What did Henry Maudsley invent and in what year did the lathe appear, history

Wikipedia has articles about other people with the surname Maudsley.

Henry Maudsley

(English
Henry Maudslay
; August 22, 1771 - February 14, 1831) - British inventor of tools, dies and machines, considered one of the creators of the screw-cutting lathe.

What is Henry Maudsley famous for and what he invented?

The name Henry Maudsley is not widely known to the general public. He invented and improved things that people rarely encounter in everyday life. Meanwhile, the results of his work were very important for the development of the engineering industry. Now the machines created by him are present in many workshops around the world.

1. Who is Henry Maudsley - short biography
2. Inventions
3. Screw-cutting lathe
4. Powered lathe support
5. Original set of replacement gears
6. Cross-planing machine with crank mechanism

What did Henry Maudsley invent?

Each creation of a scientist became an important stage in the industrial revolution. His inventions served as the basis for the subsequent development of science.

Screw-cutting lathe

For a long time, when processing metal workpieces, turners were forced to hold the cutter in their hands. This type of work was very uncomfortable and dangerous. In addition, achieving equal accuracy of products was very difficult. Then Maudsley decided to add a special support to the lathe. He helped fix the cutting tool. This happened in 1797.

Thanks to Maudsley's invention, it was possible to achieve rigid installation of the cutter in two planes. This made the work more accurate. The scientist’s machine helped to produce nuts and bolts with a clear thread pitch.

Powered lathe support

The first improvement to the Maudsley machine was the use of a powered slide. Using a gear drive, the scientist connected the lead screw and the spindle. By rotating it, it was possible to move the cutter along the machine body, positioning it with a high degree of accuracy. At the same time, the researcher made a new set of lead screws for the machine. Changing them made it possible to obtain threads of different sizes.

Original set of replacement gears

A couple of years later, the scientist again improved his invention. Instead of lead screws, the researcher decided to use a set of wheels that had different numbers of teeth. With their help, rotation was transmitted. Such products were easier to manufacture and operate.

The use of different combinations helped to obtain different thread profiles with one lead screw. It also allowed for slicing left and right. The precision of the machine was so high that it was possible to see the threads on individual screws only using a magnifying glass.

Cross-planing machine with crank mechanism

In the first half of the nineteenth century, Maudsley, who was not very rich, was lucky. He managed to get a contract to create a real industrial line for the production of ship blocks.

The scientist led the development for the Royal Navy together with French engineer Marc Brunel. A total of 43 machines were designed, one of which was a new cross-planing design. It made it possible to accurately process workpieces made from elm and backwood, the hardest types of wood used in the shipbuilding industry.

Henry Maudsley managed to make an important contribution to the development of mechanical engineering at the initial stage of its inception. His main achievement was the creation of machines that were used for many years in workshops around the world and served as the basis for further inventions in this area.

Who is Henry Maudsley - short biography

The outstanding engineer was born on August 22, 1771 in London. His father, a former military man, was at the time working as a foreman at the Royal Arsenal. Like many English children of that era, little Henry began working at the age of 12. His duties included putting gunpowder into artillery cartridges . Later he was transferred to a carpentry workshop, and at the age of 15 he began to master the craft of a blacksmith.

After the arsenal, Maudsley ended up in the workshop of the outstanding inventor Joseph Bramah, creator of the world's first hydraulic press. It was there that he created his first inventions.

In 1800 he designed a machine for working metal . With its help, it became possible to produce fasteners that had precise and uniform dimensions. Thus, Henry prepared the technical basis for the subsequent introduction of standardization and interchangeability of parts , without which modern industrial production is unthinkable.

Ten years later, Maudsley founded his own engineering plant. His company quickly became one of the largest in England and existed until the beginning of the 20th century. Such outstanding engineers and inventors as Joseph Whitworth, creator of one of the first sniper rifles, and James Nesmith, who designed the steam hammer, began their creative careers in his workshop.

As Henry grew older, he became interested in astronomy, which was experiencing a real boom at that time. His plans included building his own observatory. However, they were not destined to come true. In January 1831, Maudsley became seriously ill and died a month later. He was only 59 years old. He is buried in the Woolwich area of ​​London, the same place where he once poured gunpowder into cartridges as a child.

Biography

The famous engineer was born in London on August 22, 1771. His father was a former military man. At the time of his son's birth, he was working at the Royal Arsenal. Like many children of those times, Henry began working at the age of 12. His job was to put gunpowder into artillery cartridges. Subsequently, he moved to a carpentry workshop, and by the age of 15 he began to learn the profession of a blacksmith.

In 1789, Maudsley managed to get into the mechanical workshop of Joseph Bramah. And already in 1794, the future scientist designed a cross support for a lathe. It made it possible to turn bolts and screws automatically, and this could be done with any thread. In 1797, the master managed to make a screw-cutting lathe. It had a caliper and a set of gears.

In 1800, the scientist managed to design the first metal-cutting machine that could be used in industry. It made it possible to standardize thread sizes. This development made it possible to use the principle of interchangeability. Thanks to this, it was possible to use bolts and nuts in practice.

Until this point, carvings were usually carved by experienced workers using a rather primitive technique. They marked a groove on the workpiece, and then cut it with a file, chisel and other devices. As a result, the nuts and bolts had non-standard sizes. Therefore, the nut corresponded only to a specific bolt.

Nuts were used extremely rarely in those days, and metal screws were used mainly for woodworking. At the same time, Maudsley managed to standardize the production of threads. In addition, the scientist produced sets of dies and taps. This made the bolt fit any nut of the right size. This was an important step in the manufacture of equipment and in scientific progress in general.

Already in 1810, Henry Maudsley managed to open an engineering plant. At the same time, in 1815 he created a machine line for the production of rope blocks for ships.

In addition, the scientist was the first to create a micrometer that ensured high accuracy of measurements. The researcher called his invention “Lord Chancellor”. It was used to resolve any issues regarding the accuracy of part measurements.

The researcher also came up with a machine for making holes in boiler iron. In addition, the inventor created a tunneling shield, with the help of which it was possible to build a tunnel under the Thames.

In old age, the scientist became interested in astronomy. This prompted him to begin building a telescope. The researcher was going to buy a house in one of the London districts and create a private observatory there. However, illness and then death ruined his plans.

In January 1831, the scientist was returning from France from his friend. While traveling across the English Channel, he caught a cold. After 4 weeks of illness, the scientist died. This happened in February 1831. The famous inventor was buried in Woolwich, south London.

Inventions

Each of his creations became a significant milestone on the path of the industrial revolution. Many of them remained in the shadow of more high-profile technological innovations, such as the steam engine. However, each of his innovations deserves special attention.

Screw-cutting lathe

For a long time, when processing metal workpieces, turners had to hold the cutter in their hands. It was extremely inconvenient and unsafe to work like this; it was impossible to achieve the same precision in processing products. Maudsley came up with the idea to equip the machine with a special support in which the cutting tool was fixed .

Thanks to this, it became possible to rigidly install the cutter in two planes, increasing the accuracy of the work. Using his machine, it was possible to produce bolts and nuts with a fixed thread pitch . It is almost impossible to overestimate the impact of the emergence of standard fasteners on the speed of production of a wide variety of things.

Powered lathe support

The first improvement of his machine was the introduction of a mechanized support. Using a gear drive, Henry connected its lead screw to a spindle, by rotating which it was possible to move the cutter along the machine body and install it with high precision . At the same time, he made a separate set of different lead screws for the machine, replacing which made it possible to cut threads of different pitches and heights.

mechanic and machine tool builder

“The Englishman is a cunning man, to help the work,

I was inventing a car behind the car;"

English mechanic and industrialist.

He created a screw-cutting lathe with a mechanized support (1797), mechanized the production of screws, nuts, etc.

He spent his early years in Woolwich, near London. At the age of 12 he began working as a cartridge filler at the Woolwich Arsenal, and at the age of 18 he was the best blacksmith of the arsenal and a mechanic in the workshop of J. Bram, the best workshop in London. Later he opened his own workshop, then a factory in Lambeth. Created the Maudsley Laboratory. Designer. Mechanical engineer. He created a mechanized lathe support of his own design.

I came up with an original set of replacement gears. Invented a cross-planing machine with a crank mechanism. Created or improved a large number of different metal-cutting machines.

He built steam ship engines for Russia.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, a gradual revolution in mechanical engineering began. The old lathe is being replaced one by one by new high-precision automatic machines equipped with calipers.

The beginning of this revolution was laid by the screw-cutting lathe of the English mechanic Henry Maudsley, which made it possible to automatically turn screws and bolts with any thread. The screw cutting machine designed by Maudsley represented a significant advance. The history of its invention is described as follows by contemporaries. In 1794-1795, Maudsley, still a young but already very experienced mechanic, worked in the workshop of the famous inventor Brahma. The main products of the workshop were water closets and locks invented by Bramo. The demand for them was very wide, and it was difficult to make them manually. Bramah and Maudsley were faced with the task of increasing the number of parts produced on the machines. However, the old lathe was inconvenient for this. Having begun work on its improvement, Maudsley equipped it with a cross support in 1794.

The lower part of the support (slide) was installed on the same frame with the tailstock of the machine and could slide along its guide. In any place, the caliper could be firmly fixed with a screw. On the lower sled were the upper ones, arranged in a similar way. With their help, the cutter, fixed with a screw in a slot at the end of a steel bar, could move in the transverse direction. The caliper moved in the longitudinal and transverse directions using two lead screws. By moving the cutter using a support close to the workpiece, rigidly mounting it on a cross slide, and then moving it along the surface being processed, it was possible to cut off excess metal with great precision.

In this case, the support performed the function of the worker’s hand holding the cutter. In fact, there was nothing new in the described design, but it was a necessary step towards further improvements.

Leaving Brahma soon after his invention, Maudsley founded his own workshop and in 1798 created a more advanced lathe. This machine was an important milestone in the development of machine tool construction, since for the first time it made it possible to automatically cut screws of any length and any pitch. As already mentioned, the weak point of the old lathe was that it could only cut short screws. It couldn’t be otherwise, because there was no support, the worker’s hand had to remain motionless, and the workpiece itself moved along with the spindle.

In the Maudsley machine, the workpiece remained motionless, and the support with the cutter fixed in it moved. In order to make the caliper move on the lower slide along the machine, Maudsley connected the headstock spindle to the caliper lead screw using two gears. The rotating screw was screwed into a nut, which pulled the caliper slide behind it and forced it to slide along the frame. Since the lead screw rotated at the same speed as the spindle, a thread was cut on the workpiece with the same pitch that was on this screw.

For cutting screws with different pitches, the machine had a supply of lead screws. Automatic screw cutting on the machine occurred as follows. The workpiece was clamped and ground to the required dimensions, without turning on the mechanical feed of the caliper. After this, the lead screw was connected to the spindle, and screw cutting was carried out in several passes of the cutter. Each caliper's return movement was done manually after turning off the self-propelled feed.

Thus, the lead screw and caliper completely replaced the worker’s hand. Moreover, they made it possible to cut threads much more accurately and faster than on previous machines. In 1800, Maudsley made a remarkable improvement to his machine - instead of a set of interchangeable lead screws, he used a set of interchangeable gears that connected the spindle and the lead screw (there were 28 of them with a number of teeth from 15 to 50). Now it was possible to obtain different threads with different pitches using one lead screw. In fact, if it was necessary, for example, to obtain a screw whose stroke is n times less than that of the lead screw, it was necessary to make the workpiece rotate at such a speed that it would make n revolutions during the time while the lead screw received its rotation from the spindle , this was easily achieved by inserting one or more gear wheels between the spindle and the screw. Knowing the number of teeth on each wheel, it was not difficult to obtain the required speed. By changing the combination of wheels, it was possible to achieve different effects, for example, cutting a right-hand thread instead of a left-hand one.

On his machine, Maudsley cut threads with such amazing precision and accuracy that it seemed almost a miracle to his contemporaries. In particular, he cut the adjusting screw and nut for an astronomical instrument, which for a long time was considered an unsurpassed masterpiece of precision. The screw was five feet long and two inches in diameter with 50 turns for every inch. The carving was so small that it could not be seen with the naked eye. Soon, the improved Maudsley machine became widespread and served as a model for many other metal-cutting machines.

Excerpt characterizing Maudsley, Henry

“But you know, Your Excellency, the wise rule is to assume the worst,” said the Austrian general, apparently wanting to end the jokes and get down to business. He involuntarily looked back at the adjutant. “Excuse me, General,” Kutuzov interrupted him and also turned to Prince Andrei. - That's it, my dear, take all the reports from our spies from Kozlovsky. Here are two letters from Count Nostitz, here is a letter from His Highness Archduke Ferdinand, here is another,” he said, handing him several papers. - And from all this, neatly, in French, compose a memorandum, a note, for the sake of visibility of all the news that we had about the actions of the Austrian army. Well, then, introduce him to his Excellency. Prince Andrei bowed his head as a sign that he understood from the first words not only what was said, but also what Kutuzov wanted to tell him. He collected the papers, and, making a general bow, quietly walking along the carpet, went out into the reception room. Despite the fact that not much time has passed since Prince Andrei left Russia, he has changed a lot during this time. In the expression of his face, in his movements, in his gait, the former pretense, fatigue and laziness were almost not noticeable; he had the appearance of a man who does not have time to think about the impression he makes on others, and is busy doing something pleasant and interesting. His face expressed more satisfaction with himself and those around him; his smile and gaze were more cheerful and attractive. Kutuzov, whom he caught up with in Poland, received him very kindly, promised him not to forget him, distinguished him from other adjutants, took him with him to Vienna and gave him more serious assignments. From Vienna, Kutuzov wrote to his old comrade, the father of Prince Andrei: “Your son,” he wrote, “gives hope of becoming an officer, out of the ordinary in his studies, firmness and diligence. I consider myself lucky to have such a subordinate at hand.” At Kutuzov's headquarters, among his comrades and colleagues, and in the army in general, Prince Andrei, as well as in St. Petersburg society, had two completely opposite reputations. Some, a minority, recognized Prince Andrei as something special from themselves and from all other people, expected great success from him, listened to him, admired him and imitated him; and with these people Prince Andrei was simple and pleasant. Others, the majority, did not like Prince Andrei, considered him a pompous, cold and unpleasant person. But with these people, Prince Andrei knew how to position himself in such a way that they respected him and even feared him. Coming out of Kutuzov’s office into the reception area, Prince Andrei with papers approached his comrade, the adjutant on duty Kozlovsky, who was sitting by the window with a book. - Well, what, prince? – asked Kozlovsky. “We were ordered to write a note explaining why we shouldn’t go ahead.” - And why? Prince Andrey shrugged his shoulders. - No news from Mac? – asked Kozlovsky. - No. “If it were true that he was defeated, then the news would come.” “Probably,” said Prince Andrei and headed towards the exit door; but at the same time, a tall, obviously visiting, Austrian general in a frock coat, with a black scarf tied around his head and with the Order of Maria Theresa around his neck, quickly entered the reception room, slamming the door. Prince Andrei stopped. - General Chief Kutuzov? - the visiting general quickly said with a sharp German accent, looking around on both sides and walking without stopping to the office door. “The general in chief is busy,” said Kozlovsky, hastily approaching the unknown general and blocking his path from the door. - How would you like to report? The unknown general looked contemptuously down at the short Kozlovsky, as if surprised that he might not be known. “The general in chief is busy,” Kozlovsky repeated calmly. The general's face frowned, his lips twitched and trembled. He took out a notebook, quickly drew something with a pencil, tore out a piece of paper, gave it to him, walked quickly to the window, threw his body on a chair and looked around at those in the room, as if asking: why are they looking at him? Then the general raised his head, craned his neck, as if intending to say something, but immediately, as if casually starting to hum to himself, he made a strange sound, which immediately stopped. The door to the office opened, and Kutuzov appeared on the threshold. The general with his head bandaged, as if running away from danger, bent down and approached Kutuzov with large, fast steps of his thin legs. “Vous voyez le malheureux Mack, [You see the unfortunate Mack.],” he said in a broken voice. The face of Kutuzov, standing in the doorway of the office, remained completely motionless for several moments. Then, like a wave, a wrinkle ran across his face, his forehead smoothed out; He bowed his head respectfully, closed his eyes, silently let Mac pass by him and closed the door behind himself. The rumor, already spread before, about the defeat of the Austrians and the surrender of the entire army at Ulm, turned out to be true. Half an hour later, adjutants were sent in different directions with orders proving that soon the Russian troops, which had hitherto been inactive, would have to meet the enemy.

Childhood years of life

Maudsley's father, also named Henry, worked as a wheel and coach repairman for the Royal Engineers .

).
After being wounded in action, he became a storekeeper at the Royal Arsenal
, a manufacturing facility in Woolwich, south London, that produced arms, ammunition and explosives, and carried out scientific research for the British armed forces
. There he married a young widow, Margaret Londy, and they had seven children, of whom young Henry was the fifth. In 1780, Henry's father died. Like many children of the era, Henry began working in manufacturing from an early age, at the age of 12 he was a "powder monkey", one of the boys hired to fill cartridges at the Royal Arsenal .
Two years later he was transferred to a carpentry workshop equipped with a stamping forge press, where at the age of fifteen he began to learn the blacksmith's craft.

Notes

1. Anatoly Sukhov.
   [www.zr.ru/a/10826/ “Spiral of Evolution”] (Russian).
   Behind the wheel
   (November 1, 2004). Retrieved September 8, 2012. [www.webcitation.org/6BoItA3GM Archived from the original on October 31, 2012].
2. F. N. Zagorsky, I. M. Zagorskaya.
   [www.ozon.ru/context/detail/id/14404629/ “Henry Maudsley”] (Russian).
   ozon.ru.
   _ Retrieved September 9, 2012.
3. F. N. Zagorsky, I. M. Zagorskaya.
   [vivovoco.astronet.ru/VV/PAPERS/TECHNICS/MAUDSLAY/CHAPT1.HTM “Henry Maudsley” (electronic version of the book)] (Russian).
   Russian State Library
   . Retrieved September 12, 2012. [www.webcitation.org/6BoIwz7Ov Archived from the original on October 31, 2012].

Career

In 1800, Maudsley developed the first industrial metal-cutting machine to standardize thread sizes. This allowed the concept of interchangeability to be introduced to put nuts and bolts into practice. Before him, threads, as a rule, were filled by skilled workers in a very primitive way - they marked a groove on the bolt blank, and then cut it using a chisel, a file and various other tools. Accordingly, the nuts and bolts were of non-standard shape and size, and such a bolt fit exclusively to the nut that was made for it. Nuts were rarely used; metal screws were used mainly in woodworking, to connect individual blocks. Metal bolts passing through the wood frame were wedged for fastening on the other side, or a metal washer was put on the edge of the bolt and the end of the bolt was flared. Maudsley standardized the thread making process for use in his workshop and produced sets of taps and dies so that any bolt of the appropriate size would fit any nut of the same size. This was a great step forward in technological progress and equipment production [1].

Maudsley first invented a micrometer with a measurement accuracy of one ten-thousandth of an inch (0.0001 in ≈ 3 microns). He called it "Lord Chancellor" because it was used to settle any questions regarding the accuracy of the measurements of parts in his workshops.

In his old age, Maudsley developed an interest in astronomy and began building a telescope. He intended to buy a house in one of the areas of London and build a private observatory, but he fell ill and died before he could carry out his plan. In January 1831, he caught a cold while crossing the English Channel while returning from visiting a friend in France. Henry was ill for 4 weeks and died on February 14, 1831. He was buried in the parish cemetery of St. Mary Magdalene ( English)

) in Woolwich (South London), where a cast-iron memorial to the Maudsley family, cast at a factory in Lambeth, was erected to his design. Subsequently, 14 members of his family were buried in this cemetery.

Many eminent engineers trained in Henry's workshop, including Richard Roberts .

), David Napier, Joseph Clement (
English
), Sir Joseph Whitworth, James Nasmith (inventor of the steam hammer), Joshua Field (
English
) and William Muir.

Henry Maudsley contributed to the development of mechanical engineering when it was still in its infancy, his main innovation was in the creation of machine tools that would later be used in technical workshops around the world.

The Maudsley Company was one of the most important British engineering manufactories of the nineteenth century and existed until 1904.

Maudsley, Henry (mechanic)

Maudsley's father, also named Henry, worked as an army wheel and carriage repairman. After being wounded in battle, he became a storekeeper at the Royal Arsenal, located in Woolwich, south London, a plant that produced arms, ammunition and explosives, and carried out scientific research for the British armed forces. There he married to a young widow, Margaret Londy. They had seven children, of whom young Henry was the fifth child. Henry's father died in 1780. Like many children of that era, Henry began working in manufacturing from an early age, at the age of 12 he was " powder monkey," that is, one of the boys employed to fill cartridges at the Woolwich Arsenal. Two years later he was transferred to a carpenter's shop, equipped with a forging press, where, at the age of fifteen, he began to learn the blacksmith's trade.

One of Maudsley's famous screw-cutting lathes, built approximately between 1797 and 1800.

In 1789 Maudsley began working in Joseph Bramah's London machine shop. In 1794, Maudsley invented a cross slide for a lathe, which could be used to automatically turn screws and bolts with any thread. In 1797, he created a screw-cutting lathe with a support (mechanized on the basis of a screw pair) and a set of gears.

In 1800, Maudsley developed the first industrial metal-cutting machine, which made it possible to standardize thread sizes. Thanks to this invention, it was possible to introduce the concept of interchangeability to put nuts and bolts into practice. Before him, threads, as a rule, were filled by skilled workers in a very primitive way - they marked a groove on the bolt blank, and then cut it using a chisel, file and various other tools, which is why the nuts and bolts turned out to be of non-standard shape and size, and the nut fit only to the bolt for which it was made. Nuts were rarely used; metal screws were used mainly in woodworking, to connect individual blocks. Metal bolts passing through the wood frame were jammed on the other side for fastening, or a metal washer was put on the edge of the bolt, and the end of the bolt was flared. Maudsley standardized the thread making process for use in his workshop and produced sets of taps and dies so that any bolt would fit any nut of the same size as itself. This was a big step forward in technological progress and equipment production[3].

In 1810, Maudsley founded an engineering plant, and in 1815 he created a machine line for the production of rope blocks for ships.

Maudsley was the first to create a micrometer with a measurement accuracy of one ten-thousandth of an inch (0.0001 in ≈ 3 microns)[4]. He called it "Lord Chancellor" because it was used to settle any questions regarding the accuracy of the measurements of parts in his workshops.

He also invented a machine for punching holes in sheets of boiler iron, and designed a tunneling shield for the construction of a tunnel under the Thames in London.

In his old age, Maudsley became interested in astronomy and began building a telescope. He intended to buy a house in one of the areas of London and build a private observatory, but he fell ill and died before he could carry out his plan. In January 1831, while returning from visiting a friend in France, he caught a cold while crossing the English Channel. After four weeks of illness, on February 14, 1831, he died. He was buried in the parish cemetery of St. Mary Magdalene in Woolwich (South London), where a cast-iron memorial to the Maudsley family, cast at a factory in Lambeth, was erected to his design. Subsequently, 14 more members of his family were buried in this cemetery.

Henry's workshop trained many eminent engineers, including Richard Roberts, David Napier, Joseph Clement, Sir Joseph Whitworth, James Nasmith (inventor of the steam hammer), Joshua Field and William Muir.

Henry Maudsley contributed to the development of mechanical engineering when it was still in its infancy, his main innovation was in the creation of machine tools that would later be used in technical workshops around the world.

The Maudsley Company was one of the most important British engineering companies of the nineteenth century and lasted until 1904.

How it all began

In fact, something similar was known in slave-owning Hellas several hundred years BC. The principle of obtaining bodies of rotation, in which it is necessary to rotate the workpiece by touching its surface with a stronger and sharper object, was easy to come up with.

Antique foot operated lathe

There were no problems with the source of energy, since healthy and strong slaves were available in abundance. In more civilized times, such a machine was driven by a tightly stretched bowstring. But there was a significant limitation - the speed of revolutions fell as the bowstring untwisted, so in the Middle Ages models of foot-driven lathes appeared.

Design and principle of operation of a CNC lathe

They very vaguely resembled a sewing machine - because they included a traditional crank mechanism. This turned out to be a very positive change: the rotating workpiece now had no accompanying oscillatory movements, significantly complicating the work of the master and deteriorating the quality of processing.

However, by the beginning of the 16th century, the lathe still had a number of significant limitations:

Lathe with manual cable drive from a flywheel

• The cutter had to be held manually, so during prolonged metal processing the turner’s hand became very tired.
• The steady rest supporting long workpieces was attached separately from the machine, and therefore its installation and verification were quite lengthy.
• The problem of removing the chips was never solved: an apprentice was needed to periodically brush the chips off the master's hand.
• The issue of uniform movement of the cutter during processing was not resolved either: everything was determined by the qualifications and experience of the master.

Who invented the caliper?

The support is the key component of a modern lathe; everything else could, to one degree or another, be borrowed from other mechanisms. At the same time, having a device for precise movement of a metal-cutting tool along the surface being processed, and in all three coordinates, one could talk about a fully functional machine for turning. But, as in most other cases from the history of technology, it is impossible to establish sole authorship in the invention of the caliper.

What does it say about Andrei Nartov’s priority?

Large lathe and copying machine built by Nartov in 1718-1729

• A self-propelled support appeared in Nartov's copying machine in 1712, while Henry Maudsley introduced his version only in 1797.
• For the first time, the joint movement of the copier and the support in the Nartov version of the machine was carried out using one mechanism - a lead screw.
• Changing the cross-feed speed was technically ensured by different thread pitches on the lead screw.

This mechanism had V-shaped guides that were accurate for its time, and the caliper had the ability to move not only in the transverse, but also in the longitudinal directions. However, not everything was in order here either - in particular, there was no chuck where the workpiece to be processed would be secured.

This significantly narrowed the technological capabilities of the equipment: for example, turning of workpieces that had different lengths was impossible. And in general, perform any other operations other than cutting threads on screws, bolts, etc.

And then Henry Maudsley appears on the historical stage.

Universal lathe – the time has come

In many branches of human creative activity, the palm goes to the one who not only invented something, but was also able to analytically correctly generalize the experience of previous generations. Henry Maudsley is no exception.

Lathe G. Maudsley 1798

There is no reason to claim that Maudsley simply stole the caliper circuit from Andrey Nartov. Yes, during the time of Peter I, ties with England were not particularly welcomed, but relations with Holland were strong. But given the fact that the Dutch, in turn, often hosted English entrepreneurs and simply craftsmen, it is likely that Nartov’s invention very soon became known on the shores of Foggy Albion (although Maudsley himself could have learned about Nartov’s machine, since in Those years he was engaged in the construction of steam engines for Russia).

The greatness of Henry Maudsley lies elsewhere - he presented to the interested parties (and in England by that time the industrial revolution was in full swing) the concept of the first, truly universal machine for performing various turning operations. Equipment in which all the problems of the turning method of processing products were organically solved.

Henry Maudsley lathes

Maudsley's first caliper had a cross-shaped design: there were two lead screws to move along the guides. But in 1787, Maudsley radically changed the order of movements of the tool and the workpiece: the latter remained motionlessly fixed, and the caliper now slid along its generatrix. To implement this change, Maudsley connected one of the caliper lead screws to the headstock using a gear drive (a nuance that Nartov had not thought of). As a result, thread cutting began to be performed automatically, and only the support was removed manually after processing the part.