# Machine tool > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Machine_tool > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Machine_tool.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_tool > Source revision: 1344757589 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials A [metal lathe](/source/Metal_lathe) is an example of a machine tool. A **machine tool** is a [machine](/source/Machine) for handling or [machining](/source/Machining) metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, [boring](/source/Boring_(manufacturing)), [grinding](/source/Grinding_(abrasive_cutting)), shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All machine tools have some means of constraining the [workpiece](/source/Workpiece) and provide a guided movement of the parts of the machine. Thus, the relative movement between the workpiece and the [cutting tool](/source/Cutting_tool) (which is called the **toolpath**) is controlled or constrained by the machine to at least some extent, rather than being entirely "offhand" or "[freehand](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/freehand#Adjective)". It is a power-driven metal cutting machine which assists in managing the needed relative motion between cutting tool and the job that changes the size and shape of the job material.[1] The precise definition of the term *machine tool* varies among users. While all machine tools are "machines that help people to make things", not all factory machines are machine tools. Today machine tools are typically powered other than by the human muscle (e.g., electrically, hydraulically, or via [line shaft](/source/Line_shaft)), used to make manufactured parts (components) in various ways that include cutting or certain other kinds of deformation. With their inherent precision, machine tools enabled the economical production of [interchangeable parts](/source/Interchangeable_parts). ## Nomenclature and key concepts, interrelated This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Many [historians of technology](/source/History_of_technology) consider that true machine tools were born when the toolpath first became guided by the machine itself in some way, at least to some extent, so that direct, [freehand](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/freehand#Adjective) human guidance of the toolpath (with hands, feet, or mouth) was no longer the only guidance used in the cutting or forming process. In this view of the definition, the term, arising at a time when all tools up till then had been [hand tools](/source/Hand_tool), simply provided a label for "tools that were machines instead of hand tools". Early [lathes](/source/Lathe), those prior to the late [medieval](/source/Medieval) period, and modern woodworking lathes and [potter's wheels](/source/Potter's_wheel) may or may not fall under this definition, depending on how one views the headstock [spindle](/source/Spindle_(tool)) itself; but the earliest historical records of a lathe with direct mechanical control *of the cutting tool's path* are of a screw-cutting lathe dating to about 1483.[2] This lathe "produced screw threads out of wood and employed a true compound slide rest".[2] In the 1930s, the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) referenced the definition of a machine tool as "any machine operating by other than hand power which employs a tool to work on metal".[3] The narrowest [colloquial](/source/Colloquial) sense of the term reserves it only for machines that perform metal cutting—in other words, the many kinds of conventional [machining](/source/Machining) and [grinding](/source/Grinding_(abrasive_cutting)). These processes are a type of deformation that produces [swarf](/source/Swarf). However, [economists](/source/Economist) use a slightly broader sense that also includes metal deformation of other types that squeeze the metal into shape without cutting off swarf, such as rolling, stamping with [dies](/source/Die_(manufacturing)), shearing, [swaging](/source/Swaging), [riveting](/source/Rivet), and others. Thus [presses](/source/Machine_press) are usually included in the economic definition of machine tools. For example, this is the breadth of definition used by [Max Holland](/source/Max_Holland) in his history of Burgmaster and [Houdaille](/source/Houdaille_Industries),[4][*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] which is also a history of the machine tool industry in general from the 1940s through the 1980s; he was reflecting the sense of the term used by Houdaille itself and other firms in the industry. Many reports on machine tool [export](/source/Export) and [import](/source/Import) and similar economic topics use this broader definition. The colloquial sense implying conventional metal cutting is also growing obsolete because of changing technology over the decades. The many more recently developed processes labeled "machining", such as [electrical discharge machining](/source/Electrical_discharge_machining), [electrochemical machining](/source/Electrochemical_machining), [electron beam machining](/source/Electron_beam_machining), [photochemical machining](/source/Photochemical_machining), and [ultrasonic machining](/source/Ultrasonic_machining), or even [plasma cutting](/source/Plasma_cutting) and [water jet cutting](/source/Water_jet_cutter), are often performed by machines that could most logically be called machine tools. In addition, some of the newly developed [additive manufacturing](/source/Additive_manufacturing) processes, which are not about cutting away material but rather about adding it, are done by machines that are likely to end up labeled, in some cases, as machine tools. In fact, [machine tool builders](/source/Machine_tool_builder) are already developing machines that include both [subtractive](/source/Subtractive_manufacturing) and [additive manufacturing](/source/Additive_manufacturing) in one work envelope,[5] and retrofits of existing machines are underway.[6] In modern precision engineering, the accuracy of machine tool components is often maintained through the use of a [Hirth joint](/source/Hirth_joint). This coupling is the industry standard for high-accuracy positioning in components such as [CNC rotary tables](/source/Rotary_table) and tool turrets. Its straight-tooth geometry provides maximum [static stiffness](/source/Stiffness) and positional [repeatability](/source/Repeatability), ensuring that the machine maintains micron-level alignment while resisting heavy cutting forces during the machining process.[7] ## History [Eli Whitney](/source/Eli_Whitney) milling machine, c. 1818 [Parker Manufacturing Company](/source/Parker_Manufacturing_Company) shear tool This section needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Forerunners of machine tools included [bow drills](/source/Bow_drill) and [potter's wheels](/source/Potter's_wheels), which had existed in [ancient Egypt](/source/Ancient_Egypt) prior to 2500 BC, and [lathes](/source/Lathe), known to have existed in multiple regions of Europe since at least 1000 to 500 BC.[8] But it was not until the later [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages) and the [Age of Enlightenment](/source/Age_of_Enlightenment) that the modern concept of a machine tool—a class of machines used as tools in the making of metal parts, and incorporating machine-guided toolpath—began to evolve. [Clockmakers](/source/Clockmaker) of the Middle Ages and [renaissance men](/source/Polymath) such as [Leonardo da Vinci](/source/Leonardo_da_Vinci) helped expand humans' technological milieu toward the preconditions for industrial machine tools. During the 18th and 19th centuries, and even in many cases in the 20th, the builders of machine tools tended to be the same people who would then use them to produce the end products (manufactured goods). However, from these roots also evolved an industry of machine tool builders as we define them today, meaning people who specialize in building machine tools for sale to others. Historians of machine tools often focus on a handful of major industries that most spurred machine tool development. In order of historical emergence, they have been [firearms](/source/Firearm) (small arms and [artillery](/source/Artillery)); [clocks](/source/Horology); textile machinery; steam engines ([stationary](/source/Stationary_steam_engine), [marine](/source/Marine_steam_engine), [rail](/source/Locomotive), and [otherwise](/source/History_of_steam_road_vehicles)) (the story of how [Watt](/source/James_Watt)'s need for an accurate cylinder spurred Boulton's boring machine is discussed by [Roe](/source/Joseph_Wickham_Roe)[9]); [sewing machines](/source/Sewing_machine); [bicycles](/source/Bicycle); [automobiles](/source/Automobile); and [aircraft](/source/Aircraft). Others could be included in this list as well, but they tend to be connected with the root causes already listed. For example, [rolling-element bearings](/source/Rolling-element_bearing) are an industry of themselves, but this industry's main drivers of development were the vehicles already listed—trains, bicycles, automobiles, and aircraft; and other industries, such as tractors, farm implements, and tanks, borrowed heavily from those same parent industries. Machine tools filled a need created by textile machinery during the [Industrial Revolution](/source/Industrial_Revolution) in England in the middle to late 1700s.[9] Until that time, machinery was made mostly from wood, often including gearing and shafts. The increase in [mechanization](/source/Mechanization) required more metal parts, which were usually made of [cast iron](/source/Cast_iron) or [wrought iron](/source/Wrought_iron). Cast iron could be cast in molds for larger parts, such as engine cylinders and gears, but was difficult to work with a file and could not be hammered. Red hot wrought iron could be hammered into shapes. Room temperature wrought iron was worked with a file and chisel and could be made into gears and other complex parts; however, hand working lacked precision and was a slow and expensive process. [James Watt](/source/James_Watt) was unable to have an accurately bored cylinder for his first steam engine, trying for several years until [John Wilkinson](/source/John_Wilkinson_(industrialist)) invented a suitable boring machine in 1774, boring Boulton & Watt's first commercial engine in 1776.[9][10] The advance in the accuracy of machine tools can be traced to [Henry Maudslay](/source/Henry_Maudslay) and refined by [Joseph Whitworth](/source/Joseph_Whitworth). That Maudslay had established the manufacture and use of master plane gages in his shop (Maudslay & Field) located on Westminster Road south of the Thames River in London about 1809, was attested to by James Nasmyth[11] who was employed by Maudslay in 1829 and Nasmyth documented their use in his autobiography. The process by which the master plane gages were produced dates back to antiquity but was refined to an unprecedented degree in the Maudslay shop. The process begins with three square plates each given an identification (ex., 1,2 and 3). The first step is to rub plates 1 and 2 together with a marking medium (called bluing today) revealing the high spots which would be removed by hand scraping with a steel scraper, until no irregularities were visible. This would not produce true plane surfaces but a "ball and socket" concave-concave and convex-convex fit, as this mechanical fit, like two perfect planes, can slide over each other and reveal no high spots. The rubbing and marking are repeated after rotating 2 relative to 1 by 90 degrees to eliminate concave-convex "potato-chip" curvature. Next, plate number 3 is compared and scraped to conform to plate number 1 in the same two trials. In this manner plates number 2 and 3 would be identical. Next plates number 2 and 3 would be checked against each other to determine what condition existed, either both plates were "balls" or "sockets" or "chips" or a combination. These would then be scraped until no high spots existed and then compared to plate number 1. Repeating this process of comparing and scraping the three plates could produce plane surfaces accurate to within millionths of an inch (the thickness of the marking medium). The traditional method of producing the surface gages used an abrasive powder rubbed between the plates to remove the high spots, but it was Whitworth who contributed the refinement of replacing the grinding with hand scraping. Sometime after 1825, Whitworth went to work for Maudslay and it was there that Whitworth perfected the hand scraping of master surface plane gages. In his paper presented to the British Association for the Advancement of Science at Glasgow in 1840, Whitworth pointed out the inherent inaccuracy of grinding due to no control and thus unequal distribution of the abrasive material between the plates which would produce uneven removal of material from the plates. With the creation of master plane gages of such high accuracy, all critical components of machine tools (i.e., guiding surfaces such as machine ways) could then be compared against them and scraped to the desired accuracy.[9] The first machine tools offered for sale (i.e., commercially available) were constructed by [Matthew Murray](/source/Matthew_Murray) in England around 1800.[12] Others, such as [Henry Maudslay](/source/Henry_Maudslay), [James Nasmyth](/source/James_Nasmyth), and [Joseph Whitworth](/source/Joseph_Whitworth), soon followed the path of expanding their entrepreneurship from manufactured end products and [millwright](/source/Millwright) work into the realm of building machine tools for sale. Important early machine tools included the slide rest lathe, [screw-cutting lathe](/source/Screw-cutting_lathe), [turret lathe](/source/Turret_lathe), [milling machine](/source/Milling_machine), pattern tracing lathe, [shaper](/source/Shaper), and [metal planer](/source/Planer_(metalworking)), which were all in use before 1840.[13] With these machine tools the decades-old objective of producing [interchangeable parts](/source/Interchangeable_parts) was finally realized. An important early example of something now taken for granted was the standardization of screw fasteners such as nuts and bolts. Before about the beginning of the 19th century, these were used in pairs, and even screws of the same machine were generally not interchangeable.[14] Methods were developed to cut screw thread to a greater precision than that of the feed screw in the lathe being used. This led to the bar [length standards](/source/Meter) of the 19th and early 20th centuries. American production of machine tools was a critical factor in the Allies' victory in World War II. Production of machine tools tripled in the United States in the war. No war was more industrialized than World War II, and it has been written that the war was won as much by [machine shops](/source/Machine_shop) as by machine guns.[15][16] The production of machine tools is concentrated in about 10 countries worldwide: China, Japan, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, US, Austria, Spain and a few others. Machine tool innovation continues in several public and private research centers worldwide. ## Drive power sources [A]ll the turning of the iron for the cotton machinery built by [Mr. Slater](/source/Samuel_Slater) was done with hand chisels or tools in lathes turned by cranks with hand power. — [David Wilkinson](/source/David_Wilkinson_(machinist))[17] Machine tools can be powered from a variety of sources. Human and animal power (via [cranks](/source/Crank_(mechanism)), [treadles](/source/Treadle), [treadmills](/source/Treadmill), or [treadwheels](/source/Treadwheel)) were used in the past, as was water power (via [water wheel](/source/Water_wheel)); however, following the development of high-pressure steam engines in the mid 19th century, factories increasingly used steam power. Factories also used hydraulic and pneumatic power. Many small workshops continued to use water, human and animal power until [electrification](/source/Electrification) after 1900.[18] Today most machine tools are powered by electricity; hydraulic and pneumatic power are sometimes used, but this is uncommon.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Automatic control This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) See also: [History of numerical control](/source/History_of_numerical_control) Machine tools can be operated manually, or under automatic control.[19] Early machines used [flywheels](/source/Flywheel) to stabilize their motion and had complex systems of gears and levers to control the machine and the piece being worked on. Soon after World War II, the [numerical control](/source/Numerical_control) (NC) machine was developed. NC machines used a series of numbers punched on [paper tape](/source/Paper_tape) or [punched cards](/source/Punched_card) to control their motion. In the 1960s, [computers](/source/Computers) were added to give even more flexibility to the process. Such machines became known as [computerized numerical control (CNC) machines](/source/Computerized_numerical_control_(CNC)_machines). NC and CNC machines could precisely repeat sequences over and over, and could produce much more complex pieces than even the most skilled tool operators.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Before long, the machines could automatically change the specific cutting and shaping tools that were being used. For example, a [drill](/source/Drill) machine might contain a magazine with a variety of [drill bits](/source/Drill_bit) for producing holes of various sizes. Previously, either machine operators would usually have to manually change the bit or move the work piece to another station to perform these different operations. The next logical step was to combine several different machine tools together, all under computer control. These are known as [machining centers](/source/Machining_center), and have dramatically changed the way parts are made.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Examples This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Examples of machine tools are: - [Broaching machine](/source/Broach_(metalwork)) - [Drill press](/source/Drill#Drill_press) - [Gear shaper](/source/Gear_shaper) - [Hobbing machine](/source/Hobbing_machine) - [Hone](/source/Honing_(metalworking)) - [Lathe](/source/Lathe_(tool)) - [Honing](/source/Honing_(metalworking)) Machine - [Screw machines](/source/Screw_machine_(automatic_lathe)) - [Milling machine](/source/Milling_machine) - [Shear (sheet metal)](/source/Shear_(sheet_metal)) - [Shaper](/source/Shaper) - [Bandsaw](/source/Bandsaw) 5 axis bridge saw [Saws](/source/Saws) - [Planer](/source/Planer_(metalworking)) - [Stewart platform](/source/Stewart_platform) mills - [Grinding machines](/source/Grinding_machine) - Multitasking machines (MTMs)—CNC machine tools with many axes that combine turning, milling, grinding, and material handling into one highly automated machine tool When fabricating or shaping parts, several techniques are used to remove unwanted metal. Among these are: - [Electrical discharge machining](/source/Electrical_discharge_machining) - [Grinding (abrasive cutting)](/source/Grinding_(abrasive_cutting)) - [Multiple edge cutting tools](/source/Cutting_tool_(metalworking)) - Single edge cutting tools Other techniques are used to *add* desired material. Devices that fabricate components by selective *addition* of material are called [rapid prototyping](/source/Rapid_prototyping) machines. ## Machine tool manufacturing industry See also: [Machine tool builder](/source/Machine_tool_builder) The worldwide market for machine tools was approximately $81 billion in production in 2014 according to a survey by market research firm Gardner Research.[20] The largest producer of machine tools was China with $23.8 billion of production followed by Germany and Japan at neck and neck with $12.9 billion and $12.88 billion respectively.[20] South Korea and Italy rounded out the top 5 producers with revenue of $5.6 billion and $5 billion respectively.[20] ## See also - [Category:Machine tool builders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Machine_tool_builders) - [Damped machining tools](/source/Damped_machining_tools) - [Epoxy granite](/source/Epoxy_granite) - [Four slide machine](/source/Four_slide_machine) - [Machine tool dynamometer](/source/Machine_tool_dynamometer) - [Machine Tool Standards (ASME)](/source/ASME_B5) - [Machining vibrations](/source/Machining_vibrations) - [Machinist calculator](/source/Machinist_calculator) - [Metalworking](/source/Metalworking) - [Numerical control](/source/Numerical_control) - [Self-replicating machine](/source/Self-replicating_machine) - [Swarf](/source/Swarf) - [Tool bit](/source/Tool_bit) - [Tool wear](/source/Tool_wear) - [Tool Ways](/source/Tool_Ways) - [Types of press tools](/source/Types_of_press_tools) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Define Metal Cutting](https://web.archive.org/web/20190504041958/https://mechanicalsite.com/metal-cutting), mechanicalsite.com, retrieved 2019-05-04. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Moore1970p137_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Moore1970p137_2-1) [Moore 1970](#CITEREFMoore1970), p. 137, figure 213. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Jerome1934_3-0)** [Jerome 1934](#CITEREFJerome1934), p. 178, Ch. 4, Note 75. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Holland1989_4-0)** [Holland 1989](#CITEREFHolland1989).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Zelinski_2013-11-08_5-0)** Zelinski, Peter (2013-11-08), ["Hybrid machine combines milling and additive manufacturing"](http://www.mmsonline.com/blog/post/hybrid-machine-combines-milling-and-additive-manufacturing), *[Modern Machine Shop](/source/Modern_Machine_Shop)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Zelinski_2014-02-21_6-0)** Zelinski, Peter (2014-02-21), ["The capacity to build 3D metal forms is a retrofittable option for subtractive CNC machine tools"](http://www.additivemanufacturinginsight.com/articles/add-on-additive-manufacturing), *Modern Machine Shop Additive Manufacturing Supplement*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Oberg, Erik (2012). *Machinery's Handbook* (29th ed.). Industrial Press. pp. 2240–2245. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8311-2900-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8311-2900-2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Woodbury_1972_1961_pp18-35_8-0)** [Woodbury 1972a](#CITEREFWoodbury1972a), pp. 18–35. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Roe1916_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Roe1916_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Roe1916_9-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Roe1916_9-3) [Roe 1916](#CITEREFRoe1916) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Harford, Tim (2019-10-09). ["The spectacular power of interchangeable parts"](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49499444). Retrieved 2019-10-09. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["James Nasmyth"](https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/james-nasmyth). *www.nationalgalleries.org*. Retrieved 2022-11-01. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Moore1970_12-0)** [Moore 1970](#CITEREFMoore1970). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEThomson2009[[Category:Wikipedia_articles_needing_page_number_citations_from_November_2021]][[[Wikipedia:Citing_sources|page needed]]]_13-0)** [Thomson 2009](#CITEREFThomson2009), p. [*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Rybczynsky, *One Good Turn*, 2000, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-684-86729-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-684-86729-X) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Herman, Arthur. *Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II,* pp. 87, 112, 121, 146–50, 161, Random House, New York, NY. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4000-6964-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4000-6964-4). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Parker, Dana T. *Building Victory: Aircraft Manufacturing in the Los Angeles Area in World War II,* pp. 5, 7–8, Cypress, CA, 2013. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-9897906-0-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-9897906-0-4). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEThomson200924_17-0)** [Thomson 2009](#CITEREFThomson2009), p. 24. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Hunter&Bryant_1991_18-0)** Hunter, Louis C.; Bryant, Lynwood (1991), [*A History of Industrial Power in the United States, 1730-1930, Vol. 3: The Transmission of Power*](https://archive.org/details/historyofindustr00hunt), Cambridge, Massachusetts, London: MIT Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-262-08198-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-262-08198-9) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** ["What is a CNC machine for natural stone?"](https://www.thibaut.fr/en/what-is-a-cnc-machine-for-natural-stone/). *Thibaut*. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-29. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gardner_20-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gardner_20-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-gardner_20-2) ["2015 World Machine-Tool Output and Consumption Survey"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150921224058/https://www.gardnerweb.com/cdn/cms/GR-2015-WMTS.pdf) (PDF). *Gardner Business Media, Inc*. Archived from [the original](https://www.gardnerweb.com/cdn/cms/GR-2015-WMTS.pdf) (PDF) on 2015-09-21. ## Bibliography - [Holland, Max](/source/Max_Holland) (1989), *When the Machine Stopped: A Cautionary Tale from Industrial America*, Boston: Harvard Business School Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-87584-208-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-87584-208-0), [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [246343673](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/246343673). *A history most specifically of Burgmaster, which specialized in turret drills; but in telling Burgmaster's story, and that of its acquirer Houdaille, Holland provides a history of the machine tool industry in general between World War II and the 1980s that ranks with Noble's coverage of the same era (Noble 1984) as a seminal history. Later republished under the title*From Industry to Alchemy: Burgmaster, a Machine Tool Company*.* - Jerome, Harry (1934), ["Mechanization in Industry"](https://www.nber.org/books/jero34-1), *NBER*, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US: US National Bureau of Economic Research. - [Moore, Wayne R.](/source/Wayne_Moore_(swimmer)) (1970), *Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy* (1st ed.), Bridgeport, Connecticut, US: Moore Special Tool Co., [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [73127307](https://lccn.loc.gov/73127307). *The Moore family firm, the Moore Special Tool Company, independently invented the [jig borer](/source/Jig_borer) (contemporaneously with its Swiss invention), and Moore's monograph is a seminal classic of the principles of machine tool design and construction that yield the highest possible [accuracy and precision](/source/Accuracy_and_precision) in machine tools (second only to that of [metrological](/source/Metrology) machines). The Moore firm epitomized the art and science of the [tool and die maker](/source/Tool_and_die_maker).* - [Roe, Joseph Wickham](/source/Joseph_Wickham_Roe) (1916), [*English and American Tool Builders*](https://books.google.com/books?id=X-EJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage), New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [16011753](https://lccn.loc.gov/16011753). Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 ([LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [27-24075](https://www.loc.gov/item/27024075)); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, Illinois ([ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-917914-73-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-917914-73-7)).. *A seminal classic of machine tool history. Extensively cited by later works.* - Thomson, Ross (2009), [*Structures of Change in the Mechanical Age: Technological Invention in the United States 1790-1865*](https://archive.org/details/structuresofchan0000thom), Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8018-9141-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8018-9141-0) - Woodbury, Robert S. (1972a). "History of the Lathe to 1850: A Study in the Growth of a Technical Element of an Industrial Economy". In [Woodbury (1972)](#CITEREFWoodbury1972). - Woodbury, Robert S. (1972) [1961], [*Studies in the History of Machine Tools*](https://archive.org/details/studiesinhistory00robe), Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, and London, England: MIT Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-262-73033-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-262-73033-4), [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [72006354](https://lccn.loc.gov/72006354). Collection of previously published monographs bound as one volume. A collection of seminal classics of machine tool history. ## Further reading - [Colvin, Fred H.](/source/Fred_H._Colvin) (1947), *Sixty Years with Men and Machines*, New York and London: McGraw-Hill, [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [47003762](https://lccn.loc.gov/47003762). Available as a reprint from Lindsay Publications ([ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-917914-86-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-917914-86-7)). Foreword by [Ralph Flanders](/source/Ralph_Flanders). *A memoir that contains quite a bit of general history of the industry.* - Floud, Roderick C. (2006) [1976], *The British Machine Tool Industry, 1850–1914*, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-02555-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-02555-3), [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [2006275684](https://lccn.loc.gov/2006275684), [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [70251252](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/70251252). *A monograph with a focus on history, economics, and import and export policy. Original 1976 publication: LCCN 75-046133, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-521-21203-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-21203-0).* - [Hounshell, David A.](/source/David_A._Hounshell) (1984), *From the American System to Mass Production, 1800–1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States*, Baltimore, Maryland: [Johns Hopkins University Press](/source/Johns_Hopkins_University_Press), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8018-2975-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8018-2975-8), [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [83016269](https://lccn.loc.gov/83016269), [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [1104810110](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1104810110) *One of the most detailed histories of the machine tool industry from the late 18th century through 1932. Not comprehensive in terms of firm names and sales statistics (like Floud focuses on), but extremely detailed in exploring the development and spread of practicable interchangeability, and the thinking behind the intermediate steps. Extensively cited by later works.* - [Noble, David F.](/source/David_F._Noble) (1984), *Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation*, New York, New York, US: Knopf, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-394-51262-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-394-51262-4), [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [83048867](https://lccn.loc.gov/83048867). *One of the most detailed histories of the machine tool industry from World War II through the early 1980s, relayed in the context of the social impact of evolving automation via NC and CNC.* - Roe, Joseph Wickham (1937), [*James Hartness: A Representative of the Machine Age at Its Best*](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015064575577;view=1up;seq=9), New York: [American Society of Mechanical Engineers](/source/American_Society_of_Mechanical_Engineers), [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [37016470](https://lccn.loc.gov/37016470), [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [3456642](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/3456642). link from [HathiTrust](/source/HathiTrust). . *A biography of a machine tool builder that also contains some general history of the industry.* - [Rolt, L. T. C.](/source/L._T._C._Rolt) (1965), [*A Short History of Machine Tools*](https://books.google.com/books/about/A_short_history_of_machine_tools.html?id=1dhSAAAAMAAJ), Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press, [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [250074](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/250074). Co-edition published as Rolt, L. T. C. (1965), *Tools for the Job: a Short History of Machine Tools*, London: B. T. Batsford, [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [65080822](https://lccn.loc.gov/65080822). - [Ryder, Thomas and Son](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Ryder_and_Son&action=edit&redlink=1), *Machines to Make Machines 1865 to 1968*, a centenary booklet, (Derby: Bemrose & Sons, 1968) ## External links - [Milestones in the History of Machine Tools](https://www.metalworkingsuppliers.com/mw/machine-tools-history/) Look up ***[machine tool](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/machine_tool)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. v t e Metalworking v t e Machining and computing Computer-aided engineering 2.5D CAD CAM G-code Numerical control (NC and CNC) Stewart platform Drilling and threading Die head Drill Drill bit Drill bit shank Drill bit sizes Drilling List of drill and tap sizes Tap and die Tap wrench Threading Grinding and lapping Abrasive Abrasive machining Angle grinder Bench grinder Coated abrasive Cylindrical grinder Diamond plate Flick grinder Grinding Grinding dresser Grinding machine Grinding wheel Jig grinder Lapping Sanding Sharpening stone Spark testing Surface grinder Tool and cutter grinder Machining Boring Broaching Electrical discharge machining Electrochemical machining Electron-beam machining End mill Engraving Facing Hobbing Jig borer Machine tool Machining Metal lathe Milling Milling cutter Pantograph Photochemical machining Planer Reamer Rotary transfer machine Shaper Skiving Turning Ultrasonic machining Machine tools Angle plate Chuck Collet Fixture Indexing head Jig Lathe center Machine taper Magnetic switchable device Mandrel Rotary table Wiggler Terminology Cutting fluid Machining vibrations Speeds and feeds Swarf Tolerance Tool and die making Tramp oil Workpiece Casting Fabrication Forming Jewellery Machining Metallurgy Smithing Tools and terminology Welding v t e Machine and metalworking tools Arbor press Automatic lathe Ball-peen hammer Broach Drill press End mill English wheel Gear shaper Grinding machine Hacksaw Hob Jig borer Lathe Machine tool Metal lathe Milling cutter Mill Oxy-fuel cutting torch Planer Plasma cutter Rotary transfer machine Shaper Tap and die Thread restorer Tool bit Turret lathe Welder Types of tools Cleaning Cutting and abrasive Forestry Garden Hand Kitchen Machine and metalworking Masonry Measuring and alignment Mining Power Textile Woodworking v t e Woodworking Overviews History Glossary Wood (lumber) Styles Boat building Bow and arrow Bush carpentry Cabinetry Caning Carpentry Certosina Chainsaw carving Chip carving Ébéniste Fretwork Intarsia Japanese carpentry Khatam Kohlrosing Log building Luthier Marquetry Millwork Pallet crafting Parquetry Pyrography Relief carving Root carving Segmented turning Shingle weaving Shipbuilding Spindle turning Timber framing Treen Whittling Wood carving Woodturning Woods Soft Cedar (Calocedrus, Cedrus) Cypress Douglas fir Fir Juniper Larch Kauri Pine Rimu Spruce Yew Hard Afromosia Alder Andiroba Anigre Ash Apple Aspen Avodire Balsa Beech Bilinga Birch African Blackwood Australian Blackwood Boxwood Bubinga Camphor Cedrela Cherry Chestnut Cocobolo Cumaru Ebony Elm Eucalyptus Hazel Hickory Hornbeam Idigbo Imbuia Ipê Iroko Jarrah Jelutong Lignum vitae Linden (lime, basswood) Lovoa Merbau Mahogany (American, African) Maple Meranti Oak Padauk Pear Plum Poplar Purpleheart Ovankol Ramin Red Quebracho Rosewood Rubberwood Sapele Teak Totara Utile Walnut Wenge Willow Zebrano Engineered Cross-laminated Glue laminated Hardboard MDF OSB Particle board Plywood Wood–plastic composite Tools Abrasives Axe Adze Burnisher Chisel Drawknife Drill Fence Float Gimlet Gauge Hinge bender Impact driver Janka hardness test Jointer Mallet Milling machine Miter box Rasp Router Sandpaper Shaper Shaving horse Square (Carpenters, Combination, Miter, Speed, Try) Thickness planer Timber-framing Veneer hammer Vise Warrington hammer Winding sticks Wood scribe Workbench Clamps Band clamp C-clamp F-clamp Flooring clamp Gripe Holdfast Miter clamp Pipe clamp Sawbuck Saws Backsaw Bandsaw Bow Bucksaw Chainsaw Circular Compass Coping Crosscut Frame Fretsaw Hand saw Jigsaw Keyhole Miter Ripsaw Scroll Table Veneer Whipsaw Planes Bedrock plane Block plane Chamfer plane Compass plane Finger plane Fore plane Grooving plane Jack plane Japanese plane Jointer plane Moulding plane Razee plane Rebate plane Router plane Scrub plane Shoulder plane Smoothing plane Spokeshave Surform Geometry Joints Birdsmouth Biscuit Box Bridle Butt Butterfly Coping Crown of thorns Dado Dovetail Finger Groove Halved Hammer-headed tenon Knee Lap Mason's miter Miter Mortise and tenon Rabbet/Rebate Scarf Splice Tongue and groove Profiles Bead Bevel Chamfer Ogee Ogive Ovolo Surface piecing Binding Edge banding Intarsia Marquetry Oystering Parquetry Purfling Treatments Adhesive French polish Heat bending Lacquer Oil Paint Paint stripper Steam bending Thermal Varnish Wax Wood drying Wood preservation Wood stain Wood finishing Organizations American Association of Woodturners Architectural Woodwork Institute British Woodworking Federation Building and Wood Workers' International Caricature carving International Federation of Building and Wood Workers National Wood Carvers Association Society of Wood Engravers Timber Framers Guild Conversion Chainsaw mill Hewing Sawmill Whipsaw Wood splitting Flat sawing Quarter sawing Rift sawing Techniques Frame and panel Frameless construction Green woodworking Category WikiProject Commons Authority control databases International GND National United States France BnF data Japan Czech Republic 2 Israel Other NARA Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Machine tool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_tool) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_tool?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.