smashing machine
A vertical press that is used to apply enormous
pressure to material. Smashers are often provided
with automatic conveyer belts, the books being
piled at one end of the press on the belt in equal
numbers in several piles and automatically
conveyed under the smasher head. There the books
are smashed either once or twice, as required, and
then moved out of the press by the same conveyer,
from which they are removed manually. The smasher
remains for a preset time in its compressed
position (DWELL
TIME ). It has no clamp to prevent the
slippage of sections and can therefore be used to
smash only those books that have so little swell
in the spine that they will notRUN IN , otherwise
they must first be nipped. See: NIPPING PRESS . At
times it is possible to smash books with
considerable swell by feeding them in pairs of two
with the spines alternating and the fore edges
projecting beyond the spines. See also: BUNDLING PRESS . (320 , 339 )
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