English prose literature; Exposition (Rhetoric); Readers -- Science
When the screen has finished its work, the water carrying the pulp in
solution flows in an even stream, the volume of which varies according
to the width of the web of paper to be produced, through a
discharge-cock onto the Fourdrinier or cylinder machine, as the case may
be, each of which will be duly described. This stream has a filmy
appearance and is of diverse color, depending upon the shade of paper to
be produced. From its consistency, which is about that of milk, it is
difficult to imagine that it floats separate particles of fiber in such
quantities as, when gathered on the wire cloth and passed to a felt
blanket and then pressed between rollers, to form in a second of time a
broad web of embryo paper sufficiently strong and firm to take definite
form. Man's mastery of the process by which this startling and wonderful
change is effected has come as one of the rewards of his long and
patient study.
The Fourdrinier machine, which preserves at least the name of the
enterprising developers of the invention, takes up the work that was
formerly done by the molder. The wire cloth upon which the fibers are
discharged is an endless belt, the full width of the paper machine. Upon
this the fibers spread out evenly, being aided by a fan-shaped rubber or
oil cloth, which delivers the smooth stream under a gate regulated to
insure perfect evenness and to fix uniformly the fibers of the web now
commencing its final formation. Deckel-straps of india-rubber are
fastened on both sides of the wire screen, and move with it, thus
holding the watery pulp in place. The deckel-straps are adjustable and
fix or regulate the width of the paper. These and the gate, or "slicer,"
are attached to what is termed the deckel-frame, which corresponds to
the deckel used by paper-makers in the days when the manufacture was
carried on by hand. As the stream flows onto the endless belt of wire
cloth, the water which has borne the fibers filters into the trough
beneath. Being charged with very fine fibers, size, coloring matter, and
other similar ingredients, it is carried back into the pulp-chest to
save these materials, as well as to contribute again to the extra supply
of water needed. For this reason the trough into which it falls from the
revolving "wire" is called the "save-all." A shaking motion is imparted
to the "wire" from the frame upon which rest the rolls that keep it in
its never-ending round. This aids in draining away the water and mats or
interlaces the fibers together. At the end of the "save-all," where the
fibers are to leave the "wire" for the next stage of their journey,
suction-boxes are placed, provided with an air-pump to take up the
surplus water that has not yet found its way through the meshes. Between
these suction-boxes above the wire is a wire-covered roll which
impresses the newly formed sheet; this impression cylinder is called a
"dandy roll," and it is from this that the web receives the markings or
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account