In 1819, Thomas Blanchard built a copying lathe at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts that could mechanically carve irregular shapes, such as wooden gunstocks, making it an early precursor to the modern CNC machine. This invention underpinned the American system of manufacturing, in which standardized, interchangeable parts (originally for guns) were made by different manufacturers and then assembled together, rather than each item being custom-built as a whole.
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The hosts describe this modular, standardized-parts approach as the foundation that later enabled Henry Ford's assembly line and the broader industrial revolution in America.
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7:081819, the copying of l and the American system of manufacturing, which we have since given up, but an important foundation. >> Yes, it is an important foundation. This was a revolutionary coping lathe built by Thomas Blanchard at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. And what it could do is basically mechanically carve irregular shapes like wooden guntocks and things like that. It's like the precursor to the CNC machine. If you've seen those things that like drill holes and create these custom metal parts, this is sort of the first thing. The American system of manufacturing was one that was that introduced this idea of modular manufacturing. Like I I can it
7:49was it was actually made for guns. Surprise, surprise. Um shocking, right? But the idea was I can make a gun where the barrel is made by someone else, the holster is made by someone else, the cartridge or whatever you call it. I'm not a gun guy, but you know what I mean. Like the parts are made by different manufacturers, but because there's a standardized procedure, I can then put it together. This is what enabled the industrial revolution here in America and the subsequent work by Henry Ford to create the assembly line and things like that which were which is also on the list later on. Uh another invention and technology 1831 the invention of the mechanical reaper.