Thejfollowingpaper is being reprinted in memory of ike late Tom Vaughan, Tom originally presented it at the 1984IVE Technical Seminar Neport,Sauth Wafes

摘要

The story of the transformation in enamelling techniques which took place at Hoover Limited, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, during a two year period is worthy of mention in any history of enamelling. Initially, a standard system of automated dipping in detergent resisting enamel over a well pickled and nickelled enamelling grade steel was started in 1958. The only unusual part of the system was a grease burning operation in place of the more normal hot alkali cleaning solution. The flanges of the door opening of the washing machine tub were brushed after dipping and sprayed and reinforced to ensure uniform coating with no drain lines. At this stage, earthing points and brackets were brushed off prior to fusing. Alternative finishes such as plastic and paint were being considered from a cost angle and a study was made to find ways of reducing costs to ensure the continued use of enamel. This represented quite a challenge when factors of design, heavy brackets, etc., were not exactly conductive to good enamelling. Hoover had abandoned welding of the wrapper to the front long ago due to cost consideration. By using a lock seaming technique, the edges of the two parts were folded over twice, thus creating a deep seam of four metal layers. In so doing, penetration of enamel into the crevice thus created was essential to prevent leakage of water in use. Added to this, heavy brackets for motor assemblies, and counter-balance weights, are welded on to the body, so that the enamel used must not only have good detergent resistance but also possess the flow and bonding characteristics to cope with varying metal thicknesses.