This Pierce Press, in conjunction with a 275 ton Pushbench, formed the major components of ‘B’ Mill; a complete automated production line facility designed and manufactured by Fielding & Platt and installed in Chesterfield Tube Ltd., for the manufacture of large steel bottles using a hot process.
Square (hot) descaled steel billets were inserted into a circular container of the Pierce Press, whereupon the press exerted sufficient force to deform the billet in one operation to produce a circular thick-walled closed-end product.
This was transferred to the Pushbench whereupon a mandrel forced the product through a series of dies that reduced the wall thickness whilst, at the same time, increasing the length of the product.
Other operations involved the forming of a concave base and hot spinning to form the neck of the bottle.
Fielding & Platt supplied the complete line including the interstage transfer gear, descaling equipment, mandrel stripping/cooling and recirculating gear and all the hydraulic valve equipment.
A Fielding & Platt centralised Water Hydraulic Accumulator Station with 600HP, H15 Three Throw Reciprocating Pumps supplied the hydraulic power for the mill.
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Click here to see a photo of the machining of the press frame.
Click here to see a YouTube film of ‘B’Mill in action!
Click on the hyperlink to see other Notable Orders from the 1970s
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Hi John! Graham ‘Taffy’ Hall looking all studious, oh, and a lot younger! Chippy Aston.
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