From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Costs and difficulties of producing moulds for a two-unit battery scheme, quoting supplier correspondence.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 168b\3\ img150 | |
| Date | 1st February 1928 | |
| X7535P -BY- from ROY.{Sir Henry Royce} c. to EFC. ROY{Sir Henry Royce}6/MG1S.2.28 BATTERIES ---------------- Before we commit ourselves to expenditure on Moulds for the two-unit Battery scheme, I suggest we let London know the actual position and get their approval or otherwise. The facts are: (a) The necessary Moulds from the Peto & Radford Company would cost about £250. 0. 0d, and I should say a similar figure would represent the Chloride Company's expenditure In the Chloride Company's case, however, they are prepared to proceed with production of such Moulds on our assurance that we shall be drawing such Batteries from them over a period of two years, i.e., assuming this two-unit Battery scheme is not standardised, or the design is materially modified, we should be faced with a debit from the Chloride Company of, probably £250, quite apart from the charges we should incur for Tools for special brackets for Battery Boxes, etc - probably another £150. 0. 0d (b) Peto & Radford write as follows: "Re special 6-volt Rolls Royce batteries. We have "completed the first three sets. We have no minus tolerance and "Rolls Royce allow us no plus tolerance with the result that we have "had extreme difficulty with the above sets and should therefore "be glad if we could be released from making the other twelve sets "on order. We have lost quite a lot of money on this job and "shall lose more. The brackets have to be specially made by hand, "the sides of the boxes are very thin and weak and they warp and "split at the slightest provocation, being in parts less than ¼" "thick, and the putting in of the screws very likely causes a box "to be scrapped (there are 144 screws in each box) the steel "angle pieces have to be hammered up to within very fine limits "and it is impossible to make the boxes commercially. If they "were machined metal it would be a different proposition. Only "very highly skilled tool makers from the machine shop have to "be put on to the job and this slows up the other urgent jobs as "sometimes it takes them two or three days to make a box and often "when the whole box is made it has then to be scrapped, and we "should not be surprised if each 6-volt box costs us £2." As far as they are concerned, I suggest we tell them it will be sufficient for our immediate purpose if they only complete the first 3 sets. ROY{Sir Henry Royce} | ||