Industry & Manufacturing

The Museum's collections document centuries of remarkable changes in products, manufacturing processes, and the role of industry in American life. In the bargain, they preserve artifacts of great ingenuity, intricacy, and sometimes beauty.

The carding and spinning machinery built by Samuel Slater about 1790 helped establish the New England textile industry. Nylon-manufacturing machinery in the collections helped remake the same industry more than a century later. Machine tools from the 1850s are joined by a machine that produces computer chips. Thousands of patent models document the creativity of American innovators over more than 200 years.

The collections reach far beyond tools and machines. Some 460 episodes of the television series Industry on Parade celebrate American industry in the 1950s. Numerous photographic collections are a reminder of the scale and even the glamour of American industry.

This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Louis D. Bartlett, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, January 15, 1867, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Louis D. Bartlett, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, January 15, 1867, no. 61141.
The patent refers to an engine with separate valve chests at head end and crank end, each enclosing balanced steam and exhaust poppet valves, and describes particularly the construction of the valve boxes. These are designed for simplicity of casting, machining, and accessibility but are difficult to describe without reference to the drawings in the patent specifications. The valve gear is said to be similar to one described in a patent granted to Charles H. Brown and Charles Burleigh, January 15, 1856. The valve stems are operated by short levers, which are raised and lowered by cams on a lay shaft paralleling the cylinder. The levers that operated the steam valves have variable fulcrums, which are controlled by a governor so that the steam can be cut off at any point of the stroke.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1867
patent date
1867-01-15
inventor
Bartlett, Louis D.
ID Number
MC.308674
catalog number
308674
accession number
89797
patent number
61,141
Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware.
Description
Few products are more symbolic of household life in post-World War II America than Tupperware. Made of plastic, intended for service in the suburban kitchen, and with clean and modern design, Tupperware represented "tomorrow's designs with tomorrow's substances." The Museum's collections include over 100 pieces of Tupperware, dating from 1946 through 1999. This bowl and cover were made by Tupperware Corporation, Woonsocket, R.I. (bowl), and Farnumsville, Mass. (lid), 1946–1958 and donated by Glenn O. Tupper.
Beginning in the 1930s, chemist Earl S. Tupper (1907–1983) experimented with polyethylene slag, a smelly, black waste product of oil refining processes, to develop uses for it. He devised translucent and opaque colored containers that he first marketed in 1942 as "Welcome Ware," then added lids with a patented seal later in the decade.
Modeled after the lid of a paint can, the lid to a Tupperware container was to be closed with a "burp," to create a partial vacuum and make the seal tight. The product was designed to appeal to the growing number of housewives who worked in suburban kitchens with modern appliances, including large refrigerators that allowed once-a-week trips for grocery shopping at the supermarket. These women formed a market for new and effective methods of food storage. Tupperware's water-tight, airtight seal promised preservation of freshness and limited spills or spoilage.
Yet the capabilities of the new product were not obvious to consumers at first, and Tupper's containers did not sell well in retail stores. A Michigan woman named Brownie Wise thought of marketing Tupperware through the home-sales method. Wise developed the system of Tupperware parties, at which a demonstrator could show the uses and advantages of Tupperware. As Tupperware became a staple of many American kitchens, some women found job opportunities in Tupperware sales.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1949
manufacturer
Tupperware
ID Number
1992.0605.022
catalog number
1992.0605.022A,B
accession number
1992.0605
This model was submitted with the application for the patent issued to Thomas B. Dexter, of Lynn, Massachusetts (assignor of one-half his right to the Gilmanton Mills, Belmont, New Hampshire), August 19, 1879, no.
Description
This model was submitted with the application for the patent issued to Thomas B. Dexter, of Lynn, Massachusetts (assignor of one-half his right to the Gilmanton Mills, Belmont, New Hampshire), August 19, 1879, no. 218619.
The model represents a tubular burner with a slightly reduced tip, provided with a vertical diaphragm that divides the burner into two sections. The space on one side of the diaphragm is connected to the oil line and to an air inlet pipe provided with a damper for adjusting the flow of air. The other space is connected to the steam line. In operation the flow of steam from the tip creates suction enough to draw the oil and air through the burner. The oil and air are heated by contact with the diaphragm, which separates them from the steam, and are intimately mixed when they issue from the burner. The diaphragm is notched just inside the tip so that the mixing of the steam and the air and oil results in the formation of a wide, thin, horizontal sheet. This produced a sheet of flame that spread over a large part of the furnace.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
patent date
1879-08-19
inventor
Dexter, Thomas B.
ID Number
MC.308765
catalog number
308765
accession number
89797
patent number
218,619
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 1074D.
Description
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 1074D. It consists of a steel piston; a vented brass cylinder; an external, double wound spring, which can be changed; a large drum with a spiral spring and a single record; and a brass stylus. Accompanying the indicator is a box with twelve springs and some small tools.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company
ID Number
MC.316797
catalog number
316797
accession number
228496
patent number
1074D
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 3309. It consists of a piston, which is stuck inside the cylinder. A brass stylus can record onto a large small drum with a spiral spring and a single record.
Description
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 3309. It consists of a piston, which is stuck inside the cylinder. A brass stylus can record onto a large small drum with a spiral spring and a single record. Accompanying the indicator is a box with twelve springs and a spring wrench.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company
ID Number
MC.316795
catalog number
316795
accession number
228496
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for the patent issued to Lucius J. Knowles, of Worcester, Massachusetts, April 1, 1879, no.
Description
This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for the patent issued to Lucius J. Knowles, of Worcester, Massachusetts, April 1, 1879, no. 231823.
The model represents the steam cylinders of a duplex pump fitted with what the inventor calls auxiliary engines to operate the valves of each cylinder when it is desired to use one cylinder of a duplex pump without the other. Actually the piston of the auxiliary engine is the valve of the main cylinder and the invention is in effect a one cylinder “simplex” pump with steam-actuated valve. This is one of the earliest uses of the steam-actuated valve for steam pumps.
The auxiliary cylinder forms the steam chest and valve ports of the main cylinder while the auxiliary piston acts as the valve. The auxiliary piston has its own valve system, which consists of ports in the auxiliary cylinder wall connected to the main steam passages and so located that they will register with openings in the auxiliary piston when the auxiliary piston is given a slight twist at the end of the main piston’s stroke. These openings connect to passages in the auxiliary cylinder to cause the auxiliary piston to move to the other end of the cylinder and so reverse the stroke of the main piston.
Lucius James Knowles (July 2, 1819 – February 26, 1884) originated and developed the Knowles Steam Pump Co. and the L. J. Knowles & Brother Loom Works at Warren, Massachusetts, and Worcester, Massachusetts, both of which became leading organizations in their respective fields. The Knowles steam pump was one of the best known of the direct-acting pumps, and Knowles is recognized as having contributed much to the final development and refinement of the device. He was one of the first to take up and develop the steam-actuated valve and received several patents for his inventions of improvements in valves.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
patent date
1879-04-01
inventor
Knowles, Lucius J.
ID Number
ER.309250
accession number
89797
patent number
213,823
catalog number
309250
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Henry Collinson, Boston, Massachusetts, April 13, 1875, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Henry Collinson, Boston, Massachusetts, April 13, 1875, no. 161934.
The invention consists of a lid or cover with a true flat face arranged in such a manner that while being forced home against a flat seat it receives a sliding and rotating motion thereon.
The model represents an opening in a plate around which is formed a flat plane face, which forms a seat for the dish –shaped lid or cover. A curved bar of metal spans the opening over the cover and supports a threaded nut through which passes a T-handled screw by which the cover is forced against the seat. At the inner end of the screw is an eccentric head that fits in a recess in the center of the cover, so that turning the screw forces the cover against the seat and moves the center of the cover in a circle, while the friction causes the cover to rotate somewhat about its own center. The result is a combined sliding and rotating of the cover as it is forced against the seat.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1875
patent date
1875-04-13
inventor
Collinson, Henry
ID Number
ER.309219
accession number
89797
catalog number
309219
patent number
161,934
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 330.
Description
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 330. It consists of a brass piston with one groove, a vented brass cylinder, an internal, double wound spring which can be changed, and a small drum with a spiral spring and single record. The stylus is missing. Accompanying the indicator is a box with two springs, two turn cocks, a scale, and small tools.
This indicator was made for W. J. Hammer, Chief Inspector of Edison Light Co. There is a nickel-plated name plate on the front marked: “Property of W. J. Hammer, 65 Fifth Ave, New York.”
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1885
maker
Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company
ID Number
MC.320555
catalog number
320555
accession number
241402
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Andrew J. Peavey of Boston, Massachusetts, August 16, 1870, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Andrew J. Peavey of Boston, Massachusetts, August 16, 1870, no. 106400.
The model represents a stationary cylinder filled with oil within which turns a paddle wheel driven by the engine at a speed dependent upon the velocity of the engine. Also within the stationary cylinder and surrounding the paddle wheel is a hollow cylinder, which is hung loosely upon the shaft of the paddle wheel and is free to revolve independently of it. This cylinder has a series of blades or abutments projecting from the inner side of its rim, so that as the paddle wheel causes the oil to revolve in the cylinder the moving oil will come into contact with the abutments and tend to turn the loose cylinder. Attached to the loose cylinder is a pinion that meshes with a toothed sector, which, in turn, is connected with the counterweight and so tends to oppose the turning of that cylinder. As the height to which the counterweight will be raised is a function of the velocity of the engine, this velocity can be governed by properly connecting the counterweight to the cut-off or throttle valve.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1870
patent date
1870-08-16
inventor
Peavey, Andrew J.
ID Number
ER.308678
accession number
89797
catalog number
308678
patent number
106,400
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1785
ID Number
CE.P-850Hab
catalog number
P-850Hab
accession number
225282
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Joseph W. Fowle, of Boston, Massachusetts, August 14, 1877, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Joseph W. Fowle, of Boston, Massachusetts, August 14, 1877, no. 194037.
The model represents a 1-cylinder, vertical marine engine connected to a propeller shaft and propeller in the ordinary manner, with a float or inertia device for closing the throttle valve of the engine each time the vessel in which the engine is installed pitches sufficiently to raise the propeller out of the water.
The gear consists of a heavy weight suspended in suitable guides and stops near the keel of the ship. This weight is not rigidly fixed relative to the ship but tends to float in position as the vessel rises and falls. The change in relative positions actuates a valve lever on an auxiliary steam cylinder and piston, which, in turn, moves the main throttle valve of the engine.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1877
patent date
1877-08-14
inventor
Fowle, Joseph W.
ID Number
MC.308698
catalog number
308698
accession number
89797
patent number
194,037
This indicator was filed to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for patent no. 219149 issued to G. H. Crosby, September 2, 1879.The model cannot be disassembled and the piston is stuck in the cylinder.
Description
This indicator was filed to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for patent no. 219149 issued to G. H. Crosby, September 2, 1879.
The model cannot be disassembled and the piston is stuck in the cylinder. It consists of a large drum with spiral spring and single record, but the linkage is different from the other Crosby indicators in the collection: a spring releases to move the drum back away from the pencil print.
The improvements claimed for this design are a jacket about the steam cylinder to prevent radiation or loss of heat from the cylinder; a method of supporting the cylinder and jacket so that each might expand freely when heated; the carrying of the rotary drum on a lever so that it could be moved up to and away from the marker; and a peculiar parallel motion for effecting the straight line motion of the marker in which “the lever is connected with the piston-rod by a join, and not indirectly by a link, as in the Richards indicator.”*
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
*Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1879
patent date
1879-09-02
inventor
Crosby, George H.
ID Number
MC.308701
catalog number
308701
accession number
89797
patent number
219,149
The Star Brass Mfg. Co. manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 485. It consists of a steel piston; a steel cylinder; an external spring, which is missing; a small drum with a spiral spring and a single record. The stylus is missing, but is likely a pencil point.
Description
The Star Brass Mfg. Co. manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 485. It consists of a steel piston; a steel cylinder; an external spring, which is missing; a small drum with a spiral spring and a single record. The stylus is missing, but is likely a pencil point. The accompanying box has five double wound springs.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
MC.316802
catalog number
316802
accession number
228496
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 10021.
Description
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 10021. It consists of a steel piston with four grooves, a vented brass cylinder, an internal spring (which is missing), a small drum with a spiral spring and a single record, and a brass stylus. Accompanying the indicator is a box with twelve springs, double wound.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
MC.316796
catalog number
316796
accession number
228496
patent number
10021
Richard Richards of Lynn, Massachusetts received patent number 3,857 on December 16, 1844 for his invention of a machine for cutting leather soles for shoes.
Description
Richard Richards of Lynn, Massachusetts received patent number 3,857 on December 16, 1844 for his invention of a machine for cutting leather soles for shoes. The leather is placed upon the platform, and operating the treadle causes the machine to move the leather into position, cut a sole, and move the cut sole away from the blade. Richards had previously been a shoe last maker in Lynn, a city that became synonymous with shoe making as mechanization began to take over the industry in the second half of the 19th century. While Richards machine was a step towards mechanization of the shoe industry, it was still only a step in the process. The tedious task of hand lasting each shoe remained, but a machine patented by Jan Matzeliger of Lynn in 1883 solved this problem, increasing the rate of production by 70.
date made
1840 - 1844
patent date
1844-12-16
patentee
Richards, Richard
inventor
Richards, Richard
ID Number
AG.003857
catalog number
003857
accession number
89797
patent number
3,857
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Benaiah Fitts, of Worcester, Massachusetts, August 9, 1859, no. 25005.The model represents a globular valve in which a conical rotor uncovers a port in a conical seat.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Benaiah Fitts, of Worcester, Massachusetts, August 9, 1859, no. 25005.
The model represents a globular valve in which a conical rotor uncovers a port in a conical seat. It operates without a stuffing box and is designed so that the pressure of steam on the rotor is balanced, reducing friction to a minimum.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1859
patent date
1859-08-09
inventor
Fitts, Benaiah
ID Number
ER.308662
accession number
89797
catalog number
308662
patent number
25,005
For Bigelow’s invention of a “Loom for Weaving Piled Fabrics,” he received one of his many patents, which included patents for his celebrated looms for weaving Brussels, or looped, carpets.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
For Bigelow’s invention of a “Loom for Weaving Piled Fabrics,” he received one of his many patents, which included patents for his celebrated looms for weaving Brussels, or looped, carpets.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1851
patent date
1851-01-14
inventor
Bigelow, Erastus Brigham
ID Number
TE.T11411.014
accession number
89797
catalog number
T11411.014
patent number
7,898
This indicator, designed to meet the requirements of early 20th century high-speed engines, employs the lightest construction consistent with strength and accuracy.
Description
This indicator, designed to meet the requirements of early 20th century high-speed engines, employs the lightest construction consistent with strength and accuracy. It is equipped with a reducing wheel, which is a self-contained device capable of reducing engine strokes of 14 to 72 inches to the proper stroke of the paper drum.
The cylinder of this indicator is supported so that its lower end is free and its longitudinal expansion or contraction is unimpeded. The annular space between the cylinder and the casing is designed to serve as a steam jacket. The piston is an extremely thin steel shell with shallow channels on its outer surface to provide steam packing and moisture lubrication. The piston rod is hollow and is connected to the pencil mechanism by means of a swivel head that can be screwed in or out of the rod to adjust the position of the diagram on the paper. The pencil mechanism is kinematically a pantograph that theoretically gives the pencil point a movement exactly parallel to the piston and the amount of the movement of the piston is multiplied six times at the pencil point. The design of the piston spring is peculiar to this indicator. It is made of a single piece of spring steel wire wound from the middle into a double coil, the ends of which are screwed into a metal head drilled helically to receive the spring.
The exact strength of spring is obtained by screwing the spring into the head more or less, when they are firmly fixed. The foot of the spring is a small steel bead firmly pinned to the straight portion of wire at the bottom of the spring. This takes the place of the heavier brass foot used in earlier indicators.*
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
*Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
MC.309833
catalog number
309833
accession number
109635
Three solid wind wheels drive the armatures of three dynamos, which are in circuit with a small storage battery, an incandescent electric lamp, and switches. This model, constructed by Moses G.
Description
Three solid wind wheels drive the armatures of three dynamos, which are in circuit with a small storage battery, an incandescent electric lamp, and switches. This model, constructed by Moses G. Farmer, electrical pioneer, about 1880, is one of the earliest suggestions of the use of wind power through the medium of the electric generator and storage battery.
Much of the objection to the use of the windmill as a source of power was due to the intermittent nature of its operation. It was thought that it was suited only for pumping water or similar operations where the energy or work produced by the windmill could be stored during periods of useful wind velocities to be used as needed.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1882
maker
Farmer, Moses G.
ID Number
MC.181985
catalog number
181985
accession number
2015.0173
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Robert Leuchsenring, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, March 9, 1880, no.
Description
This model was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office with the application for the patent issued to Robert Leuchsenring, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, March 9, 1880, no. 225226.
This is a form of engine in which a drum-shaped rotor turns in a casing, which is eccentric to the center of the drum, so that the drum runs against one part of the casing and a crescent-shaped annular space is formed between the casing and the drum. Water is admitted tangentially to the drum to one side of and away from the point at which the drum and casing meet. The water impinges upon abutments on the drum, turns the drum, and discharges from the engine about two-thirds of the way around the casing. The abutments on the drum slide into the drum to pass the casing and are held against the casings by springs.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1880
patent date
1880-03-09
inventor
Leuchsenring, Robert
ID Number
MC.308709
catalog number
308709
accession number
89797
patent number
225,226
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 8619.
Description
Crosby Steam Gauge & Valve Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, manufactured this steam engine indicator, serial number 8619. It consists of a steel piston with four grooves, a vented brass cylinder, an internal spring (which is missing), a small drum with a spiral spring and a single record, and a brass stylus. Accompanying the indicator is a box with twelve springs, double wound, and some small tools.
An engine indicator is an instrument for graphically recording the pressure versus piston displacement through an engine stroke cycle. Engineers use the resulting diagram to check the design and performance of the engine.
A mechanical indicator consists of a piston, spring, stylus, and recording system. The gas pressure of the cylinder deflects the piston and pushes against the spring, creating a linear relationship between the gas pressure and the deflection of the piston against the spring. The deflection is recorded by the stylus on a rotating drum that is connected to the piston. Most indicators incorporate a mechanical linkage to amplify the movement of the piston to increase the scale of the record.
When the ratio of the frequency of the pressure variation to the natural frequency of the system is small, then the dynamic deflection is equal to the static deflection. To design a system with a high natural frequency, the mass of the piston, spring, stylus, and mechanical linkage must be small, but the stiffness of the spring must be high. The indicator is subjected to high temperatures and pressures and rapid oscillations, imposing a limitation on the reduction in mass. Too stiff a spring will result in a small displacement of the indicator piston and a record too small to measure with accuracy. Multiplication of the displacement will introduce mechanical ad dynamic errors.
The parameters of the problem for designing an accurate and trouble free recorder are such that there is no easy or simple solution. Studying the variety of indicators in the collection shows how different inventors made different compromises in their designs.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company
ID Number
MC.316798
catalog number
316798
accession number
228496
patent number
8619
This is a nicely made model of the valve and valve seat patented by Jerome Wheelock, of Worcester, Massachusetts, September 22, 1885, no.
Description
This is a nicely made model of the valve and valve seat patented by Jerome Wheelock, of Worcester, Massachusetts, September 22, 1885, no. 326820.
The model represents a wide gridiron slide valve assembled on a skeletonized taper plug, which serves as the valve seat and supports the rock shaft connected to the slide by links or “toggles.” The whole assembly is designed to fit into a taper hole bored into the cylinder block and connected by suitable ports to the cylinder. The advantage of this arrangement over ordinary plug valves is that it does not require that a valve seat be formed within the large cylinder casting, and it permits the delicate fitting of the valve to the valve seat to be performed at a work bench or upon a machine away from the engine.
The complete Wheelock valve gear (U.S. patent number 326819) consists of one steam valve and one exhaust valve at each end of a cylinder with the rock arms of the exhaust valves permanently connected to the eccentric, so that the valve is at rest during part of the travel of the eccentric, while the steam valves are connected through a detachable latch so that they may be detached and closed quickly at any point during the stroke of the piston.
Reference:
This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1885
ID Number
MC.310251
catalog number
310251
accession number
108073
Almost from the moment of the mechanical clock's invention, the local clock tower on a church or other public building dominated the landscape. Tower clocks announced the time to people within earshot of their bells and regulated urban life in the Western world.
Description
Almost from the moment of the mechanical clock's invention, the local clock tower on a church or other public building dominated the landscape. Tower clocks announced the time to people within earshot of their bells and regulated urban life in the Western world. The introduction of the pendulum and the anchor escapement in the late seventeenth century made these clocks remarkably accurate. They were set at local noon (when the sun reached its highest point in the sky at a particular location), and thus gave each town a time of its own, depending on its longitude.
In America, before specialized manufacturers began mass-producing tower clocks in the second half of the nineteenth century, the clocks were built to order by versatile individual clockmakers and, occasionally, by adventurous blacksmiths. The tower clock shown here is one of the few built by Simon Willard (1753-1848) of Boston, the most famous of the many clockmaking members of the Willard family. Willard was inventive as well as prolific, a clockmaker who worked not only for a regional clientele but also for Thomas Jefferson and the outfitters of the U.S. Capitol.
Marked "Made in 1832 by Simon Willard in his 80th year," this tower clock served for more than a century on the First (Unitarian) Parish in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In all details the movement shows uncompromising craftsmanship. It has a pinwheel dead-beat escapement with maintaining power and a rack-and-snail hour striking train.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1832
maker
Willard, Simon
ID Number
ME.330398
catalog number
330398
accession number
288890
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1872
patent date
1872-04-02
inventor
Brayton, George B.
ID Number
MC.251280
catalog number
251280
accession number
48865
patent number
125,166

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