The History of the Assembly Line

Materials

Power

Transportation

Machine Tools

Machines

In 1820, Thomas Blanchard invented a special lathe to cut wooden stocks for rifles.   The stocks were then fitted to interchangeable metal parts to produce rifles in large quantities at much lower costs. ^{Carruth 163}   This method of production was watched by other manufacturers and spread slowly to become a low-cost way to produce other goods, thus making them more affordable to more people.

Division of Machine & Labor Operations

Interchangeable PartsIn the U.S., interchangeable parts were first used in mass production of rifles by Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin.   In 1798, he obtained a contract from the Federal government to produce 10,000 muskets with interchangeable parts.   He used a combination of machinery he personally designed plus hand filing to fit precision gauges, since machinery was not precise enough at the time to produce parts that would be interchangeable.   His techniques were applied to mass-produce many other products in almost every industry, thereby increasing productivity and reducing costs greatly throughout the economy.

Measurement Standards and Accuracy

Assembly Lines