Origins of Precision

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Strong rec kazen44 · 2020-09 · on “Iron, How Did They Make It? Part I, Mining”

the lathe is basically the one machine required to kickstart the industrial revolution. (and a way to drive it ofcourse). Also, three surfaces that can be ground truely flat is also vital. i can highly recommend the youtube series "machine thinking" if you have interest in this[0], aswell as the book "the perfectionist" [0] [this video] [1] [LINK]

Strong rec hinkley · 2023-07 · on “Cold restart whole system after total outage”

There's a way to grind mirrors optics for optics with polishing stones that aren't even flat to the naked eye. Basically the system arrives at tiny tolerances via the process of using the system. And there's way to make three perfectly flat sharpening stones by starting with three raw pieces of natural sharpening stone, just by alternately rubbing the three stones together until they flatten each other out. Paul Sellers can teach you how to flatten a large board without a planer. He also has videos on how to get a wood plane perfectly flat using a large sharpening stone (which can be made as above or with float glass). And if memory serves, you to make something perfectly round you first nee

Recommends nas · 2019-07 · on “Wringing”

This is a really nice video if you are interested in measurement precision for manufacturing: Machine Thinking: Origins of Precision and first project introduction [this video]

Recommends magicalhippo · 2021-04 · on “Why was cycling not included in the ancient Olympics? (2004) [pdf]”

> the precision metal tools I was wondering about how those came about not long ago, and stumbled over this[1] nice video, "Origins of Precision". [1]: [this video]

Recommends zeotroph · 2021-05 · on “Machine Thinking on the Printing Press: The Screws of Disruption [video]”

How the screw of the wine press was the central part of Gensfleisch/Gutenbergs invention which allowed all the other previously existing ones to finally come together (though I also read that certain advances in metallurgy were also essential). Also see the previous video on screws, a much underappreciated invention. It then describes how the availability of books made propagation of existing technology and newer developments possible and faster. The only other comparable moments in history are probably the evolution of spoken language, the invention of writing and most recently the internet. Also much recommended from that Chanel are the videos on the "Origins of Precision"[1], and "The 175

Recommends Lev1a · 2021-07 · on “TSMC eyes Germany as possible location for first Europe chip plant”

From what I've seen as an amateur that is yet fascinated by mechanical engineering: iteratively work up to the precision limits with your current methods then try to find/research a (slightly) better way of measuring and/or manufacturing. Since humanity has worked up to this point over centuries/millenia, you wouldn't need to "bootstrap" it from the beginning anymore, just choose the appropriate level of (manufacturing/measuring) precision for your usecase. Otherwise start with a surface plate. Nice summary: [this video] ("Origins of Precision" by "Machine Thinking")

Recommends q3k · 2021-07 · on “Build Your Own Metal Working Shop from Scrap (2011)”

(Hand) scraping refers to [LINK] . With two surfaces you can still have some bias (convexity/concavity) even though they appear to be relatively flat, you need three surfaces for absolute flatness. See the Whithworth Method described earlier in this topic. If you're interested in this sort of stuff and want a video introduction, see: [this video]

Recommends csours · 2022-10 · on “Why wasn’t the steam engine invented earlier? Part III”

A YouTube channel primarily dedicated to precision: [LINK] Example video: [this video] I think it's fair to call these mini-documentaries.