Most of the machines that were familiar to people for hundreds of years before the industrial revolution, such as looms, mills, and farm tools for plowing, were made of wood. It was only during the production of weapons and munitions that people accumulated experience in metal processing in workshops. Here, machining work goes beyond the scope of manual benchwork. In these still scattered workshops, people developed improved tools and simple work machines according to production requirements, and were able to process castings, forged rods and handles. The oldest and most important machine for metalworking is a long, simple lathe. This lathe is modeled after a woodworking lathe and was made in England in the 17th century.
Since demand was still small, people were forced to engage in backbreaking manual labor to produce single products. For a long time after that, only small batches of series products were produced. Due to the invention of mechanical spinning machines and steam engines, the demand for machines increased rapidly in the last two decades of the 18th century. Industry produces not only for needs but for itself. Therefore, in the British Midlands, with coal and iron works, coking and rolling mills as the basis, factories appeared everywhere to provide standard machinery to industry.
The first textile machinery factories were attached to some other factories. After obtaining Arkwright's patent, they independently manufactured this worsted spinning machine and could repair it. Some textile companies soon gave up their business entirely and only engaged in foundry and machine manufacturing. In this way, first in Britain and later in other countries, the first textile machinery factories appeared one after another. In the development of the machine industry, cotton dominated everything. The machine-building industry was well positioned to serve mass production, as it built steam engines and produced machines and equipment for countless other industries. When the variety of the machine itself increases and can be put into large-scale production and use, its benefits will increase exponentially.
In 1775, John Wilkinson built the first cylinder boring machine for the first steam engine, thus starting a series of inventions and developments in the machine manufacturing industry. After that, the machine manufacturing industry developed faster and faster. At this time, the machine parts that had always been made of wood were now replaced with cast iron.
In 1787, machine and axle plain bearings were patented. Ten years later, Henry Maudsley (1771-1831) made an exemplary contribution with his screw lathe. This type of lathe is equipped with fixed guide rails and the cutting tool is equipped with a mechanical transmission device to process the clamped workpiece. This product, called the "British lathe", has been used in many countries after the Napoleonic Wars, and its basic principle is the same as today's lathe structure. The advent of this new type of lathe made it possible to produce identical machine parts in any quantity and shape. Maudsley was a pioneer in the machinery industry and an accomplished factory owner who developed the techniques of milling and tapping gears.
His early collaborator Joseph Whitworth (1803 ~ 1887) invented a three-plate tooth frame for turning screws in 1831. A few years later this die frame developed into a screw lathe. This is an indispensable prerequisite for further progress in industry. His factory was also the first to produce hollow castings. James Nesmith (1808-1890) manufactured a steam hammer in 1830, which was the first in manufacturing technology. His rapid planer found rapid application in the machine and woodworking industries.
In factories, the division of manual labor is becoming more and more detailed, and heavy manual labor has been replaced by machinery. With the application of machines, new industries are constantly emerging. Using mechanical production methods, in addition to producing production materials, it also gradually produced consumer goods. This process continues to this day.