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Building Diesel Marine Engines Accuracy Is Assured by the Use of Jigs and Special Tools -- Cylin- drical Grinding Is Em- ployed Extensively to Expedite the Production ARINE engine building is a branch of the machinists' trade -calling for: a high ao gree of skill that is developed only through many years of practical ex- perience. Men employed in' engine building, taken as a class, show a gratifying interest in their work. They realize that if the parts of a marine engine are not properly con- structed disaster at sea may result, for if the engine fails to function properly when the ship is running through a heavy seaway, the life of every man aboard is at stake. This is true especially of l-engine vessels. Executives of the Busch-Sulzer Bros ---Diesel Engine Co., St. Louis, realizing these facts, many years ago began to build an efficient shop organization 30 that defects in workmanship would be- come almost unknown. Rigid inspec- tion of every part takes place both dur- ing and after machining operations, in order to make the finished product as near perfect as possible. The main machine shop is modern in all respects. It is. provided with ample natural lighting facilities, which eliminate practically the :neces- sity of artificial lighting, ex- cept during the winter months. The machine tool equipment ts up to date and so arranged that plenty of floor space is provided. Thus a large number of engines can be in process of construction at -one time. Heavy machining is done on_ the main floor, while lighter machining operations and the assembling of cotn- paratively light units is carried on in a large central gallery extending the entire length of the shop. The ob- ject of this article is to describe brief- ly several of the nore important or Seagoing Vessels-I] BY FRED B. JACOBS machining operations. The meth- ods followed on diesel: engine work, comipared with those in use in building steam engines, differ greatly in One respect. On diesel engine work, grinding wheels and grinding machin- ery ate relied on to insure accuracy and to expedite production. On _ reg- ular work on marine steam engines the use of abrasive wheels for finish- ing operations is almost unknown. Bed Plate Made The bed plate is made in sections, as this practice insures a complete unit free from excessive internal strains. The first machining operation on the bed plate is to rough plane the sev- eral sections. The ends that are to form the joints then are carefully roughed and finished. The necessary bolt holes next are drilled and reamed in Sections FIG, 1§--GEARS ARE CAREFULLY TESTED WITH MICROMETERS 221 Engines Are Given a. Thorough Running Test After Assembling to Make Sure That They Function Properly and Develop Rated Power the and sections fastened together. The assembled bed plate then is fin- ish planed on the bottom, after which the seats for the main bearing caps are carefully finished. Stud holes for the bearing caps next are drilled and tapped, the studs put in place and the bearing caps assembled. These have been previously planed to a good fit. liners are interposed between the caps and bed plate for the purpose of mak- ing adjustments as wear develops. The next operation is to bore out the seats for the main bearing shells. This is an exacting operation, for, if they do not align properly, the jour- nals are sure to heat: unduly. Fig. 33 shows the base' plate in place for bor- ing. For this work a massive hori- zontal boring mill is used. The bed iplate rests on a cast iron floor-plate provided with a number of T-slots to expedite strapping the work in place. As shown, the bed plate rests on par- allel blocks and is securely strapped in place by means of U-straps, hard wood blocking be- ing placed at the rear end of the strap. Four straps, two on a side, hold the bed down, while four shore jacks, two on each side, keep the set-_ ting accurately in line during the boring operation. In setting the bed plate in place, care is exercised to make sure it sets level with the floor plate. This is readily determined with a_ surface gage. The bed plate is aligned hcrizontally by tak-