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Iron, copper, tin, nickel, zinc.

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Magical words with a common ring.

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Without them the world we know today would never be.

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The basic forces of the universe are expressed through these metals.

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Magnetic forces, sound waves, the movement and flow of electricity,

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and the projection of light through time and space.

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If there was ever a true alchemy, it can be found in these simple metals.

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The stone hatchet was an active creation,

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but the metal hatchet maintained its cutting edge.

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Man was now free to invent new tools, machines to protect himself

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and build a better quality of life.

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Discovery followed discovery and the age of metals began.

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The machine age was built on these common metals,

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but it would never have been achieved without the alloy.

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The world really changed when men learned to toughen soft copper by mixing it with tin.

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This became the base for the first alloy, bronze.

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It was man's greatest achievement,

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beyond his evolutionary thrust into an upright posture and intelligence,

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that he discovered the metals, understood their basic characteristics,

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and then combined them into new amalgams,

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choosing, selecting, formulating, blending, synthesizing,

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and fusing the atomic structures into materials with incredible new properties and strengths,

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almost as soon as he knew the meaning of each property of each base metal.

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And this experimentation grew over thousands of years into a metallurgical science,

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a science without which there would be no alloys.

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And without the alloys there would be no automobile, no printing press,

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no television, no airplane or space flight, and no telephone.

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The age of the alloy is the foundation for the future.

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The History of the Work and Growth of Hawthorne

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The history of the work and growth of Hawthorne parallels the history of Bell Laboratories.

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This symbiotic relationship began in 1920,

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and the years since then have been filled with creative research,

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development of products, and commercial production of essential and critical materials for the Bell telephone system.

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Among the first projects, Bell Laboratories developed certain magnetic ferrous alloys,

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and a year later Hawthorne began manufacturing these alloys to be used as ductile tape for submarine cable.

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Very quickly, a series of new materials with a variety of properties followed.

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This parallel design and production process development

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has become a most important contribution to the growth of the system.

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Without the science, there could be no practice, and without production, the theory was useless.

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As the Laboratories developed the materials design,

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Hawthorne developed the manufacturing process and made it commercially feasible.

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This meant constant interfacing and tighter control,

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so as to ensure the integrity of the design, and the interaction led to more and better ferrous products.

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Following the development of the magnetic alloys,

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Hawthorne started experimental production on non-ferrous materials in 1926,

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using scrap produced in the manufacture of apparatus and wire,

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and excess capacity on equipment used for manufacture of ferrous alloys.

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Operation of a small semi-commercial plant for several years provided manufacturing experience.

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In 1931, Hawthorne built the 26th Street Plant Edition.

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During the 30s, Bell Labs developed vanadium permandur.

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Increasing demand for this and other ferrous alloys forced Hawthorne to buy non-ferrous alloys outside.

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In anticipation of being drawn into World War II,

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Hawthorne organized the metals mill by integrating ferrous and non-ferrous manufacturing at the 26th Street Plant,

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expanding it and installing more equipment to increase capacity.

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This equipment allowed production of new products and thinner strip with special thickness tolerances.

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During the war, in addition to the usual alloys for telephone apparatus,

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the mill produced 10 million pounds of gilding metal for shell casings.

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Over the years, needs in production increased.

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During 1956 to 1961, 26th Street was expanded.

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Capacity was raised to its present level of 6 million pounds of ferrous and 18 million pounds of non-ferrous alloys per year.

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In the early 1970s, Bell Laboratories invented new copper-based spinodal alloys,

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which withstand the higher operating temperatures and stresses encountered in miniaturized electronic components.

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At the same time, the labs developed a major new ferrous alloy, chromandur,

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a superior magnetic material able to compete with alnico in telephones.

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These sophisticated alloys needed absolute quality control

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to guarantee consistent production of the specific properties designed into them by Bell Laboratories.

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In 1976, corporate review of the metals mill confirmed Hawthorne's determination

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to revolutionize ferrous and non-ferrous casting operations so that the new alloys could be manufactured.

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Engineering plans were drawn in 1977 for modernization of the mill.

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The objective, precise control of composition and processing of these alloys

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and increased use of thermo-mechanical methodology along with the need to conserve materials and energy.

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1978, the year for building included additions to the mill,

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modification of rolling and handling equipment and new front-end equipment,

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a vacuum melting furnace for ferrous alloys and twin slab continuous casting for non-ferrous alloys.

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Installations are continuing and trial runs have begun.

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The partnership begun over 50 years ago to design, develop, explore, and produce on a commercial basis

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new and imaginative products for the Bell system has come full cycle to full bloom.

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The seeds of invention and the fruits of production are the harvest of this collaboration.

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The metals mill of the Hawthorne works has grown in a number of ways.

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Its many human skills have been acquired from experience, from meeting challenge and change.

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These skills ensure the quality and the integrity of the final product.

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The high quality alloys that are produced commercially to fulfill the designs of Bell laboratories.

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But commercial production also requires equipment, machines and tools,

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a high technology laboratory for testing and quality control,

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and a constant awareness of the need to perfect the manufacturing process to match the design.

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Western Electric uses about six million pounds of ferrous alloys annually for magnets,

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magnetic shields, audio transformers, core rings and relay parts.

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The arc furnace melts a variety of ferrous alloys up to seven tons two times a shift.

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It creates permaloy and remaloy, magnetic alloys made of virgin and recycled materials.

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Ingot sizes are from 200 to 900 pounds.

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Two of the products made at Hawthorne from strip rolled from these ingots

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are the remaloy magnet and permaloy shield for this 280 relay.

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This type of production needs constant checks and re-checks,

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and the inspection laboratory is centered in the mill.

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In less than five minutes, the melter knows the composition of each melt from analyses

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made on the computerized Siemens X-ray spectrometer,

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which prints out a list of any necessary corrective additions.

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Also in the laboratory is a specially developed Instron tensile tester,

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microprocessor controlled to measure 0.01% offset yield strength

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and other mechanical properties of non-ferrous alloys.

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The nitrogen-oxygen determinator analyzes a chromandor sample from the vacuum furnace in two minutes.

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The carbon-sulfur determinator serves the arc and vacuum furnaces,

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analyzing ferrous alloys in less than three minutes.

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A computerized hysteresograph system developed by mill engineers

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automatically plots and prints out all data resulting from hysteresis tests on magnetic materials.

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A variety of other modern equipment is used in the laboratory

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for testing material properties and heat treating alloys.

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The rotary hearth furnace heats 500 to 900 pound ingots to rolling temperature.

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A

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temperature trimmed at the end of a run-out table.

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Current material made this way includes permaloy,

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used in the U3 telephone receiver for the circular pole piece.

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Vanadium permandor is used for the armature ring on the diaphragm,

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and remoloy is used in the cup-shaped magnet.

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These last two alloys, plus molybrittle permaloy,

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are made from strip rolled in the merchant mill from 200 pound ingots.

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This traditional process, passing from hand to hand,

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rolls the ingot to its required thickness.

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The molybrittle is quenched and fragmented directly from red heat,

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later ground and pressed into core rings for loading coils.

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Western Electric Company uses about 18 million pounds of non-ferrous alloys per year.

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Strip materials are used to make small piece parts on punch presses,

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producing flat springs for push buttons, relays, terminals, connectors, switch parts,

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and other current carrying parts.

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Ajax induction furnaces melt up to 1,100 pounds of copper alloys per hour.

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Typical of many piece parts manufactured from these alloys are these brass cord tips,

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produced by the Indianapolis Works.

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The two high 24-inch rolling mill breaks down as cast,

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two-inch bars in two stages to one-half inch thick slabs,

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which are later rolled to thinner strips.

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Other brass parts made by the millions at Indianapolis are these terminals.

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A slab milling line removes surface scale and cracks from 30-foot rolled slabs.

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Resulting chips are recycled into another melt.

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The recycling process is constant in the metals mill, serving to keep materials costs down.

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The mill has first call on all scrap in the system,

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and scrap makes up about 60 percent of all metals cast.

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Baltimore Works uses over seven-and-a-half million pounds of brass and phosphor bronze strip a year.

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These 66-type connecting block terminals and 700 connectors are phosphor bronze.

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The 11B1A protector unit uses solder-coated brass.

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To make 2,000 pounds master coils, a coil butt welder joins four 500-pound coils into one link.

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This operation will not be needed with the new continuous cast process for non-ferrous alloys.

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The strip annealing furnace continuously processes strips up to 13-and-a-half inches wide.

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It uses a controlled atmosphere of hydrogen and nitrogen to protect the strip from oxidation.

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Pickling and metal wash lines clean copper strips after annealing at speeds of up to 70 feet per minute.

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A typical product use of wide strip is this very thin, scratch-free phosphor bronze

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used to make 2B memory finger springs at Hawthorne.

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A variety of rolling equipment is used in the mill to reduce bars and strips to final dimensions.

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The 13-inch bliss mill is designed to reduce ferrous and non-ferrous 1-1⁄2-inch bar and coil to 1⁄8-inch

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with coiling operation on the first and all other passes.

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Mill speed is 150 to 300 feet per minute.

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Intermediate rolling from an eighth of an inch to about 50 thousandths is done on the

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Pittsburgh mill.

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The operator has precise controls for mill functions.

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Finish rolling from about 50 thousandths to one or two thousandths is done on a

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Senzimir mill. The Senzimir mill is the ultimate in cold finishing. It can roll

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14 inch wide non-ferrous strip from 65 thousandths down to two thousandths at

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speeds up to 600 feet per minute. X-ray thickness gauges monitor entrance and exit strip thickness

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and a computer prints out a record of thickness throughout the length of the strip.

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Tin and solder coatings are applied to one or both edges or to the full width of strips.

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Parts made from such strips are easier to solder in later assembly or installation.

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Springs are punched from this double-edged coated brass strip for these parts for a Hawthorne U-type

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relay. One of a few machines in the United States, the McCay tension leveler improved

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strip straightness and flatness. Fletcher over small diameter rolls is followed by elongation

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of the strip up to one and a half percent. The final flatness is carefully tested.

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Slitting coils into convenient widths for piece part manufacture shows the finish and

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care which these materials are finally brought to in the search for quality and exactness.

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In the shipping area, various operations are performed. Sorting is a check on process operations.

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Inspection assures compliance with engineering requirements.

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Packing prepares the finished coils for shipment. A wide variety of coil sizes is handled in the

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As a result of a corporate decision to revolutionize casting operations in the

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metals mill to produce the new alloys developed by Bell Laboratories, a vacuum melting furnace

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has been installed. It is used for melting and casting chromandor, the superior magnetic alloy

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and other ferrous alloys. This concert furnace has a 16 foot diameter chamber with a swing

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away dome. The chamber is evacuated by five roughing pumps backing up five blowers. Vacuums

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of less than 100 microns are easily attainable. The furnace itself is at the center of the chamber.

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It has a capacity of over seven and a half tons. Charge buckets are introduced into the chamber

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without breaking back. Casting is done by tilting the furnace and pouring in vacuum into a ton dish,

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then into ingot molds. Finally, there are the copper based spinodal alloys, a family of copper

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nickel tin alloys with high mechanical properties designed by Bell Laboratories to meet the needs

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of Western electric product engineers. Columbus Works is using the four percent nickel, four

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percent tin spinodal alloys in their second generation low profile relay. Engineers at

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Baltimore Works are trying the seven and a half, four and a half alloy to cure a problem they have

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with coining in their 78C connecting block terminals. The best example of the super properties of spinodal

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alloys is the 711 connector made at Omaha Works. The 15-8 alloy is the only one they found that can

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provide the high strength and resilience they need in the critical design of the contact element,

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which is the heart of the connector. Spinodal alloys will soon be made by the metals mill with a

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horizontal continuous casting process. This produces homogenous material that results in

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high quality products that do not split, delaminate, or fail due to tin segregation.

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Two double strand casting lines cast spinodal and other copper base alloys into thin strips

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14 inches wide by a half inch thick. Each line can cast approximately nine million pounds per

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year. Three inductotherm melt furnaces supply the two metatherm casting furnaces with approximately

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two thousand pounds of molten metal at each transfer. A programmable drive system pulls

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the strips from the casting furnace. The upcoiler forms each strip into two thousand pound coils.

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Bridge cranes remove the finished coils. An offline milling machine uncoils the strip,

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scouts the top and bottom strip surfaces, and then recoils it.

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The Bell telephone system has benefited greatly by the long association and

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achievements of the Bell Laboratories and the Hawthorne Works. The pride with which the

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metals mill has helped to cement and fulfill this association is now obvious. We are proud of this record.