THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



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Scientific Lighting in the Rubber Factory. 



By A. L. Powell, Edison Lamp Works of the General Electric Co. 



THE importance of an efficient lighting system in the rubber 

 factory cannot be overestimated. It is to the interest of 

 the employer as well as the employe that the most up-to-date 

 methods be adopted and that nothing be overlooked to provide 

 the best facilities. The old-time carbon lamps are now as out 

 af date as the kerosene lamps and open-burner jets which were 

 used in the early days. Lighting has assumed almost as great 

 an importance as the cost of labor and materials. It has been 

 found that an actual increase of IS per cent in output has fol- 

 lowed the installation of a modern system equipped with the 

 Xlazda, or some other modern improvement of the old-fashioned 

 cprbon lamp. If the lighting is poor or inadequate, the workman 

 will be less efficient. Good lighting is reflected in the faces of the 

 (Operators, in the form of healthful, buoyant spirits. Bad light- 

 ing is irritating because it makes it difficult to see, and strain 

 is involved in the efforts of workers to adapt themselves to un- 

 itatural conditions. Any plant manager knows that the experi- 

 enced or trained man is an asset not easily replaced. He be- 

 comes incapacitated at the very time he should be yielding the 

 biggest return on the investment made in training. 

 I In line with the foregoing a scientific system for lighting 

 'a'^rutiber' shoe factarj' is otrtlined. "Upon e.xamination it will be 

 evident that these suggestions also apply to nearly all lines of 

 rubber manufacture. Thus, the lighting for the wash-room, mill- 

 room and calender-room apply in all lines. So, too, in cutting, 

 in making-up and in packing there are the same problems. In 

 other words, the lighting plan designed for the rubber shoe fac- 

 tory is applicable with slight modifications to tires, clothing, 

 druggists' sundries, mold work, specialties, in fact to all lines. 

 THE WASH-ROOM. 



The band saw used to cut the crude rubber should be so 

 clearly illuminated that there is no liklihood of accident. The 

 writer encountered one case where a fairly high-powered lamp 

 without reflector was placed about eye-level, close to the saw. 

 This must have been most trying to the eyes of the workman 

 and it was really good luck that he had not been seriously cut 

 at some time. Everyone knows the blinding effect of a bright 

 light source and with this lamp in close proximity to the saw, 

 there must have been many occasions when the swiftly moving 



Fig 1 — Typical Mill-Room Layout. 

 ®=200-Watt Mazda C Lamp in RLM Standard Dome Re- 

 flector. 

 blade was indistinct, if not totally invisible. Such conditions 

 must be watched and avoided. 



In washing there are no close demands on vision. It is 

 merely necessary to provide sufficient light to load the crude 

 rubber in the mills and make occasional adjustments. The ma- 



terial is handled in bulk and safety, really, is the determining 

 factor. General illumination of a low intensity will be ade- 

 quate, although, if feasible, units may be placed near the ma- 

 chines. 



THE MILL-ROOM. 



The mills are frequently arranged in rows along the sides 

 of the room. If a row of outlets is located above them and 

 lamps equipped with dome reflectors which give a fairly wide 

 distribution of light, then the maximum light will be provided 

 where most needed and the spread light will take care of the 

 center of the room. A typical case might be such as shown 

 in Figure 1. This room, 40 feet wide, has mills along the two 

 sides on 10-foot centers; 7S-watt Mazda lamps in RLM dome 

 reflectors placed close to the 12-foot ceiling', spaced as indicated, 

 will give excellent illumination. In cases where fairly uniform 

 illumination is desired throughout the entire room, if modern, 

 efficient equipment is employed, a suitable intensity will be ob- 

 tained when one-quarter to one-half-watt per square foot of 

 floor area is used. 



COMPOUNDING-ROOM. 



The room devoted to this work should be fairly well illum- 

 inated by the general system, allowing at least J^-watt per 

 square foot of floor area. Good lighting here will prevent errors 

 in the mixture and be a paying investment. 



COATING AND CALENDERING. 



.\s the material passes over these machines, it must be 

 watched for defects and care must be taken to see that the coat- 



FiG. 2— Typical Layout for Calenders. 

 ®=200-Watt Mazda C Lamp in RLM Standard Dome Re- 



ing is being applied in the correct manner. Good lighting will 

 make this work easier and more certain as to results. If ma- 

 chines should be located as indicated in Figure 2, which is typi- 

 cal of some conditions, then a general lighting system as shown 

 in the plan will give good illumination on both ends of the 

 machine and at the same time illuminate the entire area in a 

 most satisfactory manner. This particular arrangement as- 

 sumes the use of 200-watt Mazda C lamps in RLM standard 

 dome reflectors on centers appro.ximately 20 by 20, placed as 

 close to the ceiling as practicable. If the room is not so ar- 

 ranged or there is a multiplicity of shafts, belts and the like, 

 precluding the use of general illumination, then lighting out- 

 lets should be located at the ends of the machines. If the lamps 

 are equipped with angle type reflectors, they will give the maxi- 

 mum illumination on the vertical surface or in other words on 

 the material as it passes over the rolls. 



