Assembly line
Caution: Moving parts
About the assembly line
The assembly line was invented in the 1910's by Henry Ford during the Industrial Revolution. The assembly line allowed Ford to cut the price of the Model T from $825 to $575, about a $5000 deduction today. The lower price allowed more people to buy cars. An assembly line worker could buy a Model T in 4 months pay.
Ford got the idea for the assembly line when he visited a slaughterhouse. He referred to it as a "disassembly" line. He loved the way every worker removed the same part and saw how it was more efficient.
How it works
The assembly line is a more efficient way to make products. In an assembly line, every worker masters the skill to make one part. The products move down the line, with each worker adding their part. Before, one worker would make every piece by hand. The products were never exactly alike. The assembly line really highlighted the invention of interchangeable parts. This was a faster way to make products which made it more affordable to people which raised the living standards. It also allowed unskilled workers to perform one simple task. It helped the economy by creating a lot of new jobs.
Model T Ford assembly line 1924 (scroll down, on the right.) Play until one min.
Evolution of the assembly line
When Henry Ford invented the assembly line, he wanted a faster way to make cars. He changed the way that people used conveyor belts. He used them to move parts around to other parts of the factory. His new method allowed him to make a new car every 93 minutes! This allowed him to cut the price to make it more affordable.
Soon just about every manufacturing company was using the assembly line in some way. The assembly line was a major invention during the Industrial Revolution.
Today companies still use an assembly line. However, today many assembly lines use robots instead of people.
Bibliography
"Assembly Line." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"World Book Online Reference Center | Online Reference Book| Online Encyclopedia." World Book. World Book, 2016. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.