The Historic Slater Mill

Cotton Gin

Machine for making bales

Cotton Bale

The trip to the Slater Mill was very interesting. As we were learning about the early industrial ways of how machines used to work I compared them to the ones we use today. I realized that the core structure in the machines stayed the same through the century while the system of energy distribution and the improvements in the engineering of the machines changed.

I was very interested in the Cotton Gin we saw at the entrance because for me it symbolized the industrial revolution and mass production. Before the discovery of this machine workers used to separate the cotton seeds from the fibers by hand which meant that they could only produce 1 pound of seedless cotton everyday. After this invention the production of the end product became 1000 pounds per day per person. This meant faster paced production which is a fundamental element of a successful manufacturing chain.
When I am designing the manufacturing process of my product speed and time of production have been the two important factors I have kept in consideration. Easy and fast manufacturing means that you have an efficient process. Designing the simplest process possible will always provide a better result.  Also the facts that the machine is simply powered by hand and can be used by one person are related to my approach of 'do-it-yourself' production.