INSTALLATION FOR THE CUTTING OF STEEL STRIP INTO PLATES

1,219,428. Metal strip feeds. G. I. PSHENICHNY, Y. Z. CHECHELJUK, M.A. AFANASIEV, and N. N. KHMARA. 2 Feb., 1968, No. 5380/68. Heading B3W. A shearing line for transverse cutting of plates from steel strip includes means (7) for feeding strip to a plate-cutting mechanism (9) (Fig. 1, not shown) through a strip-tensioning mechanism (5) which includes an electromagnet 12 adapted to grip the strip and means 14 for effecting reciprocating motion of the electromagnet along the path of the strip. The electromagnet is mounted on a carriage 13 and, to enable it to grip corrugated strip and to reduce the force it needs to exert, the electromagnet co-operates with a bar 19 carried by spring- loaded pins on a frame 17 also mounted on the carriage 13. In use, steel strip unwound from a reel device (1), (2) is fed by hand through the inoperative tensioning mechanism (5) to the nearer of two feed carriages (20) and drives (3) and (7) for the reel device and the carriage respectively are energized. When the carriage reaches stop (8) adjacent the plate cutting mechanism (9), the other carriage having meanwhile returned to the stop (8) adjacent the tensioning mechanism, the drive (7) is de-energized, the electromagnet and a fluid-operated piston and cylinder 14 are energized to grip the strip and tension it against clamps associated with the plate-cutting mechanism and a plate is cut off. The electromagnet and piston and cylinder arrangement are then de-energized and a device (10) is actuated to transfer the plate to a device (11) for removing plates from the line. The drive (3) of the reel device is operative until a loop of strip in the pit (22) presses a limit switch (4).