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).
Letter from Westinghouse discussing the manufacturing challenges and development costs of Bakelite commutators.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 39\3\ Scan190 | |
| Date | 31th July 1922 | |
| X3573 C O P Y. Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, Automotive Equipment Department, 82, Worthington Street, Springfield, Mass. July 31, 1922. Rolls-Royce Company of America, Inc. X 2494 Springfield, Mass. Attention: Mr. Olley, Chief Engineer. Dear Mr. Olley, Referring to your telephone conversation some time since, regarding Bakelite commutators, the writer has had this matter up with our Pittsburgh engineers. There is not very much in the way of definite information that can be put in the form of a letter. We all get our material from the same source. The results we have obtained on this type of commutator is due more to the gradual acquirement of experience and skill than to any particular thing. The chief thing to watch out for is the proper curing of the material, and in our experience the details of doing this had to be worked out individually by the manufacturer. We have found the development of these commutators has taken quite a long time and considerable expense which would not have been warranted had not our quantity been very large. It is barely possible that the quantities your English Company would use would not warrant the amount of development necessary. The process of moulding the commutator results in a lower production cost but no better product from a performance standpoint. If there are any specific questions which your English Company would like to ask, I will endeavour to get all possible information. Yours very truly, AUTOMOTIVE EQUIPMENT DEPARTMENT. BY (signed) W. A.{Mr Adams} Dick. Engineer. WAD/LPC. | ||