-
Period: to
Industrial Revolution Timeline
Cotton Gin. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewing_machine
Edmund Cartwright. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Cartwright
First installation of James Watt's stationary rotary steam engine in a cotton mill . (n.d.). Retrieved from The Literary Encyclopedia: http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4206
Isaac Singer. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Singer -
Newcomens Engine
In 1712 Thomas Newcomen invented the atmospheric engine often reffered as the Newcomen engine. The Newcomen engine was the first practical device to use the power of steam to produce motorized work. Newcomens engines were used all around Britain and Europe, They were mainly used for pumping water out of mines. There were hundreds constructed throughout the 18th century. James Watts’s later design was a new and improved version of the Newcomens’ engine that roughly doubled the fuel efficiency. -
Flying Shuttle
John Kay inventor of the wheeled shuttle received a patent for a revolutionary device. A device of his own. It allowed weaving to be accomplished at greater speeds, by allowing the shuttle that was carrying the weft to be passed through the warp faster and over a wider width of cloth. Later this device was called the flying shuttle because of its speed. -
Spinning Jenny
In 1764 weaver and carpenter James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny, a machine with a metal frame and 8 wooden spindles at the end. A set of 8 rovings were attached to the frame. The Spinning Jenny worked by having the rovings extend through 2 horizontal bars of wood that could clasp together. The spinner then used his right hand to spin a wheel rapidly causing the spindles to revolve, when the bars return the thread would wind onto the spindle. The idea for the Spinning Jenny came about a -
Water Frame
Richard Arkwright built the water frame in 1769. The spinning frame was too large to be controlled by hand so he had to find another source of power. Arkwright originally experimented with horses but come up with the idea to use water-wheels. In 1771 when he had setup a factory next to River Derwent in Cromford. Using the water-wheel allowed him to be able to spin the machine automatically by just using water which could be easily accessed by the river that his factory was next to. The water fra -
Watt's Engine
In 1775 James Watt created the first engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive a piston helped by a partial vacuum. The most important parts of Watts’s improvements were the condenser and rotary motion. The condenser reduced steam without cooling the piston and cylinder walls. This process more than doubled the efficiency of Watts’s engine. The rotary motion that the Watt steam engine used was more suitable for industrial power than the oscillating beam for the Ne -
Spinning Mule
1779, this was the year that Samuel Crompton invented the spinning mule. The spinning mule is a machine used to spin cotton and other fibres. They were widely used from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Mules were worked in pairs by a minder with the help of two males (the little piecer and the big piecer). The mule could carry up to 1,300 spindles and up to 46 metres long. The mule was designed to move forward and back 5 feet 4 times a minute. The spinning mule was used for spinn -
Power Loom
In 1784 Edmund Cartwright invented and started designing a power loom with some help from a carpenter and blacksmith. He went on to patent it in 1785, but was a failure at this stage. In 1787 Cartwright went on to open a weaving mill in Doncaster. Two years later he had started using the Watts steam engine to drive his looms. All actions that have had to be done by a weavers’ hands and feet could now be done by a mechanically driven loom. The main job a weaver was given was repairing broken thre -
Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney, American inventor who is greatly know for first designing the modern cotton gin in 1793. The cotton gin was a simple combination of wire screening, small wire hooks to pull the cotton through and brushes that continuously removed the loose cotton lint and seeds to prevent the machinery from jamming up. The cotton seeds filtered were often used to grow more cotton or to make cottonseed oil. Various attempts of devices to remove cotton seeds were made but not many were successful. The -
First Practical Sewing Machine
1851 – In 1851 American actor, inventor and entrepreneur Isaac Merritt Singer patented a sewing machine and made some big improvements. Several sewing machines were made before his but not many proved to be successful. It was the ease of home use and the practicality that made Singer’s sewing machine successful. It is said that Singer made his machine more reliable by changing the shuttle so that it moves back and forth rather than going around in circles. In 1851 Isaac Singer made a manufacturi -
Aniline Dyes
In 1856 William Henry Perkin accidently discovered mauveine also known as Perkins mauve. Mauveine is a product made by 2 molecules of aniline, one of P-toluidine and one of o-toluidine. This makes a purple colour that can be used for dye. It is said that Perkins was given a challenge by his professor to make quinine with only one attempt. Perkin oxidized anilinine using potassium dichromate which its toluidine reacted with the aniline making a black solid, thinking this was a failure Perkins wen
