Several of our men experimented for about a year
and finally worked out a new form of oven in which the shafts could not
warp. In 1921, with the production much larger than in 1918, we employed
only eight men in the whole operation.
And then there is the pressing to take away the necessity for skill in
any job done by any one. The old-time tool hardener was an expert. He
had to judge the heating temperatures. It was a hit-or-miss operation.
The wonder is that he hit so often. The heat treatment in the hardening
of steel is highly important--providing one knows exactly the right heat
to apply. That cannot be known by rule-of-thumb. It has to be measured.
We introduced a system by which the man at the furnace has nothing at
all to do with the heat. He does not see the pyrometer--the instrument
which registers the temperature. Coloured electric lights give him his
signals.
None of our machines is ever built haphazardly. The idea is investigated
in detail before a move is made. Sometimes wooden models are constructed
or again the parts are drawn to full size on a blackboard.
Pages:
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182