1930 Industrial Britain: Hans Renold
Note: This is a sub-section of 1930 Industrial Britain
See also Hans Renold Ltd
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It is exactly 50 years ago since Mr. Hans Renold commenced the manufacture of chains in a small cellar in Salford, his employees numbering two - one man and a boy.
The present premises of Hans Renold Ltd., known as the Burnage Works, at Didsbury, Manchester, cover an area of 11.5 acres, and approximately 2,250 people are employed, the combined energies and skill of whom are entirely devoted to the manufacture of Steel precision chains and their accessories.
The activities of the Company are now world-wide, Renold agents being found in almost every country.
Renold chains are Steel precision chains. The components in tension are made from special high tensile Steel to ensure maximum Strength for minimum weight. The bearing surfaces of all the joints are hardened to ensure maximum life. All the steel used in Renold chains is made to Renold specifications determined after 5o years' experience of the most suitable materials required for maximum Strength and wear-resisting qualities.
Various types of chain are manufactured, each of which has its own particular advantages. Where quietness is not absolutely essential and price is the ruling factor, the bush roller series of chains, illustrations of which are given opposite, can be considered with advantage. These chains are made in single (Figs. 3 and 8) and duplex form (Fig. 6), ranging from 3/8 in. to 3 in. pitch. A special series of extended pitch chains (Fig. 7) is also available for especially long centre distances. All bush roller chains are robust in construction, and are suitable for arduous conditions.
……… counterweight suspension, sewing machines, indicators, etc.
The inverted tooth chains, also illustrated (Figs. 2, 5 and 9), are suitable for quiet running at high speeds, and are used for automobile auxiliary drives as well as for industrial purposes.
The introduction of electric power in workshops and factories has created a wide field for chain transmission, and now it is difficult to name any industry in which chain drives are not supplied to some extent a comprehensive lilt of the applications would be overwhelming, but some idea of the diversity may be gained by instancing the Renold Chain drives on the motor- driven sledges of the late Capt. Scott's Antarctic Expedition, and the 700 h.p. electric generator drive in a leper colony in South America
We illustrate two recent installations. (Fig. 2, overleaf) shows what we believe to be the largest chain drive in the Empire, and probably the second largest in the world. The drive was installed in Canada last year, and transmits 1,000 h.p. to a generator from gleam engines at a speed of 163 r.p.m., three Strands of Renold duplex chain are used with 23T solid Steel pinions and 28T split steel wheels. The chain centres are 8 ft. 6 in. The power is derived from three Lentz type Steam engines, two of which are always driving the 750 K.W. Westinghouse generator through the chain drive. The drive is used in the mining of rock or ore; the estimated production of the mine is 3,500 tons per to-hour shift, two shifts being worked.
Many drives have been supplied to publishing concerns and newspaper offices during the last few years, but probably the most interesting of recent date have been the drives supplied for the gist presses installed at Northcliffe House. It is claimed to be the most up-to-date newspaper office in the British Isles, incorporating the most modern machinery and the very lat., scientific equipment. In this building 45 printing presses are issuing 756,000 copies of the "Daily MA" per hour. Each press is capable of printing an eight-page paper at the rate of 36,000 copies an hour, and two eight-page machines are employed to print a 16-page paper.
In the same ratio larger papers can be printed at great speed, and with no loss of time; 1,800 h.p. is transmitted to these presses by 18 Renold inverted tooth chain drives (one of which is illustrated, Fig. opposite), installed because of the necessity for a trouble-free transmission capable of running at high speeds smoothly and efficiently, and at the same time providing a compact drive which enabled considerable economies in floor space to be effected. In addition to supplying the main drives for these presses, 16 auxiliary drives have been fitted to the Reeling Machines on the Hoe Presses. Resold inverted tooth chain was used in all these drives.
An illustration (Fig. 3, opposite) is also shown of a Resold inverted tooth chain drive at 3 ft. 6 in. centres from countershaft to nine-bowl calender as used in the textile trade for the finishing of cloth.
While on the subject of industrial drives, mention mat be made of the facilities offered by the Company for supplying chain drives from stock within a few hours. \Without any specific knowledge of chain driving, the large or small user can select a drive to suit his particular requirement, ascertain the cost for himself, and have almost immediate delivery. This does not only apply in the British Isles, but throughout the world, as Resold agents from New Zealand to Canada also carry stocks.
The next illustration (Fig. 4, opposite) shows a group of individually driven metal saws recently supplied to the New Zealand Government. The drives are 3/4 hp., by Resold bush roller chain, and are of the Standard Stock drive series.
The development in the mechanising of industry has provided another opening for the use of chain. Conveyors offer a wide appeal in dealing with the mechanical handling of goods in warehousing and transit, between processes and in many cases actually form part of the process. Here again Hans Renold Limited have become the pioneers of high grade conveyor chains. All the experience and skill derived from their long experience of driving chains was available when they set out to provide the market with a conveyor chain, just as far ahead of the existing types of conveying chain as the bush roller chain was ahead A the common roller chain, when Mr. Hans Resold patented this now world-wide known form of construction. The result is that already they are finding that the special features of the Resold conveyor chains, adaptability and reliability, are opening an ever-widening market, ranging from a packing conveyor in a chocolate factory to a hot mould conveyor in a foundry.
An illustration (Fig. 5, opposite) is shown of a conveyor 110 ft. long, equipped with Renold Hollow Stud Conveyor chain, in the Bottle Washing Department of a large brewery.
Hans Resold Limited are pre-eminent in the manufacture of cutting gear. The use of cutting gear is already well established in the woodworking industry, but experiments recently carried out have shown that Renold chain is capable of cutting accurate rectangular holes in various other materials, such as aluminium, ebonite, mica, plaster of Paris, etc., etc. The complete chain (Fig. 4, overleaf) is an endless, flexible cutting tool which is scientifically hardened as a whole, thus ensuring uniformity. Suitable guide bars and sprockets complete the gear.
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