Mechanization
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Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text, a machine is defined as follows:
A water-powered mine hoist used for raising ore. This woodblock is from De re metallica by George Bauer (pen name Georgius Agricola, ca. 1555) an early mining textbook that contains numerous drawings and descriptions of mining equipment.
The Salisbury Cathedral clock ca. 1386. A clock is a mechanical instrument rather than a true machine. Although this clock had iron gears, many machines of the early Industrial Revolution used wooden parts until around 1800.
CNT-FAI worker cooperative in Barcelona producing wood and steel products
Maquina vapor Watt ETSIIM
Machine
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A machine is a thermodynamic system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or mo
Mechanization
…the other. In every fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools. In modern usage, such as in engineering or economics, mechanization implies machinery more complex than hand tools and would not include simple devices such as an ungeared horse or donkey mill. Devices that cause speed changes or changes…
A woman operating a milling machine at Watertown Arsenal in the early 20th century
A flint hand axe was found in Winchester.
This ore crushing machine is powered by a water wheel.
The Kinematics of Machinery (1876) has an illustration of a four-bar linkage.