#model t
October 7, 1913 Moving assembly line debuts at Ford factory
“For the first time, Henry Ford’s entire Highland Park, Michigan automobile factory is run on a continuously moving assembly line when the chassis–the automobile’s frame–is assembled using the revolutionary industrial technique. A motor and rope pulled the chassis past workers and parts on the factory floor, cutting the man-hours required to complete one “Model T” from 12-½ hours to six. Within a year, further assembly line improvements reduced the time required to 93 man-minutes. The staggering increase in productivity effected by Ford’s use of the moving assembly line allowed him to drastically reduce the cost of the Model T, thereby accomplishing his dream of making the car affordable to ordinary consumers.
In introducing the Model T in October 1908, Henry Ford proclaimed, “I will build a motor car for the great multitude.” Before then, the decade-old automobile industry generally marketed its vehicles to only the richest Americans, because of the high cost of producing the machines. Ford’s Model T was the first automobile designed to serve the needs of middle-class citizens: It was durable, economical, and easy to operate and maintain. Still, with a debut price of $850, the Model T was out of the reach of most Americans. The Ford Motor Company understood that to lower unit cost it had to increase productivity. The method by which this was accomplished transformed industry forever.
Prototypes of the assembly line can be traced back to ancient times, but the immediate precursor of Ford’s industrial technique was 19th-century meat-packing plants in Chicago and Cincinnati, where cows and hogs were slaughtered, dressed, and packed using overhead trolleys that took the meat from worker to worker. Inspired by the meat packers, the Ford Motor Company innovated new assembly line techniques and in early 1913 installed its first moving assembly line at Highland Park for the manufacture of flywheel magnetos. Instead of each worker assembling his own magneto, the assembly was divided into 29 operations performed by 29 men spaced along a moving belt. Average assembly time dropped from 20 minutes to 13 minutes and soon was down to five minutes.
With the success of the magneto experiment, Ford engineers put the Model T motor and then the transmission on moving assembly lines. On October 7, 1913, the chassis also went on the moving assembly line, so that all the major components of the Model T were being assembled using this technique. Ford rapidly improved its assembly lines, and by 1916 the price of the Model T had fallen to $360 and sales were more than triple their 1912 level. Eventually, the company produced one Model T every 24 seconds, and the price fell below $300. More than 15 million Model T’s were built before it was discontinued in 1927, accounting for nearly half of all automobiles sold in the world to that date. The affordable Model T changed the landscape of America, hastening the move from rural to city life, and the moving assembly line spurred a new industrial revolution in factories around the world.”
This week in History:
October 4, 1957 - Sputnik launched
October 5, 1947 - Truman delivers first presidential speech on TV
October 6, 1926 - Babe Ruth sets World Series record
October 7, 1780 - Battle of King’s Mountain
October 8, 1871 - Great Chicago Fire begins
October 9, 1936 - Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles
October 10, 1845 - US Naval Academy opens
Thispostcard showing an Assembly Line of the Ford Motor Company in the 1920s can be found in the online collection of the Detroit Historical Society.
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In the 1920’s the Hollywood (then Hollywoodland) sign was lit by thousands of light bulbs and the guy who changed the burnt ones lived in a little cabin near the sign.
via:Curious Eggs
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Mix 3/3: ENDLESS SYNTH CARNIVAL
Third and final mix. This was also made for my pals housewarming party …this time with a synth-centric theme. Everything from synth pop, minimal, techno cayo, ambient(ish) etc. Mainly 80:s stuff.
TRACKLIST
01.TPO - Hoshimaru 音頭
(theme song for Expo ‘85, 1985)
02.COSMIC INVENTION - 愛 Love Come On
(from the “Cosmorama” LP, 1981)
03.大貫妙子 - Carnaval
(from the “Carnaval / 雨の夜明け” single, 1980)
04.河上幸恵 + HP25 - Do-ki ♥ Do-ki
(from the “Do-ki ♥ Do-ki / カオスの星屑” single, 1984)
05.榊原郁恵 - Robot
(from the “Robot” single, 1980)
06.百夜 - Fall
(from the “百夜独演音曲集三 空花” EP, 1986)
07.TAKUMI - Days of Romance
(from the “Meat the Beat” LP, 1983)
08.MODEL-T - When I Spend My Time With You
(from the “When I Spend My Time With You” single-sided 7" flexi, 1990?)
09.橋本一子 - Kira
(from the “Kira” 7" flexi, 1985)
10.E.S. ISLAND - テクテクマミー
(from the “テクテクマミー” single, 1982)
11.SHINOBU - Ceramic Love
(from the “Ceramic Love / Earth” 8" flexi, 1984)
12.MIND CONTROL - 闇に語る
(from V/A - “Neo?” LP, 1988)
13.SCUDELIA ELECTRO - 200 Miles
(from their debut CD, 1997)
14.JULLAN - After Love Has Gone
(from the “Rouge Train Express” 12", 1985)
15.3dl - From Still To The Birth (New Mix)
(from the “アンドロメダからやって来た” single, 1988)
1912You can bet folks didn’t pay three bucks to park a Model T on the fairgrounds. Minnesota Historical Society
