Birth of Mechanical Engineering and a Glimpse …
19
Fig. 21 The Rocket
and Robert Stephenson (father and son) won the contest in the Rain Hill in 1829 as
Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ engine gave the best performance. They got the contract for
the first railway. Figure 21 shows their engine–Rocket.
The above account shows that ‘Mechanical Engineering’, as a branch of engineering consisting of its basic foundational subjects evolved along with the evolution of the first prime mover and the period was about a century. Thus, using the
term ‘birth’ in connection with ‘Mechanical Engineering’ is justified. The railway,
steamships, and the new production industry and mills grew at a fast rate because
of the demand of extensive colonization of a major part of the world by England.
Once the IR started, the demand for machines, engines, etc. increased manifold
demanding faster rate of production and easy repair. Henry Maudslay was the first
to bring the era of precision engineering. He developed the first micrometer and
accurate screw-cutting lathes so that interchangeable nuts, bolts, and parts could be
produced. Whitworth further perfected these principles. Repair and production both
became easy and economical. Eli Whitney, around the same time, came with the
idea of mass production, and the cost of machines, engines, etc. become affordable
making them popular with a great demand. George Stevenson’s development for the
rail transport brought revolution in many areas of administration and economy.
Proliferation of engines, machines, mills, etc. made it necessary for the practicing
engineers to specialize in particular fields. Those who specialized in ‘dynamic’ problems such as power generation, machinery, manufacturing, and engines were called
‘MECHANICAL ENGINEERS’, while those concerned themselves with ‘static’
problems, such as land measurement, dams, bridges, buildings were still called
‘CIVIL ENGINEERS’.
19
Fig. 21 The Rocket
and Robert Stephenson (father and son) won the contest in the Rain Hill in 1829 as
Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ engine gave the best performance. They got the contract for
the first railway. Figure 21 shows their engine–Rocket.
The above account shows that ‘Mechanical Engineering’, as a branch of engineering consisting of its basic foundational subjects evolved along with the evolution of the first prime mover and the period was about a century. Thus, using the
term ‘birth’ in connection with ‘Mechanical Engineering’ is justified. The railway,
steamships, and the new production industry and mills grew at a fast rate because
of the demand of extensive colonization of a major part of the world by England.
Once the IR started, the demand for machines, engines, etc. increased manifold
demanding faster rate of production and easy repair. Henry Maudslay was the first
to bring the era of precision engineering. He developed the first micrometer and
accurate screw-cutting lathes so that interchangeable nuts, bolts, and parts could be
produced. Whitworth further perfected these principles. Repair and production both
became easy and economical. Eli Whitney, around the same time, came with the
idea of mass production, and the cost of machines, engines, etc. become affordable
making them popular with a great demand. George Stevenson’s development for the
rail transport brought revolution in many areas of administration and economy.
Proliferation of engines, machines, mills, etc. made it necessary for the practicing
engineers to specialize in particular fields. Those who specialized in ‘dynamic’ problems such as power generation, machinery, manufacturing, and engines were called
‘MECHANICAL ENGINEERS’, while those concerned themselves with ‘static’
problems, such as land measurement, dams, bridges, buildings were still called
‘CIVIL ENGINEERS’.