Interchangeable Parts Reexamined
The Private Sector of the American Arms Industry on the Eve of the Civil War
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4027417 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert A Howard (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1978 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 633 |
| Publication date | 1978-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Technology and Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0040-165X • E-ISSN: 1097-3729 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3103762 |
| OpenAlex | W2322863429 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
A central concept of the American system of manufacture is that the parts of a mechanism, such as a gunlock, must be interchangeable. The theoretical advantages of interchangeability are fairly obvious: The product can be assembled by semiskilled help without fitting and filing, and repairs from stock parts or parts from salvaged guns can be made promptly and with a minimum of skill. When one looks carefully at the development of the American system, it becomes clear that attainment of interchangeability was a function of the precision required in the mechanism being produced and the market's desire for this feature. In the making of clocks, where the required level of precision was generally very low, it was readily attained. Interchangeability was attained with much difficulty in military muskets, where the level of precision was moderate and the government's desires to have it were furthered by basically unlimited resources.' Where the level of precision required was high and the market was
Business · Political science · Private sector · Spanish Civil War · Engineering · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Law
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,12 |
| Citation span | 1983 - 2018 (36) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |