Iron, copper, tin, nickel, zinc.
Magical words with a common ring.
Without them the world we know today would never be.
The basic forces of the universe are expressed through these metals.
Magnetic forces, sound waves, the movement and flow of electricity, and the projection of light through time and space.
If there was ever a true alchemy, it can be found in these simple metals.
The stone hatchet was an active creation, but the metal hatchet maintained its cutting edge.
Man was now free to invent new tools, machines to protect himself and build a better quality of life.
Discovery followed discovery and the age of metals began.
The machine age was built on these common metals, but it would never have been achieved without the alloy.
The world really changed when men learned to toughen soft copper by mixing it with tin.
This became the base for the first alloy, bronze.
It was man's greatest achievement, beyond his evolutionary thrust into an upright posture and intelligence, that he discovered the metals, understood their basic characteristics, and then combined them into new amalgams, choosing, selecting, formulating, blending, synthesizing, and fusing the atomic structures into materials with incredible new properties and strengths, almost as soon as he knew the meaning of each property of each base metal.
And this experimentation grew over thousands of years into a metallurgical science, a science without which there would be no alloys.
And without the alloys there would be no automobile, no printing press, no television, no airplane or space flight, and no telephone.
The age of the alloy is the foundation for the future.
The History of the Work and Growth of Hawthorne The history of the work and growth of Hawthorne parallels the history of Bell Laboratories.
This symbiotic relationship began in 1920, and the years since then have been filled with creative research, development of products, and commercial production of essential and critical materials for the Bell telephone system.
Among the first projects, Bell Laboratories developed certain magnetic ferrous alloys, and a year later Hawthorne began manufacturing these alloys to be used as ductile tape for submarine cable.
Very quickly, a series of new materials with a variety of properties followed.
This parallel design and production process development has become a most important contribution to the growth of the system.
Without the science, there could be no practice, and without production, the theory was useless.
As the Laboratories developed the materials design, Hawthorne developed the manufacturing process and made it commercially feasible.
This meant constant interfacing and tighter control, so as to ensure the integrity of the design, and the interaction led to more and better ferrous products.
Following the development of the magnetic alloys, Hawthorne started experimental production on non -ferrous materials in 1926, using scrap produced in the manufacture of apparatus and wire, and excess capacity on equipment used for manufacture of ferrous alloys.
Operation of a small semi -commercial plant for several years provided manufacturing experience.
In 1931, Hawthorne built the 26th Street Plant Edition.
During the 30s, Bell Labs developed vanadium permandur.
Increasing demand for this and other ferrous alloys forced Hawthorne to buy non -ferrous alloys outside.
In anticipation of being drawn into World War II, Hawthorne organized the metals mill by integrating ferrous and non -ferrous manufacturing at the 26th Street Plant, expanding it and installing more equipment to increase capacity.
This equipment allowed production of new products and thinner strip with special thickness tolerances.
During the war, in addition to the usual alloys for telephone apparatus, the mill produced 10 million pounds of gilding metal for shell casings.
Over the years, needs in production increased.
During 1956 to 1961, 26th Street was expanded.
Capacity was raised to its present level of 6 million pounds of ferrous and 18 million pounds of non -ferrous alloys per year.
In the early 1970s, Bell Laboratories invented new copper -based spinodal alloys, which withstand the higher operating temperatures and stresses encountered in miniaturized electronic components.
At the same time, the labs developed a major new ferrous alloy, chromandur, a superior magnetic material able to compete with alnico in telephones.
These sophisticated alloys needed absolute quality control to guarantee consistent production of the specific properties designed into them by Bell Laboratories.
In 1976, corporate review of the metals mill confirmed Hawthorne's determination to revolutionize ferrous and non -ferrous casting operations so that the new alloys could be manufactured.
Engineering plans were drawn in 1977 for modernization of the mill.
The objective, precise control of composition and processing of these alloys and increased use of thermo -mechanical methodology along with the need to conserve materials and energy.
1978, the year for building included additions to the mill, modification of rolling and handling equipment and new front -end equipment, a vacuum melting furnace for ferrous alloys and twin slab continuous casting for non -ferrous alloys.
Installations are continuing and trial runs have begun.
The partnership begun over 50 years ago to design, develop, explore, and produce on a commercial basis new and imaginative products for the Bell system has come full cycle to full bloom.
The seeds of invention and the fruits of production are the harvest of this collaboration.
The metals mill of the Hawthorne works has grown in a number of ways.
Its many human skills have been acquired from experience, from meeting challenge and change.
These skills ensure the quality and the integrity of the final product.
The high quality alloys that are produced commercially to fulfill the designs of Bell laboratories.
But commercial production also requires equipment, machines and tools, a high technology laboratory for testing and quality control, and a constant awareness of the need to perfect the manufacturing process to match the design.
Western Electric uses about six million pounds of ferrous alloys annually for magnets, magnetic shields, audio transformers, core rings and relay parts.
The arc furnace melts a variety of ferrous alloys up to seven tons two times a shift.
It creates permaloy and remaloy, magnetic alloys made of virgin and recycled materials.
Ingot sizes are from 200 to 900 pounds.
Two of the products made at Hawthorne from strip rolled from these ingots are the remaloy magnet and permaloy shield for this 280 relay.
This type of production needs constant checks and re -checks, and the inspection laboratory is centered in the mill.
In less than five minutes, the melter knows the composition of each melt from analyses made on the computerized Siemens X -ray spectrometer, which prints out a list of any necessary corrective additions.
Also in the laboratory is a specially developed Instron tensile tester, microprocessor controlled to measure 0 .01 % offset yield strength and other mechanical properties of non -ferrous alloys.
The nitrogen -oxygen determinator analyzes a chromandor sample from the vacuum furnace in two minutes.
The carbon -sulfur determinator serves the arc and vacuum furnaces, analyzing ferrous alloys in less than three minutes.
A computerized hysteresograph system developed by mill engineers automatically plots and prints out all data resulting from hysteresis tests on magnetic materials.
A variety of other modern equipment is used in the laboratory for testing material properties and heat treating alloys.
The rotary hearth furnace heats 500 to 900 pound ingots to rolling temperature.
A temperature trimmed at the end of a run -out table.
Current material made this way includes permaloy, used in the U3 telephone receiver for the circular pole piece.
Vanadium permandor is used for the armature ring on the diaphragm, and remoloy is used in the cup -shaped magnet.
These last two alloys, plus molybrittle permaloy, are made from strip rolled in the merchant mill from 200 pound ingots.
This traditional process, passing from hand to hand, rolls the ingot to its required thickness.
The molybrittle is quenched and fragmented directly from red heat, later ground and pressed into core rings for loading coils.
Western Electric Company uses about 18 million pounds of non -ferrous alloys per year.
Strip materials are used to make small piece parts on punch presses, producing flat springs for push buttons, relays, terminals, connectors, switch parts, and other current carrying parts.
Ajax induction furnaces melt up to 1 ,100 pounds of copper alloys per hour.
Typical of many piece parts manufactured from these alloys are these brass cord tips, produced by the Indianapolis Works.
The two high 24 -inch rolling mill breaks down as cast, two -inch bars in two stages to one -half inch thick slabs, which are later rolled to thinner strips.
Other brass parts made by the millions at Indianapolis are these terminals.
A slab milling line removes surface scale and cracks from 30 -foot rolled slabs.
Resulting chips are recycled into another melt.
The recycling process is constant in the metals mill, serving to keep materials costs down.
The mill has first call on all scrap in the system, and scrap makes up about 60 percent of all metals cast.
Baltimore Works uses over seven -and -a -half million pounds of brass and phosphor bronze strip a year.
These 66 -type connecting block terminals and 700 connectors are phosphor bronze.
The 11B1A protector unit uses solder -coated brass.
To make 2 ,000 pounds master coils, a coil butt welder joins four 500 -pound coils into one link.
This operation will not be needed with the new continuous cast process for non -ferrous alloys.
The strip annealing furnace continuously processes strips up to 13 -and -a -half inches wide.
It uses a controlled atmosphere of hydrogen and nitrogen to protect the strip from oxidation.
Pickling and metal wash lines clean copper strips after annealing at speeds of up to 70 feet per minute.
A typical product use of wide strip is this very thin, scratch -free phosphor bronze used to make 2B memory finger springs at Hawthorne.
A variety of rolling equipment is used in the mill to reduce bars and strips to final dimensions.
The 13 -inch bliss mill is designed to reduce ferrous and non -ferrous 1 -1⁄2 -inch bar and coil to 1⁄8 -inch with coiling operation on the first and all other passes.
Mill speed is 150 to 300 feet per minute.
Intermediate rolling from an eighth of an inch to about 50 thousandths is done on the Pittsburgh mill.
The operator has precise controls for mill functions.
Finish rolling from about 50 thousandths to one or two thousandths is done on a Senzimir mill.
The Senzimir mill is the ultimate in cold finishing.
It can roll 14 inch wide non -ferrous strip from 65 thousandths down to two thousandths at speeds up to 600 feet per minute.
X -ray thickness gauges monitor entrance and exit strip thickness and a computer prints out a record of thickness throughout the length of the strip.
Tin and solder coatings are applied to one or both edges or to the full width of strips.
Parts made from such strips are easier to solder in later assembly or installation.
Springs are punched from this double -edged coated brass strip for these parts for a Hawthorne U -type relay.
One of a few machines in the United States, the McCay tension leveler improved strip straightness and flatness.
Fletcher over small diameter rolls is followed by elongation of the strip up to one and a half percent.
The final flatness is carefully tested.
Slitting coils into convenient widths for piece part manufacture shows the finish and care which these materials are finally brought to in the search for quality and exactness.
In the shipping area, various operations are performed.
Sorting is a check on process operations.
Inspection assures compliance with engineering requirements.
Packing prepares the finished coils for shipment.
A wide variety of coil sizes is handled in the As a result of a corporate decision to revolutionize casting operations in the metals mill to produce the new alloys developed by Bell Laboratories, a vacuum melting furnace has been installed.
It is used for melting and casting chromandor, the superior magnetic alloy and other ferrous alloys.
This concert furnace has a 16 foot diameter chamber with a swing away dome.
The chamber is evacuated by five roughing pumps backing up five blowers.
Vacuums of less than 100 microns are easily attainable.
The furnace itself is at the center of the chamber.
It has a capacity of over seven and a half tons.
Charge buckets are introduced into the chamber without breaking back.
Casting is done by tilting the furnace and pouring in vacuum into a ton dish, then into ingot molds.
Finally, there are the copper based spinodal alloys, a family of copper nickel tin alloys with high mechanical properties designed by Bell Laboratories to meet the needs of Western electric product engineers.
Columbus Works is using the four percent nickel, four percent tin spinodal alloys in their second generation low profile relay.
Engineers at Baltimore Works are trying the seven and a half, four and a half alloy to cure a problem they have with coining in their 78C connecting block terminals.
The best example of the super properties of spinodal alloys is the 711 connector made at Omaha Works.
The 15 -8 alloy is the only one they found that can provide the high strength and resilience they need in the critical design of the contact element, which is the heart of the connector.
Spinodal alloys will soon be made by the metals mill with a horizontal continuous casting process.
This produces homogenous material that results in high quality products that do not split, delaminate, or fail due to tin segregation.
Two double strand casting lines cast spinodal and other copper base alloys into thin strips 14 inches wide by a half inch thick.
Each line can cast approximately nine million pounds per year.
Three inductotherm melt furnaces supply the two metatherm casting furnaces with approximately two thousand pounds of molten metal at each transfer.
A programmable drive system pulls the strips from the casting furnace.
The upcoiler forms each strip into two thousand pound coils.
Bridge cranes remove the finished coils.
An offline milling machine uncoils the strip, scouts the top and bottom strip surfaces, and then recoils it.
The Bell telephone system has benefited greatly by the long association and achievements of the Bell Laboratories and the Hawthorne Works.
The pride with which the metals mill has helped to cement and fulfill this association is now obvious.
We are proud of this record.
