Section 8.—BEDPLATES, FOUNDATIONS, AND FRAMING OF MACHINES.
The skeleton framing of a machine for any purpose should be rigid, as light as is consistent with strength and stability (in some cases weight is necessary to minimise vibration), and the ribs, or members of the frame, should be so disposed as to afford the requisite support for all bearings, centres, &c., without redundance; and lastly, symmetry, and a certain degree of elegance and proportion, are desirable. The illustrations are necessarily typical only, and suggestive.
[109]. Girder section bedplate for horizontal distributed bearing, as in a horizontal engine. It may be used double, and the two parts connected by cross pieces and bolts, as [No. 112].
[110]. Open box bedplate.
[111]. Closed box bedplate.
[112]. Double box bedplate with cross tie pieces.
Square or rectangular bedplates are usually of similar sections, stiffened with ribs underneath, and generally cast in one piece.
[113]. Side frame and distance rod construction, suitable for light machines.
[114]. Side frames and cross bars on a base plate. This forms a more rigid construction than [No. 113].
[115]. Table and legs.
[116]. Rectangular openwork box framing. Useful for machines with several cross shafts.
[117]. Hollow standard for hammers, vertical engines, and any machine raised above the floor.
[118]. Soleplate and standard for pedestal bracket, &c. Admits of being detached without disturbing the foundation.
[119]. Wall box for shaft bearings, &c.
[120]. Arched crosshead for double bearing, bevil gear, &c.
[121]. Wrought-iron sideplate and distance rod construction.
[122]. Wall bracket, with wall flange, or tongue, to take the vertical strain.
[123]. Wrought-iron rectangular bedplate.
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[124]. Base plate for column, &c., with concrete foundation. The bolts are usually T headed (see [No. 1404]), in open recesses, so as to be easily removed without disturbing the base plate.
[125]. Dovetail and key fixing for brackets, bearings, or any separate detail of framing.
[126]. Foundation for box bedplates.
[127]. Vertical columnar, or distance rod construction, used for marine engines, vertical engines, presses, &c.
[128]. Plinth, column, entablature, and cross bracing, used for beam engines and machinery of a straggling kind with many detached parts.
[129]. Flat bar side framing, strong, light, and cheap, but not very rigid.
[130]. Wrought-iron L and flat bar rectangular frame, suitable where great rigidity is not needed, but where cast-iron is not safe or desirable.
Wrought-iron is becoming much more largely employed for the framing of general machinery than heretofore, and it is customary in many cases to supplement a cast iron base or frame with wrought iron or steel bars.