We work in this industry or at least must have some sort of interest in it if you're taking the time to read this, but have you ever stopped to really think of where, when or how the fabrication equipment came about?
I started doing some research & I came across this information on an article that stood out to me the most. Maybe it was the picture (see below) or maybe this information is just really neat.
As we know, metal fabrication has been around for a very long time. But how long to be exact? Metal working & having an understanding/knowledge of the metal itself was once known to be a revered nearly "Spiritual" skillset developed by the ancients. The word Fabrication, essentially means; bending, cutting, forming & joining metals for numerous uses. Riveting is one of the oldest metal joining processes.
In 8,700 BCE, a copper pendant was discovered in Northern Iraq & in the America's we have it documented that copper mining started as early as 4000/5000 BCE.
With time, metals became of higher importance & metalworking became a vital aspect within society.
Around 3,300 BC in India, we enter the Bronze Age. This is when furnaces came of use to melting down the metals to create weapons such as swords & many types of armor. In using the metals to preform weapon crafting, metal became a "Political Material" used for war & so it contributed to the rise as well as the fall of civilizations.
The picture you will find below is a sketch from Leonardo Da Vinci back in 1485. This was his "Rolling Mill" & it was used to help create gold coins.
Around 1590, his press & the dual use of cylinders came to be as a means to press different types of metals.
Lead & Tin plates came into production around the year of 1615 in one of the 1st industrial plants.
The production & use of sheet metal & the creation of the hydraulic press was sometime in the mid 1700's. Now days the sheet metal industry is worth approx. $20.5 Billion in the USA alone.
The fabrication industry has drastically made an impact on our way of life as we know it. The manipulation of metals literally changed the course of history. It's amazing to see the roots & how everything came about & it's even more amazing to see where it's all still developing & growing. We continue to create & expand our knowledge & skills with working with metals & machinery & I can't wait to see what happens in the future.
Thank you for reading & I hope you enjoyed this brief article on the history of metals & fabrication workings. More to come in the future!
-Ashley Fogler
Sales & Marketing
History Understanding Initial Article Credits to: saskarc.com
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