Post on 12-Apr-2017
The American Inventions That Revolutionized
Manufacturing
• Invented by Eli Whitney
• Patented in 1794
• Removed the seeds from cotton fiber, dramatically reducing the time it took to produce cotton
• Other inventors and plantation owners produced their own gins, so Whitney turned his attention to other innovations
Cotton Gin
• Concept introduced by Eli Whitney in 1798
• Whitney needed to fulfill an order of 10,000 muskets for the U.S. army
• Rather than making the guns from scratch, Whitney came up with the idea of standardized, interchangeable parts
• Workers could produce high volume at lower costs and in a much more timely manner
• Ability to swap out parts made repairs much more efficient
Interchangeable Parts
• Patented by Alexander Graham Bell on February 14, 1876
• Bell was working on a device to help the hearing impaired
• Many other inventors were working on similar devices
• Elisa Gray filed a patent just two hours after Bell
• Allowed shops to take orders over the phone (instead of by mail), which led to a boon for efficiency, productivity and, ultimately, profitability
The Telephone
• Introduced 1908-1913 by Henry Ford
• Created to keep up with demand for the Model T car
• Used conveyor belts to move parts down the line with 140 workers completing one simple task at a time
• Car production time dropped from 12 hours to less than 3 hours and car prices reduced by $300
• Significantly altered American manufacturing and gave rise to the modern automotive industry
The Moving Assembly Line
• Thomas Edison’s most well-known invention
• Made use of a carbonized cotton thread filament
• Edison’s company worked towards perfecting the electrical light bulb and providing electricity in American homes
• Enabled manufacturers to work longer days and even into the night, which increased production capacity exponentially
Electric Light Bulb
• In the 1950s, computer scientist Patrick Hanratty developed the first commercial CNC programming system called PRONTO
• By 1963, a PhD candidate from MIT named Ivan Sutherland created Sketchpad, which is considered one of the first computer aided design (CAD) programs
• CAD set the foundation for modern engineering designs and continues to influence how engineers mock-up their products
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• In 1959, American inventor George Devol introduced the first industrial robot – the Unimate
• The Unimate was originally intended to perform work that was dangerous for humans
• The first Unimate prototype was placed on a GM assembly line in Trenton, New Jersey
• A new, advanced Unimate became the first mass-produced robotic arm for factory automation
• Today, automation and robotics are prevalent in manufacturing facilities throughout the country
Industrial Robots
• In 1986, American engineer Charles Hull patented the very first 3D printer, the stereolithography (SLA)
• 3D printing has evolved, and it has helped transform the manufacturing industry along with it
• As 3D technologies become more affordable and accessible, it will very likely lead to more American innovations
3D Printing