Fabricated Cannon Revived and Then Abandoned in the Antebellum United States

Abstract

Fabricated wrought-iron cannons made in 1844 demonstrated the superiority of welding with a hydraulic press instead of forge hammers. Daniel Treadwell in an early example of additive manufacturing welded multiple discs together to make cannon that then required only finishing on a lathe and attaching trunnions. His cannon sustained proof testing what would have quickly destroyed equivalent cast-iron guns. When that same year a large wrought-iron cannon built up from staves and rings by hammer welding exploded during a public demonstration the subsequent investigation by ordnance officers and a committee of the Franklin Institute chose to overlook incomplete welds and blame the failure on deficient iron used to make the gun. Their conclusion shifted blame from those involved to a distant ironmaker. Development of fabricated cannon and continuous pressure welding then passed to England.