ELECTROFORMED CONDUCTOR FOR TELEPHONE DROP WIRE 1113 



Fig. 5 — Typical cell of the many in each of the two 600-ft. long electroforming 

 machines shows how the twenty-five channels of wire pass through a plating 

 solution and are propelled and fed electric current by rolls like that seen in the 

 foreground. An operator, wearing his protecting safety gear, checks over the 

 operation. 



alignment of the weir plates with the wires and maintain the cells rigidly 

 positioned. 



The electrical circuit for the plating current is completed through the 

 contact rolls which position and make contact with the wires between 

 plating cells. The rolls are heavy-walled tubes carried on axial shafts by 

 internal ball bearings and insulated from the machine frame. The mate- 

 rials of construction are copper, steel, stainless steel, or monel metal, 

 depending on the electrolyte involved. The ends of the tubes project 

 through the trough walls and the shafts are carried on external brackets 

 which bolt to the upper longitudinal frame channels. One of the brackets 

 is cast iron and the tube on this end is furnished with an insulated 

 sprocket for the driving chain. The other bracket is a copper casting, 

 insulated from the machine frame and carrying brush holders for copper- 

 graphite brushes which contact the opposite end of the tube. The plating 



