558 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[July 1, 1914. 



lings and safety brakes included a guarantee that, with one mill 

 operating under load, the rolls must be brought to rest with a 

 movement not to exceed 4 inches, after the operation of tlic 

 safety switch. 



THE PRODUCTOGRAPH. 



NORZAGARAY'S COAGULATOR. 



T 



n E apparatus shown in the accompanying drawing was 

 recently patented in England by L. Norzagaray, who has 

 contributed to the rubber industry a number of machines, 

 especially of the types used on the plantation. This ma- 

 chine is designed to rapidly co- 

 agulate all kinds of rubber latex 

 and turn the product out in 

 sheet form in one operation. It 

 consists of a series of rectan- 

 gular metal sections ./ placed 

 one above the other. Each sec- 

 tion contains a removable metal 

 drum B, e.xcept the top one, 

 ■which has a pair of laterally ad- 

 justable pressing rollers C and 

 scrapers D mounted therein, im- 

 mediately beneath the feeding 

 hopper E. The metal sections 

 A are placed over a lire place F. 

 Smoke from the bottom cham- 

 ber is guided by baffle plates C 

 around that portion of each 

 drum on which the latex is de- 

 scending. The bottom section 

 has a pair of corrugated press- 

 ing rollers H and a scraper (not 

 shown in the drawing), which 

 removes the rubber from the 

 lower drum B and causes it to 

 pass between the rollers H. 



As soon as the smoke is dense 

 enough the latex is poured into 

 the hopper E. It runs down on 

 rollers C and is removed by 

 scrapers D, falling on the upper 

 drum B. Here it is further 

 smoked and then scraped oflf. falling on the next drum B. 

 This is repeated until it is scraped off the lower drum and 

 passed between rollers //. The resulting corrugated sheet 

 of rubber is guided out of the coagulator by a chute K. 



Nl)RZ.\GAR.\v's Co.\(;UL.\T0K. 



SAVED FROM LIGHTNING BY A RUBBER COAT, 



There have been a good many authentic instances where 

 men have been saved from the effect of lightning by being 

 equipped with a pair of rubber boots, for a good pair of 

 rubber boots or rubber shoes is effective insulation ; and the 

 New York papers recently cited the case of a worthy citizen 

 of Goshen, New York, whose life was probably saved by 

 the fact that he was wearing a rubber coat. During a 

 severe thunder storm he was passing a church, the steeple 

 of which was equipped with lightning rods. The steeple 

 was struck and the lightning proceeded down the rods. The 

 man was passing close by and received a considerable shock, 

 being rendered unconscious for a time — but he was picked 

 up and soon recovered. He attributes his escape from fatal 

 result to his rubber coat. If he had been wearing a pair 

 of rubber boots also the probability is he would hardly have 

 felt the lightning. This, by the way, is not a bad talking 

 point for retailers of rubber footwear and clothing, par- 

 ticularly where they can cite specific instances. 



/^N'E of the serious problems, if not the most serious, in general 

 ^^ manufacturing industries is the inability to get absolutely 

 accurate records of machinery operations. Dependence must be 



Replete with information for rubber manufacturers — Mr 

 Pearson's "Crude Rubber and Compounding Ingredients." 



Iilaci-d on the reports of foremen and others which, being from 

 Inuuan sources, are to an extent unrelialile, and at times colored 

 Ijccause of the very negligence of those that make them. The 

 common method used to get a fair knowledge of the factory con- 

 ditions is for the executive to make a periodical trip through the 

 works. Such trips as a rule are made at stated hours of the day 

 nnd every employe is on the qui firr. Machinery and men are 

 alert and busy. There is a different story after tlie inspectiim 

 tour. 



.A ver\' definite solution of this problem is presented through 

 a new electrical device now commercialized under the name of 

 Productograph. This device is placed in the office of the execu- 

 tive and is operated electrically by the switch arrangement at- 

 taclied to the machines in the mill. The illustration herewith 

 shows a two-needle machine. 



The Productograph is usually placed in the private office of the 

 owner or chief executive, where it shows at any moment of the 

 day just what the machines in the factory are doing, and there- 

 fore any lax conditions that may be revealed can be corrected 

 immediately. It shows the exact moment of starting of machines, 

 stopping time, all stops during the day and their duration. It also 

 shows rate of speed or production, with its variations. This is a 

 most interesting feature because at certain hours of the forenoon 

 and afternoon productivity reaches its highest rate. It is not 

 constant during the working hours, nor is it equal between oper- 

 ators on like machines working under like conditions. The re- 

 spective efficiency of machines and men is thus clearly shown by 

 the Productograph charts. The instrument also counts the 

 output, of whatever unit it may be. 



The Productograph has been applied to many channels of in- 

 dustry and is adaptable to washers, mixers, calenders, spreaders, 

 tubing machines, and tire wrapping machines. The makers claim 

 that there is no machinery problem for which it is unfitted. -As 

 proof of its wide scope of usefulness, it is being installed at a 

 dangerous railroad crossing, to record permanently the exact 

 moment of lowering and raising of safety gates and ringing of 

 alarm bell, while simultaneously charting the time of the train's 

 passage over the crossing. This makes an indisputable record 

 of value in possible litigation followin.g upon casualties. CSlocum, 

 .'\vram & Slocum, Inc., Production Engineers. 30 Chambers 

 street. New York. 



