90 



National Besources Planning Board 



competitive purcliasiiifr pressure would be transferred 

 from his raw material source of supply insofar as his 

 competitors' purchases were diverted to the new source 

 or material, and he would benefit proportionately. As 

 reported in a survey of trade association activities made 

 by tlie Trade Association Department of the Chamber 

 of Commerce of the United States, technical research 

 on materials already in use, or on the use of new mate- 

 rials, was carried on by 90 of the 330 trade associations 

 reporting. 



New Products Developed 



Trade association research is approaching the field of 

 private endeavor when it concerns itself with new prod- 

 ucts, imless such new product can be made generally by 

 the members of the association from raw materials 

 ordinarily used or easily obtainable. However, research 

 that may lead to the development of a new product 

 which logically can be produced in conjunction with 

 current operations of industry members in general may 

 be of inestimable value to an industry and, if practical 

 for use by all operators, presents a legitunate type of 

 research for trade associations to imdertake. 



Research projects of this character, carried on by 

 associations of the coke and gas producers have been 

 instrumental in salvaging volatile products from coal 

 that were formerly wasted into the air, and from which 

 are produced innumerable new and useful chemical 

 compounds. The sale of joint products or byproducts 

 thus obtained reduces the cost of manufacturing the 

 major product. That trade associations recognize the 

 value of research aimed at the discovery of new and 

 improved products is evidenced by the fact that, in the 

 United States Chamber of Commerce survey already 

 mentioned, 84 associations report themselves engaged 

 in research of this character. 



The National Lumber Manufacturers' Association 

 early in its research work discovered that projects 

 directl}" financed by members had to be limited, for 

 practical reasons, to such as had rather immediate 

 commercial application. In 1933 the association 

 founded as an auxiliary the Timber Engineering Com- 

 pany. This company acquired certain patents and was 

 constituted not only to develop and license the use of 

 the devices covered by these patents — mostly timber 

 connectors — in construction practice throughout the 

 United States, but also to engage in research to develop 

 improved methods and devices for timber construction. 

 This activity has continued, and as a result the Timber 

 Connector System of Construction, unknown in this 

 country prior to 1933, has been successfully used in 

 more than 10,000 structures of various kinds in this 

 country, as well as in foreign countries. 



This type of organization, operating separately 

 though controlled by the association, has assured con- 



tinuity of research projects requiring several years to 

 complete. The income from the licensing of patents 

 furnishes funds for additional research. In the case 

 of the Timber Engineering Company, it has already 

 repaid or is in position to pay from its net working 

 capital all the funds originally furnished to acquire 

 the patents and initiate the activities of the company. 

 Of greater interest, however, to the lumber industry 

 is the fact that the system of construction controlled 

 and improved by the Timber Engineering Company 

 has been instrumental in increasing the sales of lumber 

 many hundred million feet. This combination of 

 connncrcial activity and research through the trade 

 association is a particularly satisfactory one. All 

 members of the industry and the public benefit from 

 the research on equal terms, and consumption of the 

 industry's product is increased. 



Another research activity of interest in the building 

 and construction industry is that carried on by the 

 American Institute of Steel Construction, Inc. Hav- 

 ing as a goal reduction in the cost of steel buildings, 

 bridges, and other steel structures, its early efforts 

 were designed to bring about standardization of steel 

 shapes and sizes. Intelligent standardization of this 

 type must include a great deal of physical research 

 into the properties of the various steel shapes and their 

 reactions under stress so that those selected as standards 

 will most efficiently carry the strains and stresses of 

 the structure of which they are a part. The best prod- 

 ucts of engineering design were subjected to testing- 

 laboratory proof. The National Bureau of Standards 

 and the testing laboratories of certain engineering 

 colleges collaborated with the Institute in this work. 

 Other work was carried on in collaboration with the 

 same institutions in connection with the strength of 

 riveted steel rigid frames and welded steel rigid 

 frames. 



The institute's research program of welding research 

 has resulted in the development of an economical steel 

 floor design which greatl}' reduces the dead weight on 

 bridges and other steel structures using floors of that 

 type. Incidentally, better fireproofing qualities have 

 been obtained. The rigid frame type of construction 

 developed by this research permits a reduced perimeter 

 for a building with a given vertical clearance and a 

 given clear floor space; more economical provisions 

 for wind stresses; greater speed and lower cost of 

 erection; more economical hoist installation, and re- 

 duced maintenance costs. All of these improvements 

 ultimately benefit the steel consumer either in the 

 form of a lower investment cost or a cheaper upkeep. 

 The institute issues bulletins giving detailed specifi- 

 cations of welding practices in building construction 

 so as to permit the construction industry- to make the 

 best possible use of its research findings. 



