DOC《机电英语 文献摘录》

3 A cabinetmaker with a successful business could not do all the work alone. Other people were hired and trained to help, and a cottage industry began. Cottage industries were small factories, with a few workers, located in or near a craft person'

s home. Here labor was divided up according to skill. For example, an apprentice might cut logs into boards and smooth them into lumber. The craft person was then free to use his special skills to design and make furniture or cabinets.

4 With the industrial revolution in the late 1700s, the factory system of production began. Now the cabinetmaker started a furniture factory where large numbers of people worked at highly specialized jobs. One person made only chair legs, another only the seat. Machines were developed to aid the people in their work and to make them more productive. As more and better machines, newer methods of joining and working woods, and better, more efficient mass-production techniques were developed, the modern factory emerged.

5 Product Design The next time you use a tool to do a job around the house, take the time to study it. Does the tool work as it should ? Does the wrench hold the nut securely, or the chisel cut as it should ? Have the right materials been used to make the tool strong enough ? Is the tool comfortable to hold and well balanced ? If you answer yes, the object is probably well designed.

6 Tools, like all other products of industry (sports equipment, automobiles, chairs, knives and forks, and dozens of items that you use each day) were planned and made to do certain jobs and to make your life better. The people who plan these products are called designers. They work in the research and development departments of industries. Their job is to design new and better products and to improve old ones. If these products work as they should, if they are made of the right materials and interesting to look at, they are well designed. ........