these new operating standards
the design and fabrication of screens has
developed engineering problems which require
special handling to meet material
flow and fatigue stresses in high output
screens.
"Among the many applications of Ajax-
Shaler Shakers are scalping, single and
multiple deck screening, level and off level
conveying, and packing. Standardized
equipment has been developed to cover a
wide range of uses in these fields and we
consider it a significant result of the part
that engineering plays In the development,
improvement and economy of modern production
methods."
$63,899 for New Ideas
By G. E. Co., 1939
Employees of the General Electric Company
in 1939 received $63,899 for new
ideas adopted under the company suggestion
system. This was $12,497 more
than they received in 1938. Cash awards
ranged all the way from $2 to a top of
$525.
During the year, 26,901 suggestions
were made by employees which was 6702
more than in 1938, Of this total, 10,121
were adopted.
In the past 20 years more than $1,000,-
000 has been paid to employees for new
ideas and better ways to do the job. More
than 300,000 suggestions have been made
since 1919. In recent years the percentage
of adopted suggestions has increased.
Awards paid are not fixed, but are determined
on estimated savings and other
factors such as Ingenuity of the suggestors,
etc. Awards have been as high
as $1500.
Allis-Chalmers Men Get
N. A. M. Award
A commltte of distinguished scientists,
headed by Dr. Karl T. Compton, President
of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, has designated three AlHs-
Chaimers men to receive the National
Association of Manufacturers special
award, each as being one of this country's
"Modern Pioneers",
The three men to be so honored by
American industry are Mr. Walter Gelst,
Allis-Chalmers Vice President, Dr. W.
M. White, Manager and Chief Engineer
of the company's Hydraulic Dept., and
Mr. R. C. Newhouse, Chief Engineer of
the company's Crushing and Cement Division.
The selection of these men Is the culmination
of more than six months of searching
by Dr. Compton's committee for men
whose pioneering on the frontiers of industry
have resulted in significant contributions
to the American standard of
living through increasing employment,
providing a new commodity or service,
reducing the cost of a product already in
use, or improving the quality of a product
already In use.
Mr, Gelst's contribution, for which the
committee selected him, was his invention
of the Texrope Drive which revolutionized
power transmission practices. In a matter
of a few years this invention has grown
into an industry in itself with Allis-
Chalmers producing It and 150 other
manufacturers operating as licensees under
the Geist patent. This invention has
resulted in the employment of thousands
of men.
Dr. White's award Is based on his invention
of the "Hydraucone" draft tube
for hydraulic turbines. Through this invention
the maximum amount of energy
is recovered from water discharged into
the turbine tail race which up to the time
of Dr. White's "Hydraucone" draft tube
was lost. This invention not only increased
the power output and efficiency
of hydraulic turbines, but permitted the
use of a shorter draft tube and hence
reduced the cost of necessary excavation
for the turbine installation.
Dr. White's Invention has been used
generally by Allis-Chalmers and other
large turbine manufacturers, as licensees.
It is impossible to estimate in dollars the
vast savings resulting from this invention,
Mr. Newhouse was designated by the
committee to be honored because of his
invention of the "Newhouse" and "Type
R" High Speed Crusher and his "Concavex"
grinding bodies for cement and
ore grinding mills.
The Newhouse crusher utilizes a high
speed hammer blow action on the material
while it is suspended in the air, as distinguished
from direct pressure crushing
used in old type crushers. This invention
permits the production of a lighter
weight, lower cost crusher with greatly
increased output. Large crusher manufacturers
in the United States and foreign
countries have been licensed under the
Newhouse patents,
N. A. M. Awards John V. N, Dorr
John Van Nostrand Dorr, president of
The Dorr Company and associated companies
here and abroad, was one of a
group of American inventors and research
scientists who received nineteen awards
as Modern Pioneers on the American
Front of Industry, from the National Association
of Manufacturers at the Waldorf-Astoria
Hotel, New York, February
27th. The awards were made on the
150th Anniversary of the founding of the
United States Patent System in recognition
of the contributions which these men
have made, through the medlumship of
their inventions, to the creation of new
jobs, new industries and new standards of
living.
The Modern Pioneers Celebration,
where these awards were made, was
sponsored by the National Association of
Manufacturers to focus public attention,
including that of moulders of public
opinion, upon the vital importance of
the patent system to American economic
and social progress. By paying honor
to the modern counterparts of such history-making
characters of the past as
Fulton, Whitney, Bell, Edison, Westinghouse
and Morse, the Association has endeavored
to show that if our American
progress is to continue, modern inventive
pioneers must be encouraged to explore
the industrial and scientific frontiers of
today, which offer more real opportunity
than the geographical frontiers of generations
ago.
Mr. Dorr received the National Award
as one of the leading chemical, metallurgical
and industrial engineers of this
country, as weli as a prolific inventor of
machines and processes that have had
far-reaching effects on American industrial
and social progress. His own many
inventions, supplemented by those of his
engineering staff (a total of over 1400
patents), have been applied successfully
JOHN V. N. DORR
in 70 separate and distinct processing industries,
making feasible the conversion
of intermittent processes to continuous
ones; the large-scale exploitation of lowgrade
ore deposits; and, finally, the placing
of municipal sewage and water treatment
on a sound engineering basis, to the
benefit of the public health of this and
other countries.
Specifically, the cyanide process, invented
in 1886 by MacArthur and Forrester,
made possible the profitable treatment
of low-grade gold ores, later displacing
other methods. Mr, Dorr meantime,
changed the cyanide process in certain
essential respects from a batch to a
continuous basis, made possible the milling
of lower grades of ore and helped
to expand the entire business of gold mining—capital
and labor both benefitting.
The flotationprocess, invented by others
in the early 1900's, made as great a change
in base metal metallurgy as did the
cyanide process in precious metal milling.
Mr, Dorr's inventions were successfully
applied to the flotationprocess, improving
grinding practice, making the necessary
change in density of ore pulp and recovering
water continuously.
In another field of activity—municipal
sanitation-—Dorr equipment and processes
are used for the continuous treatment of
approximately three bllUon gallons a day
of domestic sewage and water, thus affecting
the protection of about 30,000,000 persons
in this country.
Mr. Dorr's life has been one of engineering
alertness, leading to industrial success
as well as to a full recognition of his
manj' technical achievements.
Research Fellowships in
Coal and Non-Metallics
at the College ol Mines, University
of Washington and the Northwest
Experiment Station, United States
Bureau of Mines, Seattle, Washington,
1940-1941
The University of Washington
offers four fellowships in the College
of Mines for research in COAL and
NON-METALLICS in cooperation
with the United States Bureau of
Mines. Fellows begin their duties on
Monday, July 1, and continue for 12
months. Payments under a fellowship
are made at the end of each month
and amount to $720 for the year.
The fellowships are open to graduates
of universities and technical colleges
who are qualified to undertake
investigations. Ordinarily the appointees
register as graduate students
and become candidates for the degree
of Master of Science in Mining or
Metallurgical or Ceramic Engineering;
occasionally an appointee registers
for the Bachelor of Science degree in
one of these curricula.
The purpose of these fellowships is
to undertake the solution of various
problems being studied bj' the United
States Bureau of Mines that are of
especial importance to the State of
Washington, the Pacific Northwest,
and Alaska. The investigations consist
principally of laboratory work
directed largely by the Bureau's
technologists. The work is performed
in Mines Laboratory, a large modern
building fully equipped with the
newest forms of machinery and apparatus.
For the year 1940-1941 the
following subjects have been selected
for investigation:
1, COAL
Problems in the treatment
and utilization of coal and
coke; combustion of coal on
underfeed stokers.
2, NON-METALLICS
Problems in kaolin, talc, soapstone,
olivine, silica-sand,
diatomite, and other nonmetallics.
As applications will be passed upon
in April, each applicant should submit
the following material promptly.
(a) Photograph.
(b) Copy of his collegiate record
from the registrar of the college from
which he was graduated, or will be
• graduated in June.
(c) Statement of his practical and
technical experience, if any.
(d) Statement of his experience or
interest in investigations such as will
be carried on under the fellowships.
(e) Letters from three persons,
such as instructors and emploj'ers,
covering specifically the applicant's
character, ability, education and experience.
MILNOR ROBERTS, Dean
College of Mines, University of
Washington,
Seattle, Washington