ABSTRACT
The automatic factory began to take shape in reality first in the continuous-process industries, in the shift away from traditional batch methods. Automating manufacturing processes entails rendering automatic not only production operation but also the transfer of product-in-process from one work station to another. The development of automatic industrial controls from the 1920s on reflected the shift to continuous-process production in many industries and the emergence of systems control methods in the electrical power field. The combination of self-acting equipment and automatic transfer machines made possible the integrated control of factory operations, pioneered in the metalworking industry in 1920 by A. O. Smith's Milwaukee automobile frame plant. In 1947, Del Harder called for more such automatic handling equipment, as well as sequence-control mechanisms for balancing the different operation lines in the automatic mass production of engine blocks. The Ford Automation Department was charged with the mission of getting factory equipment to operate at the maximum possible rate.
