The History of machine-building
The machine industry or machinery industry is a subsector of the industry that produces and maintains machines for consumers, the industry, and most other companies in the economy.
This machine industry traditionally belongs to the heavy industry. Nowadays, many small companies in this branch are considered as a part of the light industry. Most manufacturers in the machinery industry are called machine factories.
The machine industry is a subsector of the industry that produces a range of products from power tools, different types of machines, and domestic technology to factory equipment, etc. On the one hand the machine industry provides:
· the means of production for businesses in the agriculture, mining, industry and construction;
· the means of production for public utility, such as equipment for the production and distribution of gas, electricity and water;
· a range of supporting equipment for all sectors of the economy, such as equipment for heating, ventilation and air conditioning of buildings.
These means of production are called capital goods, because a certain amount of capital is invested. Much of those production machines require maintenance which provides by supplied specialized companies in the machine industry.
On the other hand, the machinery industry supplies consumer goods including kitchen appliances, refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc. The machinery industry is a major customer of the steel industry.
The production of the machinery industry varies widely from single-unit production and series production to mass production.
The machinery industry came into existence during the Industrial Revolution. Companies in this emerging field grew out from iron foundries, shipyards, forges and repair shops. Very often companies were a combination of a machine factory and a shipyard. Early in the 20th century several motorcycle and automobile manufacturers began to build their own machine factories.
Prior to the industrial revolution a variety of machines existed. They were clocks, weapons and running gear for mills. The production of those machines was on a small scale in artisan workshops mostly for the local or regional market. With the advent of the industrial revolution the production of composite tools with more complex construction began. Such tools were steam engines and steam generators. In addition, the emerging machine factories started making machines for production of textile machinery, compressors, agricultural machinery, and engines for ships.
During the first decades of the industrial revolution in England, from 1750, there was a concentration of labor in non-mechanized factories. Many new machines were invented and made by the inventors themselves. Early in the 18th century the first steam engine, the Newcomen engine, came into use throughout Britain and Europe to pump water out of mines.
In the 1770s James Watt significantly improved this design. He introduced an easy employable steam engine to supply factories with a large amount of energy. In England certain cities concentrated on making specific products, such as specific types of textiles or pottery. Around these cities a specialized machinery industry arose to enable the mechanization of the plants.
The Industrial Revolution received a further boost with the construction of railways in the 19th century. It was an innovation in the mining industry. The work in coal mines was hard and dangerous, and so there was a great need for tools to ease this work. In 1804, Richard Trevithick placed the first steam engine on rails, and it was in 1825 that the Stockton and Darlington Railway were opened to transport coal from the mine to the port. In 1835 the first train drove in continental Europe between Mechelen and Brussels. For the machinery industry this brought all sorts of new work with new machinery for metallurgy, machine tools for metalworking, production of steam engines for trains, etc.
The invention of new techniques based on electric motors, internal combustion engines and gas turbines brought a new generation of machines in the 20th century from cars to household appliances.
Shortage of labor in agriculture and industry at the beginning of the second half of the 20th century raised the need of further mechanization of production that required more specific machines. The invention of a computer made possible the further automation of production.