Henry Maudslay

Henry Maudslay ( born August 22, 1771 in Woolwich Greenwich, † February 14, 1831 in Lambeth in London ) was an English mechanical engineer, the first lathe made ​​entirely of metal with forced guidance of the turning tool over cross slide and tool slide and lead screw for machine- controlled tool feed for the purpose of reproducible precision manufacture of motion screws constructed.

Maudslay, the son of a wheelwright and naval invalids, was twelve years old apprentice in the Royal Arsenal, the royal arms factory in Woolwich. After a period as a " Pulveraffe ", as they called the children used for the filling of gunpowder, he came first in the carpentry, and later in the forge for training. Even before the end of the seven -year apprenticeship, the extraordinary craftsmanship of the young man had gotten around. In 1789 Maudslay changed without terminating his teaching, on demand of the already known mechanical engineer Joseph Bramah in his workshop as a laborer. There he quickly rose to a master worker. After eight years at Bramah Maudslay in 1797 founded his own workshop in London. In this he built his first known first lead screw lathe with cross support for the automated production of hand produced only extraordinarily difficult and hardly reproducible precision motion screws. These were for the upcoming engineering of paramount importance, as already requires a simple lathe with cross support, so mechanical attitude and leadership of the turning tool, three such threaded spindles. The individual technical portions of this lathe Maudslay were, among others, in precision mechanics already known, its performance was however, is to combine the higher loads of general machine away from the mechanics according to a whole and also without using the previously more common and not so duty lathe parts made of wood to completely manufacture of metal.

Known selling products from the company Maudslay, which changed its name initially as M. Maudslay Machinist, then later under Maudslay, Son and Field, were a table steam engine and of course the threading lathes, the place in time awakening engineering hotcakes. The most important customer was from 1808, the British navy, which the company also issued its first major order. After Marc Isambard Brunel and designs of Samuel Bentham, a set of 45 woodworking machinery with a contract value of £ 12,000 was for the efficient production of pulley blocks for the sailing ships of the Navy. This machine could record ten semi-skilled workers, the same number as before pulley blocks produce 110 skilled craftsmen. From 1815 to specialize in the production of marine steam engines, again especially for the British Navy.

The company Maudslay may be considered as a multiplier of its time advanced metalworking techniques; at Maudslay had before starting their own companies, among others, Richard Roberts, Joseph Clement, James Nasmyth, and Joseph Whitworth employs a long time.

His grandson was the diplomat, explorer and archaeologist Alfred Percival Maudslay (1850-1931), who made eight expeditions to Mayan Kingdom.

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