Assembly Line
20 artifacts in this set
Car Body Assembly Line at Ford's Highland Park Plant, circa 1914
Photographic print
These workers install folding tops and side curtains to Model T bodies on a moving assembly line in Building H at Ford's Highland Park plant. By 1914, a Model T could be fully assembled in just over one and a half man-hours. The job took twelve and a half man-hours using stationary methods.
Ford Model T Assembly Line at the Highland Park Plant, 1915
Photographic print
On the chassis assembly lines, frames, axles, gas tanks, engines, dashboards, wheels, radiators, and bodies came together in that order to produce finished, running automobiles. In this view of installing the assembled dashboards, workers connect ignition wires, spark controls, and throttle controls to the engine, and connect the steering column to the tie rods on the front axle.
V-8 Engine Being Lowered into Ford Chassis on Assembly Line, 1939
Photographic print
Engineers at Ford's Highland Park plant had fine-tuned the moving assembly line. With this experience in hand, Ford created the B building at its new River Rouge complex with extensive conveyer systems to accommodate the flow of parts and assembly processes. Here, line workers lower one of Ford's innovative V-8 engines with attached transmission into a steadily moving chassis.
Overhead Conveyors with Camshafts, Assembly Line at Ford Rouge Plant Motor Building, 1937
Photographic print
Overhead Conveyors with Camshafts, Assembly Line at Ford Rouge Plant Motor Building, 1937
Headlights, Bumpers and Components on Ford Assembly Line, 1938
Photographic print
Engineers at Ford's Highland Park plant had fine-tuned the moving assembly line. With this experience in hand, Ford created the B building at the new River Rouge complex with extensive conveyer systems to accommodate the flow of parts and assembly processes. 120 miles of conveyer crisscrossed the Rouge Plant, including the overhead section seen here.
Frame Assembly Line, Ford Plant, 1946
Photographic print
Workers Filling Orders to Supply Automobile Parts on Assembly Line at Ford Rouge Plant, 1937
Working on the Assembly Line at the Ford Rouge Plant, Dearborn, Michigan, 1943
Photographic print
Frame Assembly Line, Ford Plant, 1946--with African American workers present in image
Workers on Armature Assembly Line at the Ford Rouge Plant, 1934
Photographic print
Working on the Assembly Line at the Ford Rouge Plant, Dearborn, Michigan, 1943
V-8 Engine Assembly Line at Ford Rouge Plant, 1937
Photographic print
Engineers at Ford's Highland Park plant had fine-tuned the moving assembly line. With this experience in hand, Ford created the B building at its new River Rouge complex with extensive conveyer systems to accommodate the flow of parts and assembly processes. These line workers assemble Ford's radical V-8 engines, the first 8-cylinder engines available for inexpensive cars.
Assembly Line Workers, Ford Rouge Plant, May 6, 1932
Photographic print
Assembly Line Workers, Ford Rouge Plant, May 6, 1932
Workers Installing Engines on Ford Model T Assembly Line at Highland Park Plant, 1913
Photographic print
One worker at Ford's Highland Park Plant connects a Model T driveshaft to its transmission, while another lowers an engine onto the chassis using a chain hoist. This 1913 assembly line was relatively crude -- workers pushed or pulled vehicles to each station. The next year, Ford would install chain-driven, moving assembly lines to improve efficiency and increase productivity.
10 Millionth Ford Model T Chassis on Assembly Line at the Highland Park Plant, June 1924
Photographic print
In June 1924, the ten-millionth Ford automobile -- a Model T, of course -- rolled off the assembly line. Ford sent this vehicle on a cross-country tour promoting the company. Crowds greeted the auto as it made its way from New York to California along the Lincoln Highway. This photo shows the historic automobile being made at the Highland Park assembly line.
Headlight Installation on Ford's Mercury Assembly Line, 1938
Photographic print
Engineers at Ford's Highland Park plant had fine-tuned the moving assembly line. With this experience in hand, Ford created the B building at its new River Rouge complex with extensive conveyer systems to accommodate the flow of parts and assembly processes. Here, during final assembly, a line worker adjusts the newly installed headlight on a 1939 Mercury automobile.
Assembly Line at Ford Motor Company Moscow Plant, 1930
Photographic print
In 1929, Ford Motor Company signed an agreement with the Soviet government to help open two plants in the U.S.S.R. at Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. Ford provided detailed drawings of factory buildings and equipment, and it sent engineers and foremen to oversee construction and startup. Although Ford lost money on the venture, it earned favorable international publicity.
Assembly Line at the Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, 1947
Photographic print
Assembly Line at the Ford Motor Company Rouge Plant, 1947 showing white woman working next to Black woman.....
Ford Model T on Assembly Line Conveyor, 1926-1927
Photographic print
Ford Model T on Assembly Line Conveyor, 1926-1927
Chassis on Ford Assembly Line, 1938
Photographic print
Engineers at Ford's Highland Park plant had fine-tuned the moving assembly line. With this experience in hand, Ford created the B building at its new River Rouge complex with extensive conveyer systems to accommodate the flow of parts and assembly processes. These workers would have had about one minute per vehicle to complete their tasks on the chassis assembly line.
Unimate Industrial Robots in Use on General Motors Assembly Line, circa 1970
Photographic print
George Devol revolutionized manufacturing with his invention of the Unimate -- the world's first industrial robot. These rugged programmable units were designed to perform repetitive, arduous and hazardous tasks. The first Unimate was installed in a General Motors plant in 1961. This photograph, part of a larger archival collection documenting Devol's work, illustrates the functions and uses of his innovative idea.
Ford Motor Company Mexico City Plant, Interior, 1932
Photographic print
Guillermo Kahlo, father of artist Frida Kahlo, was one of the foremost architectural photographers in Mexico during the early 1900s. In 1932, Kahlo's studio documented the Ford Mexico City assembly plant. This visual record was created the same year Kahlo's son-in-law Diego Rivera began the Detroit Industry murals -- the monumental frescoes at the Detroit Institute of Arts funded by Edsel Ford.
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