Founded by Eleuthère Irénéé du Pont (1771-1834), the Brandywine River Mills became the largest maker of explosive black powder in the United States. That success resulted directly from the firm's pioneering use of gunpowder processing machinery driven by water wheels and water turbines.
Manufacturing
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Flickr/Harvey Barrison (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Image Caption:
On of the waterwheels belonging to the Brandywine River Powder Mills
Era_date_from:
1803
2002
The ballpoint pen invented by Ladislao Jose Biro was originally patented in Hungary in 1938. The principle of the ballpoint pen was originally patented by John Loud in 1888 for a product to mark leather and in 1916 by Van Vechten Riesberg, but neither of these products were exploited commercially.
As a journalist, Biro was inspired by the concept of quick-drying ink in a print shop.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy Wikipedia/(CC BY-SA 2.5)
Image Caption:
A 1945 Birome Ballpoint Pen advertisement in an Argentine magazine known as Leoplán
Era_date_from:
1938
2005
The Ljungstrom air preheater is a regenerative heat exchanger, invented in the 1920s and soon used throughout the world. Dr. Fredrik Ljungstrom, then technical director at Aktiebolaget Ljunstrom Angturbin, invented it for preheating combustion air in boiler plants, but the use has expanded to include energy recovery in combination with the removal of oxides of sulfur and nitrogen.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Public Domain
Image Caption:
Ljungstrom Air Preheater
Era_date_from:
1920
1995
This 50,000-ton die-forging press is among the largest fabrication tools in the world. It was designed and built for the U.S. Air Force by the Mesta Machine Company of Pittsburgh, following the discovery of a 30,000-ton press used by the Germans in World War II (later acquired by the Soviet Union). By 1950, a Heavy Press Program was organized to establish a self-sustaining industrial base for a press capable of producing large forgings and extrusions for the United States. The 50,000-ton Mesta press was one of the first built under this program between 1952 and 1955.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Image Caption:
The true enormity of the ALCOA 50,000-ton Hydraulic Forging Press can be fully appreciated when put into comparison of the average-sized person (lower right and on the platform).
Era_date_from:
1954
1981
This hydraulic closed-die press, among the largest fabrication tools in the world, has had a profound influence in America's leading role in commercial aircraft, military aircraft, and space technology. As part of the same Heavy Press Program that created the Mesta press, the Wyman-Gordon press was designed by the Loewy Construction Company and began operating in October 1955. Among its contributions was the development of the new jetliner Boeing 747 in the 1960s.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy ASME
Image Caption:
Wyman-Gordon 50,000-ton Hydraulic Forging Press
Era_date_from:
1954
1983
Only since 1912 have glass jars and bottles been in cheap and plentiful supply for pharmaceuticals, household products, food and beverages, and an endless variety of uses. The bottle-making machine introduced the safety, standardization, quality, and convenience of glass containers. Not only did they revolutionize the industry, the Owens machines ended child labor in glass-container plants. In 1913, the National Child Labor Committee of New York City said the rapid introduction of the automatic machine did more to eliminate child labor than they had been able to do through legislation.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
Courtesy ASME
Image Caption:
Owens AR Bottle Machine
Era_date_from:
1912
1983
In 1899, during the earliest days of the automobile revolution, A. O. Smith developed a new, lightweight steel car frame. Within a few short years, he was selling these frames to a “who’s who” of car makers including Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Ford. A. O. Smith’s son, Lloyd Raymond, carried on the family company, expanding the automotive business and introducing the world’s first automated frame production line, the Mechanical Marvel.
YearAdded:
Image Credit:
ASME
Image Caption:
The entire line at the A. O. Smith Automatic Frame Plant was controlled by the man on the bridge. The long, intricate assembling process completed itself practically without human aid.
Era_date_from:
1920
1979
Innovations
