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Manufacturing

Picatinny Arsenal
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1880sDateCreated: 1880Picatinny ArsenalWhartonState: NJCountry: USAWebsite: http://www.newjerseyhills.com/historic-aerospace-designation-awarded-to-picatinny-arsenal/article_8372debc-a6a3-5d90-b45b-fa72038510f4.html, https://www.aiaa.org/Creator: U.S. War Department

Built in 1880 as the Piccatinny Powder Depot, this site was the major supplier of smokeless powder to the military for many years.

YearAdded:
2006
The Boeing Red Barn taken in 1937
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1916The Museum of FlightSeattleState: WACountry: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/SecondaryTwoColumn.aspx?id=26571Creator: Boeing, William E.

This former shipyard was the first home of the The Boeing Company, founded in 1916.  Affectionately called the Red Barn, this structure was built in 1909, and became the historic birthplace of Boeing aircraft production. Starting with the Boeing Model C, all early Boeing production took place in this building. Here, the entrepreneurial spirit of William E.

YearAdded:
2002
Image Credit: public domainImage Caption: The Boeing Red Barn taken in 1937.
Sikorsky VS-300
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1910-1919DateCreated: 1911Sikorsky Memorial AirportStratfordState: CTCountry: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/SecondaryTwoColumn.aspx?id=19687Creator: Sikorsky, Igor I.

Igor I. Sikorsky, engineering manager of the Vought – Sikorsky Division of the former United Aircraft Corporation, used the Stratford, Conn., sites to design, build, and test his innovative helicopter designs. Sikorsky’s VS-300 model helicopter was the world’s first design which used the now industry-standard single main rotor with an auxiliary anti-torque tail rotor.

Image Caption: Sikorsky’s VS-300 model helicopter
Bell Aircraft Corporation's main factory
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1930sDateCreated: 1935Calspan Flight Research CenterNiagara FallsState: NYCountry: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/Secondary.aspx?id=14063Creator: Bell, Lawrence Dale “Larry”

Bell Aircraft, founded in 1935 by Lawrence Dale “Larry” Bell, based its primary manufacturing facility in Wheatfield, New York, where several important aircraft were designed and produced. During the World War II era, the plant produced the P-39 Airacobra and the P-63 Kingcobra fighters. The P-39 was used to great effect by the Soviet Air Force, with the highest number of individual kills recorded by any U.S.-produced fighter aircraft during the war. The plant also designed and manufactured the P-59A Airacomet, the first U.S.

YearAdded:
2012
Image Caption: Bell Aircraft Corporation's main factory in Wheatfield, NY (Buffalo / Niagara Falls) during the 1940s. This unit primarily produced the Bell P-39 Airacobra and P-63 Kingcobra.
Wilkinson Mill
Society: SME (manufacturing)Main Category: ManufacturingSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1800-1829DateCreated: 181067 Roosevelt AvenuePawtucketState: RIZip: 02860Country: USAWebsite: http://www.sme.org/Creator: Wilkinson, David , Wilkinson, Oziel

The Wilkinson Mill, situated on the west bank of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, was built between 1810 and 1811 by machinist Oziel Wilkinson. Constructed in stone rubble, three and one-half stories high, the mill played a critical role in the history of textile technology, in steam power generation, and in the development of the machine tools industry. The Wilkinson family came to Pawtucket in the 1780s and set up a shop to forge anchors, build presses for oil works, and mold iron screws used in paper pressing machinery.

YearAdded:
1977
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/H.C. Williams (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Wilkinson MillEra_date_from: 1810
Wilkinson Mill
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1800-1829DateCreated: 181067 Roosevelt AvenuePawtucketState: RIZip: 02860Country: USAWebsite: https://www.asme.org/about-asme/who-we-are/engineering-history/landmarks/30-wilkinson-mill, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/30a934f4-2025-47f2-ae87-760d94fe33d3/30-Wilkinson-Mill.aspxCreator: Wilkinson, David , Wilkinson, Oziel

The Wilkinson Mill, situated on the west bank of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, was built between 1810 and 1811 by machinist Oziel Wilkinson. Constructed in stone rubble, three and one-half stories high, the mill played a critical role in the history of textile technology, in steam power generation, and in the development of the machine tools industry.

 

YearAdded:
1977
Image Credit: Courtesy Flickr/H.C. Williams (CC BY 2.0)Image Caption: Wilkinson MillEra_date_from: 1810
Westmoreland Iron Works
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1850-1859DateCreated: 185050 Station RoadWestmorelandState: NYZip: 13490Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---2/-126-westmoreland-iron-works-%281850%29Creator: Clark, Erastus , Buell, Abel

The history of this foundry, which was the oldest malleable iron company in continuous operation in the United States for many years, was inseparable from that of the small town of Westmoreland, where neighbors and workers kept time by the foundry bell. The firm was founded as Oakhill Malleable Iron Company in 1833 and was established under its present name in Westmoreland in 1850. Erastus W. Clark, who along with his brother-in-law Abel Buell brought the foundry to Westmoreland, ran the ironworks until 1871 and was the first of six generations who still own and manage it.

YearAdded:
1987
Image Credit: Courtesy ASMEImage Caption: Westmoreland Iron WorksEra_date_from: 1850
Watkins Woolen Mill
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1860-1869DateCreated: 1868Watkins Woolen Mill State ParkKearneyState: MOZip: 64060Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-43-watkins-woolen-mill-%281868%29, https://www.asme.org/getmedia/705d5611-da21-47b3-b584-1e33e1c0b9df/43-Watkins-Woolen-Mill.aspxCreator: Watkins, Waltus

The Watkins Woolen Mill is among the best preserved examples of a Midwest woolen mill in nineteenth-century United States. Its machinery for preparing, spinning, and weaving wool reflects the existence of well-established textile industry in the country. It was designed and built by Waltus L. Watkins (1806-1884), a machinist and master weaver from Frankfort, Kentucky, who began operating his mill in 1861 in Clay County.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Credit: Public Domain (National Park Service)Image Caption: Watkins Woolen MillEra_date_from: 1868
Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company in Wichita
Society: AIAAMain Category: Aerospace & AviationSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1920-1929DateCreated: 1925130 N Webb Rd
Beech Factory Landing Field
WichitaState: KSZip: 67206Country: USAWebsite: https://www.aiaa.org/HistoricAerospaceSites/Creator: Cessna, Clyde , Beech, Walter

The Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company served as the incubator in which Wichita Kansas’ present-day status as the world’s “Air Capital” first developed. The firm was among the first viable airplane manufacturers to be established in Wichita (1925). It also was responsible for four aviation legends firmly establishing themselves in Wichita and forming the nexus between Wichita and world aviation: Walter Beech, Olive Ann Mellor (later Olive Ann Beech), Clyde Cessna, and Lloyd Stearman.

YearAdded:
2006
Image Credit: Courtesy Wikipedia/RuthAS (CC BY 3.0)Image Caption: Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company in WichitaEra_date_from: 1925
Springfield Armory
Society: ASMEMain Category: MechanicalSub Category: ManufacturingEra: 1750-1799DateCreated: 1794202-206 Pearl StreetSpringfieldState: MAZip: 01105Country: USAWebsite: http://www.asme.org/about-asme/history/landmarks/topics-m-z/manufacturing---1/-41-springfield-armory-%281794%29Creator: Blanchard, Thomas, Buckland, Cyrus, Knox, Henry, Warner, Thomas, Washington, George

George Washington's concern over standardization of rifles for the Continental Army led to the formation of national armory and to his selection of Springfield as its site. Completed in 1794, it was the first national armory in the United States. Like the Robbins and Lawrence Armory, the Springfield Armory was an outstanding machining center for the design and mass production, employing notable engineers such as Thomas Blanchard (1788-1864), Thomas Warner, and Cyrus Buckland.

YearAdded:
1980
Image Caption: This illustration from 1850 shows the growth of Springfield Armory since its inception in 1794. The building in the foreground is the Main Arsenal building that acts as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site visitor center today.Era_date_from: 1794
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Innovations

A.O. Smith Automatic Frame Plant

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…

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Owens AR Bottle Machine

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…

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Wyman-Gordon 50,000-ton Hydraulic Forging Press

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…

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ALCOA 50,000-ton Hydraulic Forging Press

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…

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Ljungstrom Air Preheater

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…

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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… Read More
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. Divided… Read More
This collection recognizes the inventive talents of John Moses Browning (1855-1926), a prolific and significant designer of sporting and military firearms, whose designs were known for simplicity, accuracy, and reliability. He held more than 128 patents covering 80 distinct firearms produced by… Read More
Colvin Run Mill is an early 19th century operating gristmill, closely modeled on the principles developed by Oliver Evans (1755-1819). Powered by a waterwheel, the restored mill was probably built on or after 1811 on the site of an older mill. Originally, the site was the property of George… Read More
While Thomas Edison perfected the first practical and durable filament in 1879, it was not until much later that electricity left the laboratory to become the universal source of light. This required a tremendous number of glass envelopes for light bulbs. In the 1890s the top speed of the finest… Read More
The introduction of steam-powered forging hammers by French and British engineers of the 1830s led to the building of this impressive hammer at Creusot that delivered blows to shape and strengthen iron and steel objects before forging. It was for years the most powerful steam hammer in the world.… Read More
This fusion-welded drum, tested during 1930, was the first in a series tested at Combustion Engineering Inc. that led to the industrial acceptance of welding for the fabrication of boiler drums. Replacing riveting for steam power plants, electric arc fusion welding permitted increased efficiencies… Read More
Gravimetric Coal Feeder

A variety of mechanical feeders, including drag-chain conveyors and rotary pocket feeders, historically have been used to volumetrically control the flow of fuel to coal pulverizers on power generators. Most power generation in the United States has relied on burning fossil fuels in steam…

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This facility was typical of others in the country that made small spherical lead shot for the fowling pieces of frontier settlers. Smelted lead from the nearby Austinville mines was melted at the top of the tower and poured through a sizing sieve to produce small droplets. Surface tension caused… Read More
Joshua Hendy Iron Works

This ironworks exemplified the adaptability required for industrial survival in a dynamic technical environment. It was a major western producer of mechanical equipment used in mining (especially large hydraulic machines), ship propulsion, irrigation, power generation, optical telescope mounts,…

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Knight Foundry and Machine Shop

This is one of the earliest US foundry-machine shops remaining in operation and one of the few water powered. It was founded by Samuel N. Knight (1838-1913) to manufacture machinery for the gold mines of the …

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In fulfilling a contract for 25,000 U.S. Army rifles (Model 1841) and a like quantity for the British government, Robbins and Lawrence were the first to achieve interchangeability of parts on a fully practical level, contributing greatly to all subsequent mass production of machine products. This… Read More
Springfield Armory

George Washington's concern over standardization of rifles for the Continental Army led to the formation of national armory and to his selection of Springfield as its site. Completed in 1794, it was the first national armory in the United States. Like the Robbins and Lawrence Armory, the…

Read More
Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company in Wichita

The Travel Air Airplane Manufacturing Company served as the incubator in which Wichita Kansas’ present-day status as the world’s “Air Capital” first developed. The firm was among the first viable airplane manufacturers to be established in Wichita (1925). It also was responsible for four…

Read More
Watkins Woolen Mill

The Watkins Woolen Mill is among the best preserved examples of a Midwest woolen mill in nineteenth-century United States. Its machinery for preparing, spinning, and weaving wool reflects the existence of well-established textile industry in the country. It was designed and built by Waltus L.…

Read More

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