If the engine field has proved somewhat difficult, hydraulic machines have become more and more successful. The introduction of modern oil hydraulics and the development of a wide range of new materials have greatly extended the use of hydraulic power, so that the scope is no longer limited to familiar everyday tasks such as the lifting of large weights, but now covers the whole of industry wherever forces large or small have to be exerted. It may well be that the greatest opportunities for future development lie in this field.
Of particular interest is the place of hydraulics in the vast new atomic power development schemes upon which the country is embarking. At Calder Hall, for instance, Tangye cylinders and rams have been incorporated in the important charge and discharge equipment. When the uranium rods in the graphite core of the reactor have done their work they must be extracted and sent away to chemical processing plants for recovering the unused fuel and plutonium, and for removing fission products. These movements of radio-active material can only be carried out by men working behind thick concrete shields and relying upon remote control of the necessary machinery. The charge and discharge of the reactor takes place through the top shield and the stand-pipes rising from the dome of the pressure vessel. When the used elements are removed Tangye hydraulic power swings aside a two-ton door at the bottom of the discharge machine and the elements are lowered through a circular well into a massive cast-iron Container which a Tangye cylinder and ram loads, seals, and removes on to a waiting lorry for transport to the processing plant.
‘Hydralite
Jacks’ A
group of lightweight jacks, representative of the latest practice in industrial
jacking equipment.
The safety and success of these operations depends on the quality and
design of the whole machinery and Tangyes are proud to have their products
incorporated in this important atomic field.
Hydraulic machinery is unsurpassed for testing the strength of materials, and
Tangyes have been active in this field from their early production of machines
for anchor-chain testing. Recently Tangye units have been included in the large
test rig installed by the Admiralty at Rosyth dockyard. Complete sections of
ship structures can here be tested to destruction in a massive steel chamber,
and special jacking units were designed to apply accurately controlled loads of
up to 500 tons to the section under test.
The spirit of Brunel doubtless stands approvingly by as Tangye pumps provide
the driving force for the new Thames tunnel now being constructed from
Dartford to Purfleet. More than a century after the
Brunels, with many difficulties, drove the first tunnel under the river, the
present scheme, originally planned before the war, is well under way. Eight
Tangye hydraulic pumps, ordered and made as long ago as 1937, are now at work after careful overhaul and only a few
minor replacements. Four of these pumps, working at a maximum pressure of 6,000
lb. a square inch, push forward the tunnelling shields with their cutting edge.
The main task of the other four, working at a maximum pressure of 5,000 lb. a
square inch, is to lift the cast-iron segments of the tunnel lining into place as
the work progresses.
As a contrast to burrowing under the earth, Tangye hydraulic climbing jacks can
raise concrete Structures rapidly and inexpensively high above the ground. This
type of building, known as the ‘moving form’ method, employs wood or metal
forms as a mould for the final shape of the building. To Construct a circular
tower, for example, the forms might consist of two concentric rings some 4 feet
deep, which provide the inner and outer walls of the mould. Concrete is poured
between the two forms, which are kept moving upwards little by little so that
the concrete will not set and fix the moulds, yet is dry by the time it comes
clear below the framework. Once building has begun it must be kept going day
and night until it is completed. The moving form is lifted by the Tangye
hydraulic climbing jacks placed on rods at regular intervals inside the
Structure. A central power unit supplies the jacks with power simultaneously,
which ensures that they all operate at the same time and climb the same amount.
Only two men are needed to control the lifting operation.
An equally notable success has been scored at Cornwall Works by a modern
version of the general purpose hydraulic jack. Breaking away from traditional
methods of construction the designers employed the latest modern techniques
including the use of high tensile light alloys. The result is the Hydralite, a
jack which is not only less than a third of the weight of its predecessors but
also possesses higher safety factors, so that its use has been greatly
extended. Its appeal has been enhanced by an attractive modern appearance so
that the jack is aesthetically as well as functionally pleasing.
Sales of the Hydralite have fully justified the enterprise of the design and
particularly valuable is the high proportion of sales made to overseas
customers. In competition with manufacturers from the Continent and America, the
Hydralite has found its way into the markets of sixty-five countries and it
promises to Create an even wider demand.
Hydraulic jacks have continued to be much in demand for lifting bridges and
were used in the erection of the great Howrah Cantilever Bridge at Calcutta. Surely no
better commemoration of the firm’s centenary could have been found than the
contract which the firm obtained towards the end of 1956 for nearly 14,000 tons capacity of special
jacks for raising the spans of the Jacques Cartier Bridge over the St. Lawrence River. This project is
part of the Great Lakes navigation scheme, to enable larger vessels to sail
direct to the head of the Great Lakes and thus avoid transhipment of every
cargo at Quebec or Montreal. Tangyes have recently formed close links with Canada
through the creation of a Canadian company, and they are particularly glad to
take part in a scheme which will have such a profound effect on that country’s
economy.
PUMPS
In a different section of Cornwall Works considerable development has taken place
in pump production. Whereas fifty years ago the firm could base its reputation
partly on the wide variety of pumps which it manufactured, now different
economic conditions make it essential to specialize in some degree. Today the
main trend is towards increasing use of centrifugal pumps, and Tangyes Ltd.
have directed much of their attention to successful expansion in this range.
Reciprocating pumps, however, still offer wide scope in various fields, and the
firm, far from neglecting them, is concentrating on development work by which
it is hoped greatly to extend their use.
New centrifugal pumps produced at Cornwall Works are designed mainly to handle
sewage or process liquids. As we have seen, Tangye products have over the years
done sterling work in water and sewage works, and the new range enhances the
firm’s reputation in this field. Modern manufacturing techniques have vastly
increased the use of industrial chemicals and corrosive process liquids. Tangye
pumps designed to deal with these have proved very successful, many, for
example, in recent years, having been supplied to handle the highly corrosive
liquids used in the rayon industry.
The rapid growth of the oil industry has similarly produced a demand for
special equipment. To meet the pump requirements of this market, Tangyes Ltd.
have recently become associated with
Messrs. Ralph E. Smart (Hydraulics), a firm which has for some time specialized
on process pumps for the oil industry. Production of these units is now well
under way at Cornwall Works.
Another interesting and successful development has resulted from a pre-war
agreement with a Swedish firm for the manufacture in the British
Commonwealth of their design of propeller pump. This pump handles
very large volumes of water and other liquids against low ‘heads’ and is
specially suitable, therefore, for land drainage and irrigation.
MACHINE TOOLS
From the days when the brothers made their own equipment for their first workshop,
Tangyes have turned out first-class machine tools. They are made by craftsmen
and designed to last, and a surprising number of those built several decades
ago are still in service giving excellent results. In this department, as in
the others, the modern emphasis is of necessity on certain special lines. Here
the concentration has been mainly on heavy lathes for the machining of axles
and wheels for railway rolling stock. The work they have to carry out is
arduous and exacting and calls for the closest attention to the design of each
application. To increase production rates modern lathes incorporate more
automatic features, and a special study has been made of these details. Many
orders from overseas, as well as from home markets, have rewarded the efforts
put into the production of these special lathes.
Two other types of machine tool which are proving most successful are large
heavy-duty centre lathes, and ‘coil winders’. The ‘coil winder’ is a special
type of lathe for winding the massive wire cores for electric transformers.
These cores often weigh several tons each.
INDUSTRIAL HEATER
An unusual production line which has achieved great popularity is the Tangye
industrial heater.
Produced originally for use at Cornwall Works to comply with the new factory
regulations for heating industrial premises, the design proved to be so good
that the heater was marketed and has rapidly become a top-selling line. The success
of this slow-combustion coke, oil, or gas stove is a tribute to its
intrinsically good design. Not only has it done well on the home market, but it
has also been exported to South Africa and Australia, where problems of factory
heating would not at first sight appear to be a major worry.
In all departments there are many other Tangye products, reliable and
well-tried, which find a steady market. We have selected only a few of the
latest or most interesting post-war developments to show how Tangyes, quick to
appreciate the needs of present and future, have adapted old ideas and
assimilated new ones to meet current trends. A flexible outlook, unhampered by
traditional interest in particular groups of products, is essential in changing
world conditions. Now in 1957 the problems and potentialities of the European
Common Market offer a new challenge to those equipped and ready to meet it.
RESEARCH AND PROGRESS
Throughout the industry the emphasis on research has considerably increased of
recent years. At Cornwall Works the experimental and
development section is responsible for all the new design projects which
involve extensive experiment and testing, and, of course, builds and tests
prototypes. Besides making trials of new materials, the section also undertakes
much of the work involved in the maintenance of quality standards in the
factory.
For larger-scale work, and for fundamental research, Tangyes Ltd. have also
been enthusiastic supporters of four trade research associations. These
associations, which are financed partly by the members and partly by the
Department of Industrial and Scientific Research, provide through their
laboratories and specialist staffs, a valuable extension of the research
resources of individual firms, and by their abstracting services maintain a
steady flow of information on all basic problems. The first to be established
was the British Cast-Iron Research Association, which has, over the years,
furnished valuable information on the nature and production of cast-iron, and on
methods of producing good castings, thus greatly extending the uses of the
material. Castings made in the Tangye foundry are frequently subjected in use
to intense hydraulic pressure, to heat and to wear, so that it has always been
of the highest importance to produce castings of the first quality.
The other associations are younger though potentially no less important in
focusing investigation into other specific aspects of engineering.
From their foundation they have gained support from Tangyes Ltd. and from time
to time Tangye directors have served on the Councils of the British Internal
Combustion Engine Research Association, the Production Engineering Research
Association, and the British Hydromechanics Association.
In addition to the trade associations there are a number of national research
units financed entirely by the Government. Their results are available to
industry on request, and they have done much to keep British industry in the
forefront of world markets. Though their value is probably greatest to the
smaller firms, their contributions in pure and fundamental research provide a
welcome extension to the facilities of each individual firm.
APPRENTICESHIP AND WELFARE
All plans for new products, new markets, and expanding output can be hampered
by a shortage of trained and skilled men in the works. For this reason special
attention has been paid since the war to the recruitment and training of
apprentices — a work for which Tangyes have long been renowned. It is not
always easy to prove to young men of the atomic and jet age that mechanical
engineering is as important and offers as much scope as those apparently more
glamorous fields which constantly hit the headlines. In fact, a training at
Tangyes remains one of the best passports to higher jobs in an industry which
must play an important part in atomic developments, in automation and in
producing modern engines for every kind of work. Within the firm itself there
is plenty of scope in these fields for ambitious and gifted designers and engineers.
Apprenticeship at Cornwall Works follows the pattern now widely accepted in the
engineering industry whereby the firm provides time and encouragement for
attendance at a Technical College so that a
balanced training is achieved. The 89 apprentices now training at the works
include those taking Craft, Commercial, and Technical courses.
Apprentices’ Day is the special highlight of the year, when parents come from
far and near to see their sons’ progress, and to gain some appreciation of the
type of work they are doing. Prizes and certificates are awarded at the
prize-giving ceremony. In addition to the National Certificates and other
awards won in examinations, two special cups are awarded each year — the
Technical Apprentices’ Cup and the Trade and Commercial Apprentices’ Cup
— to the two apprentices with the best record for their year’s work.
The majority of the apprentices are Midland boys, but others come from all
parts of the British Isles and the Commonwealth. An interesting connection
has grown up with boys from St. Austell in Cornwall.
Each year a party from West Hill Secondary Modern Boys’ School visits Cornwall
Works and several have later returned to serve their apprenticeship. It is
particularly pleasing to see this link retained with the native county of the
Tangye family.
All apprentices are under the general guidance of the Personnel Manager. It is
over thirty years since Tangyes Ltd. first appointed a Welfare Officer whose
job was mainly to supervise problems of labour recruitment and welfare. The
professional aspects of this work have expanded enormously since that time, and
the department continues to be organized on the most modern lines.
The popularity of outside activities has been steadily maintained. The
Recreation Club, run by committees elected by and from the members, now caters
for interests which include archery, angling, and horticulture, as well as
football, cricket, lawn tennis and table tennis. The Tangye Football Club has
done exceptionally well in Division I of the Birmingham Works League to which
it was promoted in 1948. In the spring of 1954 the club was only narrowly
beaten in the final of the ‘Cup’ competition.
Some of the welfare schemes originally developed by Tangyes have, however,
become unnecessary or unworkable in the original form. The National Health Act,
for example, made it impracticable for the dispensary to do more than cope with
industrial health and injuries. The Works doctor examines all new employees and
apprentices and sees any patients referred to him by the fully-qualified nurse
who is always on duty. The dressing-station is of course still fully equipped,
and each day attention in the dispensary prevents many minor injuries from
developing into serious disabilities. Equipment is also provided in the dispensary for ultra-violet and infra-red treatment.
The Staff Pension Scheme, which began in October 1946, has been widely
appreciated. This at once makes employment with the firm more attractive and
removes that burden of insecurity in old age which hangs over all
non-pensionable posts.
