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Today, technology has come a long way from the machines of old.
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World War I later prompted advancements in technology that could later be translated to automation, and industrial machinery has developed exponentially ever since. Steam power began to give way to electronic machines in the early 1900s. Machines such as mills, cranes, and locomotives could all be powered with steam engines, giving manufacturers access to new methods of production that allowed certain aspects of their business to run themselves. Steam engines allowed the beginnings of industrial automation to take effect. This cut costs for business owners, as they didn’t have to worry about labor costs. As factories became more prominent, business owners realized that they could have machines perform many of the same tasks as workers without many of the safety risks that the workers sometimes faced. The Industrial Revolution saw the rise of automation in industry. This would soon give way to steam engine technology during the Industrial Revolution. There is recorded evidence of water-powered machinery dating back as early as 2,000 years ago, when the ancient Greeks used this technology to grind wheat into flour. Some of the earliest machines, such as turbines, were powered by water. This machine used clockwork and gears to predict astrological events. A notable example is the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient Greek creation dating back to 100-150 BC that is said to be the first analog computer. While this might be where the term originated, machines have been used throughout human history.Įxamples of primitive machines can be found in cultures from all around the world. It was derived from the word “ automaton,” which is a term that refers to a self-operating machine. The term “automation” gained popularity beginning in 1947, when Ford created an automation department to help assemble automobiles. Please contact our Holland office today if you would like more information regarding industrial automation and custom machines. To stay competitive, companies from many different industries have added automated machines to their product creation process.īut what did industry look like before modern technology? In order to understand where we’re going, our custom automation manufacturers think it’s important to know where we started. In the world of manufacturing, automation is a common way to get things done in a safe, efficient way.