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THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[March 1, 1917. 



The Manufacture of Klingerit Steam Packing. 



Fig. 1. 



-Werner & Pfleiderer': 

 Mixer. 



THE advent of liigh steam pressures created a demand for 

 packing of special composition that would witlistand the 

 extremely high temperature and unusual steam pressures 

 resulting from this radical change in steam engineering. The 

 ordinary rubber sheet packing was characteristically unfitted to 

 resist steam pressures of 180 pounds and temperatures varying 

 from 180 to 185 degrees C. A reliable heat resisting steam 

 packing was therefore a prime necessity and German ingenuity 

 promptly attacked the problem of evolving a new packing ma- 

 terial. .\ composition consisting of asb<?stos, rubber and certain 



mineral tillers, such as china 

 clay, b a r y t e s, infusorial 

 earth and hydro-cellulose 

 was found to be very satis- 

 factory. The rubber content, 

 however, was comparatively 

 .'imall, as its province 

 in this instance is 

 principally that of a 

 cement. 



The fi r s t com- 

 pressed asbestos 

 sheet packing offered 

 to the trade was 

 manufactured by R. 

 Klinger at Gumpold.skirchen 

 near Vienna, Austria, and 

 known as "Klingerit." This 

 new material was successful 

 almost from the start and 

 the large demand that soon 

 followed grew in volume until it became worldwide. It was not 

 long before aggressive competition appeared and similar composi- 

 tions were manufactured and sold under the trade names, Moorit, 



Mezelerit, and Cooperit. The name "Itplatte" 



was subsequently protected by Gustav 

 Adolph, of Biebrich, Wiesbaden, Germany. 



The United States' trade in asbestos sheet 

 packing that rapidly grew to large propor- 

 tions was for the greater part monopolized 

 by the German manufacturers who were able 

 to undersell their competitors in this country. 

 Since the war has effectively closed this 

 source of supply the demand has been sup- 

 plied by American manufacturers, and the 

 following brief description of machines used 

 in the manufacture of Klingerit will therefore 

 be of interest. 



The crude asbestos is first treated in a 

 machine of the type known as a Chili mill. 

 which separates the impurities and felts the 

 fibers together. The asbestos material is then 

 passed through a carding machine provided 

 with a belt conveyor that carries away the 

 carded fiber in the form of a light fluff. The 

 preparation of the rubber is in no way dif- 

 ferent from that of making ordinary cement, 

 the washed and dried rubber being placed in 

 a power driven churn and sufficient benzine 

 or naphtha added to make a thin solution. 

 The compounding ingredients consisting of 

 heavy calcined magnesia, o.xide of iron and sulphur are then 

 added to the rubber solution and the whole is thoroughly mixed 



for about 2 hours in a Werner and Pfleiderer enclosed mixer 

 shown in Figure 1. Finally the carded asbestos fiber is slowly 

 fed into the same macliine and worked up witli the other ma- 

 terials into a homogeneous mass. 



The sheets are then built up on the Hauboldt mill shown in 

 Figure 2. This machine is designed on the principle that a 

 comparatively small roll operating against one of large diameter, 

 and both revolving at equal surface speed, will exert a greater 

 pressure on the material than two rolls of the same diameter. 



This machine has very heavy frames A and B supporting 

 the rolls C and D, that are operated by double faced spur gears 

 E and F, the circumference of the large roller determining the 

 length of the sheet. The small roll C is adjustable and driven 

 from the main driving shaft by the large spur gear G. The 

 counterweights H, H hold a stripping knife against the surface 

 of the small roll to keep it smooth and clean. The large roll 

 D is hollow and provided with steam and water connections 

 for heating and cooling purposes, while movable gages de- 

 termine the width of the sheet. 



In operation, the small pressure roll is adjusted to the de- 

 sired thickness of the sheet and the warm dough is evenly ap- 

 plied to the large roll in convenient sized balls or chunks in a 

 manner similar to that used in calendering. A very thin sheet 

 is thus formed on the large roll in the form of a jacket which 

 after being rolled down to size is coated with a special rubber 

 solution containing the distinctive coloring matter. Dough is 

 again applied to the large roll and the second sheet rolled down 

 on the first one and solutioned. This operation is repeated until 

 the desired thickness has been attained, when the built-up sheet 

 is cut transversely and removed from the roll. 



Sheets up to 6>2 feet wide, ^Yi feet long and about Yg, inch 

 thick may be made on this machine. 



The solvent recovery apparatus shown in Figure 3, consists of 

 a water-cooled casing surrounding the rolls and provided with 

 an opening of sufficient size to permit material being fed to the 



Fig. 2. — Hauboldt's Itpl.-^te Mill. 



machine. A spray of water from pipes located inside of the 

 casing creates a downward circulation of air and naphtha vapor 



