The Elcar was an American automobile manufactured from 1915 until 1931. The car was produced by the Elkhart Carriage Company, owned by William and George Pratt, of Elkhart, Indiana , which had been in business for over 30 years before producing its first car.
82-488: This first car was the 30/35 hp Elkhart, which began production in 1905 and remained on the market until 1909. In 1909 the 4·2 liter Sterling appeared (it ceased production in 1911), followed in 1911 by the Komet. The Elcar appeared in 1915, and was first offered in two models, a Lycoming - engined four and a Continental-engined six. A straight-eight, again with a Continental engine, was produced beginning in 1925. In 1930,
164-846: A 340 hp (254 kW) version. Textron purchased the company in 1985. In 1994, Textron sold the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division, located in Stratford, Connecticut , to AlliedSignal , who merged it with the Garrett Engine Division of AlliedSignal as part of AlliedSignal Aerospace, later becoming part of Honeywell Aerospace in 1999. Textron retained piston engine production in Williamsport. Lycomings continue to power new light aircraft by fellow Textron division, Cessna Aircraft , and by Piper , Cirrus , Diamond , and others. Lycomings remain
246-476: A mining engineer , who made the requisite drawings and submitted a patent application. The patent for his machine was issued on 17 July 1830, and in the same year, he and his partners opened the first machine-based clothing manufacturing company in the world to create army uniforms for the French Army . However, the factory was burned down, reportedly by workers fearful of losing their livelihood, following
328-509: A German-born engineer working in England, was awarded the first British patent for a mechanical device to aid the art of sewing, in 1755. His invention consisted of a double pointed needle with an eye at one end. In 1790, the English inventor Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine design. His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas material. It is likely that Saint had
410-429: A case for patent infringement in 1854 and was awarded the right to claim royalties from the manufacturers using ideas covered by his patent, including Singer. Singer had seen a rotary sewing machine being repaired in a Boston shop. As an engineer, he thought it was clumsy and decided to design a better one. The machine he devised used a falling shuttle instead of a rotary one; the needle was mounted vertically and included
492-445: A clutch motor. It does not make any sound unless the operator hits the pedal on the machine, but it cannot withstand the same kind of use as a clutch motor. Before sewing machines were invented women spent much of their time maintaining their family's clothing. Middle-class housewives, even with the aid of a hired seamstress, would devote several days of each month to this task. It took an experienced seamstress at least 14 hours to make
574-428: A diminished role in household management , and allowed more hours for their own leisure as well as the ability to seek more employment. Industrial use of sewing machines further reduced the burden placed upon housewives, moving clothing production from housewives and seamstresses to large-scale factories . The movement to large-scale factories resulted in a great increase in productivity; fewer workers could produce
656-454: A disgruntled employee. Bankruptcy trustee and interim president Arthur Martin Graffis led a two-year campaign to attract investors and save the company including a project to market the 1930 Elcar as a 1931 Mercer . The company was dissolved in 1931, after only two prototypes had been constructed. This article about classic and vintage automobiles produced between 1915 and 1930
738-447: A dress shirt for a man; a woman's dress took 10 hours; and a pair of summer trousers took nearly three hours. Most people except the very well-off would have only two sets of clothing: a work outfit and a Sunday outfit. Sewing machines reduced the time for making a dress shirt to an hour and 15 minutes; the time to make a dress to an hour; and the time for a pair of summer pants to 38 minutes. This reduced labor resulted in women having
820-557: A farmer from Raphine in Rockbridge County, Virginia, patented the first chain stitch single-thread sewing machine on June 2, 1857. In partnership with James Willcox, Gibbs became a principal partner in Willcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company. Willcox & Gibbs commercial sewing machines are still used in the 21st century, with spares parts available. William Jones started making sewing machines in 1859 and in 1860 formed
902-464: A late date of 1854. In 1842, John Greenough patented the first sewing machine in the United States. The British partners Newton and Archibold introduced the eye-pointed needle and the use of two pressing surfaces to keep the pieces of fabric in position, in 1841. The first machine to combine all the disparate elements of the previous half-century of innovation into the modern sewing machine was
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#1732801315380984-505: A lockstitch can be formed anywhere on the material being sewn; it does not need to be near an edge. Overlock, also known as "serging" or "serger stitch", can be formed with two to four threads, one or two needles, and one or two loopers. Overlock sewing machines are usually equipped with knives that trim or create the edge immediately in front of the stitch formation. Household and industrial overlock machines are commonly used for garment seams in knit or stretchy fabrics, for garment seams where
1066-434: A man's shirt in about one hour, compared to 14 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours by hand. In 1877, the world's first crochet machine was invented and patented by Joseph M. Merrow , then-president of what had started in the 1840s, as a machine shop to develop specialized machinery for the knitting operations. This crochet machine was the first production overlock sewing machine. The Merrow Machine Company went on to become one of
1148-665: A partnership with Thomas Chadwick. As Chadwick & Jones , they manufactured sewing machines at Ashton-under-Lyne , England until 1863. Their machines used designs from Howe and Wilson produced under licence. Thomas Chadwick later joined Bradbury & Co. William Jones opened a factory in Guide Bridge , Manchester in 1869. In 1893 a Jones advertising sheet claimed that this factory was the "Largest Factory in England Exclusively Making First Class Sewing Machines". The firm
1230-546: A presser foot to hold the cloth in place. It had a fixed arm to hold the needle and included a basic tension system. This machine combined elements of Thimonnier, Hunt and Howe's machines. Singer was granted an American patent in 1851. The foot treadle used since the Middle Ages, used to convert reciprocating to rotary motion, was adapted to drive the sewing machine, leaving both hands free. When Howe learned of Singer's machine he took him to court, where Howe won and Singer
1312-480: A short arc, which was an improvement over Singer and Howe's. However, John Bradshaw had patented a similar device and threatened to sue, so Wilson decided to try a new method. He went into partnership with Nathaniel Wheeler to produce a machine with a rotary hook instead of a shuttle. This was far quieter and smoother than other methods, with the result that the Wheeler & Wilson Company produced more machines in
1394-406: A single dedicated task and are capable of continuous use for long periods; they have larger moving parts and larger motors rated for continuous operation. Parts for different industrial machines, such as motors, sewing feet, and bobbins may be interchangeable, but this is not always so. The motors on industrial machines, as with most of their components, lights, etc., are separate, usually mounted to
1476-417: A tension regulator. If the stitch is too saggy or too tight, the most likely cause is a tension problem. There are mainly two types of sewing machines available: industrial and domestic. Industrial sewing machines are larger, faster, and more varied in their size, cost, appearance, and task. An industrial sewing machine can handle heavy-duty sewing jobs. Industrial machines, unlike domestic machines, perform
1558-419: A working model, but there is no surviving evidence of one. He was a skilled cabinet maker and his device included many practical and functional features: an overhanging arm; a feed mechanism (adequate for short lengths of leather); a vertical needle bar; and a looper. Saint created the machine to reduce the amount of hand-stitching on garments, making sewing more reliable and functional. His sewing machine used
1640-502: A year, with a 2,000-strong workforce. To handle the capacity, a new foundry complex was built in Williamsport that year. Eventually Lycoming became Auburn's principal supplier, and in 1927 Errett Lobban Cord bought the company, placing it under his Auburn Manufacturing umbrella group. Among the engines Lycoming produced for Cord was an L-head straight-eight engine of 298.5 cu. in. displacement that produced 125 horsepower. This
1722-432: Is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread . Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the invention of the first sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790, the sewing machine has greatly improved the efficiency and productivity of
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#17328013153801804-456: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a classic pre-war automobile produced between 1930 and 1945 is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Lycoming Engines Lycoming Engines is a major American manufacturer of aircraft engines . With a factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania , Lycoming produces a line of horizontally opposed , air-cooled, four, six and eight-cylinder engines including
1886-422: Is an operating division of Avco Corporation, itself a subsidiary of Textron . Lycoming dates its founding to 1845 by " Madame Ellen Curtis Demorest ". However, the early history of the company (especially prior to 1860) is unclear; biographer Ishbel Ross notes that the marriage of Ellen Louise Curtis to William Jennings Demorest took place in 1858, somewhat later than the purported date of establishment of
1968-416: Is controlled by a cam . As the cam rotates, a fingerlike follower that is connected to the needle bar rides along the cam and tracks its indentations. As the follower moves in and out, the needle bar is moved from side to side. Very old sewing machines lack this hardware and so cannot natively produce a zigzag stitch, but there are often shank-driven attachments available which enable them to do so. Besides
2050-415: Is known as a "safety stitch". A similar machine used for stretch fabrics is called a mock safety . Coverstitch is formed by two or more needles and one or two loopers. Like lockstitch and chainstitch, coverstitch can be formed anywhere on the material being sewn. One looper manipulates a thread below the material being sewn, forming a bottom cover stitch against the needle threads. An additional looper above
2132-401: Is pushed up through slots in the machine surface, then dragged horizontally past the needle. The dogs are serrated to grip the material, and a "presser foot" is used to keep the material in contact with the dogs. At the end of their horizontal motion, the dogs are lowered again and returned to their original position while the needle makes its next pass through the material. While the needle is in
2214-449: Is very common on industrial two needle machines. Most household machines do not use needle feed. A walking foot replaces the stationary presser foot with one that moves along with whatever other feed mechanisms the machine already has. As the walking foot moves, it shifts the workpiece along with it. It is most useful for sewing heavy materials where needle feed is mechanically inadequate, for spongy or cushioned materials where lifting
2296-487: The 100–360 hp (75–270 kW) range. Engines in this series also include the O-235 four-, O-580 six- and O-720 eight-cylinder engines, and the advanced turbocharged and fuel-injected 450 hp (340 kW) TIGO-541 variant of the venerable (carbureted) O-540. In the early 1980s, the general aviation market suddenly diminished and Lycoming's piston engine business was significantly impacted. Attempts were made to move some of
2378-578: The Bell UH-1 "Huey" , and Lycoming's 4,000 horsepower (3,000 kW) T55 is the main power for the twin-turbine, twin-rotor Boeing CH-47 Chinook . Lycoming turbines have powered other helicopters, also. Variants and derivatives have powered various turboprop and turbofan aircraft, as well, including the OV-1 Mohawk military aircraft, BAe 146 jetliner, Canadair Challenger business jet, and others. Sewing machine A sewing machine
2460-745: The UK Patent Office , made adjustments to the looper, and built a working machine, currently owned by the Science Museum in London . In 1804, a sewing machine was built by two Englishmen, Thomas Stone and James Henderson, and a machine for embroidering was constructed by John Duncan in Scotland. An Austrian tailor, Josef Madersperger , began developing his first sewing machine in 1807 and presented his first working machine publicly in 1814. Having received financial support from his government,
2542-406: The chain stitch method, in which the machine uses a single thread to make simple stitches in the fabric. A stitching awl would have pierced the material, and a forked-point rod would have carried the thread through the hole, where it would have been hooked underneath and moved to the next stitching place, after which the cycle would be repeated, thereby locking the stitch in place. Saint's machine
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2624-639: The clothing industry . Home sewing machines are designed for one person to sew individual items while using a single stitch type at a time. In a modern sewing machine, the process of stitching has been automated, so that the fabric easily glides in and out of the machine. Early sewing machines were powered by either constantly turning a flywheel handle or with a foot-operated treadle mechanism. Electrically-powered machines were later introduced. Industrial sewing machines, by contrast to domestic machines, are larger, faster, and more varied in their size, cost , appearance, and tasks. Charles Fredrick Wiesenthal ,
2706-603: The vulcanization of rubber. Around 1883, Gerrit S. Scofield & Frank M. Scofield (advertising agents from New York) bought the Demorest brand and the sewing machine business (the Demorests retained the magazine business), and constructed a factory in Williamsport, Pennsylvania (in Lycoming County ). At the urging of the newly established Williamsport Board of Trade, citizens invested US$ 100, 000 in
2788-406: The 1850s and 1860s than any other manufacturer. Wilson also invented the four-motion feed mechanism that is still used on every sewing machine today. This had a forward, down, back and up motion, which drew the cloth through in an even and smooth motion. Charles Miller patented the first machine to stitch buttonholes . Throughout the 1850s more and more companies were being formed, each trying to sue
2870-476: The 20th century. Sewing machines continued being made to roughly the same design—with more lavish decoration—until well into the 1900s. The first electric machines were developed by Singer Sewing Co. and introduced in 1889. By the end of the First World War , Singer was offering hand, treadle and electric machines for sale. At first, the electric machines were standard machines with a motor strapped on
2952-525: The AVCO group, at which point the engine manufacturing company became "AVCO Lycoming". It also leased the government-owned Stratford Army Engine Plant in Stratford, Connecticut , and produced Wright radials under license. After the war, this plant was converted to produce the T53 turboshaft engine, one of its more successful designs. From this point on the piston and turbine engine lines remained separate, with
3034-460: The Austrian tailor worked on the development of his machine until 1839, when he built a machine imitating the weaving process using the chain stitch. The first practical and widely used sewing machine was invented by Barthélemy Thimonnier , a French tailor, in 1829. His machine sewed straight seams using a chain stitch like Saint's model had, and in 1830, he signed a contract with Auguste Ferrand,
3116-538: The H-2470, but the engine's poor performance led to the adoption of an alternative radial engine on the prototype. (The XF14C did not enter production.) Undeterred by the O-1230/H-2470's failure, Lycoming turned to an even larger design, the 36-cylinder XR-7755 , the largest aviation piston engine ever built. This design also experienced problems, and was only ready for use at the very end of World War II , when
3198-576: The O-1230's entry into service, it had been surpassed by other designs and the US$ 500 ;000 investment was not recouped. Another attempt was made to rescue the design by stacking two O-1230s to make the 2 300 hp (1 700 kW) H engine H-2470 but the only design to use it, the Vultee XP-54 , never entered production. The Curtiss XF14C was originally intended to be powered by
3280-589: The aviation world was turning to turbojets and turboprop engines to power future large aircraft. There was apparently some interest in using it on the Convair B-36 Peacemaker bomber , but the 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major four-bank radial was used instead. Through the 1920s and -30s, Lycoming had still been supplying automotive manufacturers with engines. However, these clients each slowly went out of business or switched to Continental engines for their vehicles. By 1931,
3362-426: The basic motion of needles, loopers and bobbins , the material being sewn must move so that each cycle of needle motion involves a different part of the material. This motion is known as feed, and sewing machines have almost as many ways of feeding material as they do of forming stitches. For general categories, there are: drop feed, needle feed, walking foot, puller, and manual. Often, multiple types of feed are used on
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3444-449: The basic sewing machine. Their action must be synchronized with the needle and feed action built into the machine to avoid damaging the machine. Pullers are also limited to straight seams, or very nearly so. Despite their additional cost and limitations, pulling feeds are very useful when making large heavy items like tents and vehicle covers. A manual feed is used primarily in freehand embroidery, quilting, and shoe repair. With manual feed,
3526-555: The benefits of the patent. Elias Howe, born in Spencer, Massachusetts, created his sewing machine in 1845, using a similar method to Fisher's except that the fabric was held vertically. An important improvement on his machine was to have the needle running away from the point, starting from the eye. After a lengthy stay in England trying to attract interest in his machine, he returned to America to find various people infringing his patent, among them Isaac Merritt Singer. He eventually won
3608-557: The company began to use the complex Lever engine produced by Alvah Leigh Powell , although only four Elcar-Levers were completed. It next entered a lucrative contract within New York City , under which it would supply "El-Fay" taxis to Larry Fay , a prominent businessman and club owner with known mob ties. Fay's resources were badly hit by the Great Depression , and Fay himself was eventually shot dead in 1933 by
3690-534: The company was sold and restructured as the Lycoming Foundry and Machine Company , shifting its focus toward automobile engine manufacture. In 1910, the company supplied its first automobile engine to Velie , and during the early post- World-War-I era, the company was a major supplier to Auburn (which produced the Auburn , Cord , and Duesenberg lines). By 1920, Lycoming was producing 60,000 engines
3772-590: The company was supplying automotive engines to only three companies: Auburn , Cord and Duesenburg , still all under the control of Cord . These companies closed their doors in 1937, after which Lycoming switched to exclusively designing and producing engines for aviation. In the meantime, the Smith Engineering Corporation, an early manufacturer of controllable pitch propellers had been purchased by Cord and moved to Williamsport. In 1939 Cord re-organized all of his aviation holdings into
3854-745: The company. A few years later in New York , between c. 1860 and 1887, the Demorests published fashion magazines and operated the Demorest Fashion and Sewing-Machine Company (sometimes known as the Demorest Manufacturing Company ). They produced "Madame Demorest" and "Bartlett & Demorest" sewing machines and sold Ellen Demorest's innovative paper patterns for dressmaking. During this period, Ellen Demorest patented several fashion accessories, while her husband patented improvements to sewing machines and an apparatus for
3936-463: The device built by English inventor John Fisher in 1844, a little earlier than the very similar machines built by Isaac Merritt Singer in 1851, and the lesser known Elias Howe , in 1845. However, due to the botched filing of Fisher's patent at the Patent Office, he did not receive due recognition for the modern sewing machine in the legal disputations of priority with Singer, and Singer reaped
4018-444: The fabric is light enough that the seam does not need to be pressed open, and for protecting edges against raveling. Machines using two to four threads are most common, and frequently one machine can be configured for several varieties of overlock stitch. Overlock machines with five or more threads usually make both a chainstitch with one needle and one looper, and an overlock stitch with the remaining needles and loopers. This combination
4100-400: The feed dogs. Sewing machines use special needles tailored to their needs and to the character of the material being sewn. Modern sewing machines may be equipped with a needle guard. Needle guards are a safety measure that are used to help avoid injuries. Tension in a sewing machine refers to the pull of the thread between the needle and the bobbin. Sewing machines have tension discs and
4182-501: The foot out of contact with the material helps in the feeding action, and for sewing many layers together where a drop feed will cause the lower layers to shift out of position with the upper layers. Some factory machines and a few household machines are set up with an auxiliary puller feed , which grips the material being sewn (usually from behind the needles) and pulls it with a force and reliability usually not possible with other types of feed. Puller feeds are seldom built directly into
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#17328013153804264-403: The issuing of the patent. A model of the machine is exhibited in London at the Science Museum . The machine is made of wood and uses a barbed needle which passes downward through the cloth to grab the thread and pull it up to form a loop to be locked by the next loop. The first American lockstitch sewing machine was invented by Walter Hunt in 1832. His machine used a needle with the eye and
4346-605: The largest American manufacturers of overlock sewing machines and remains in the 21st century as the last American over-lock sewing machine manufacturer. In 1885 Singer patented the Singer Vibrating Shuttle sewing machine, which used Allen B. Wilson's idea for a vibrating shuttle and was a better lockstitcher than the oscillating shuttles of the time. Millions of the machines, perhaps the world's first really practical sewing machine for domestic use, were produced until finally superseded by rotary shuttle machines in
4428-481: The lifespan and increased complexity of the electronic parts, electronic sewing machines do not last as long as mechanical sewing machines, which can last over 100 years. Sewing machines can make a great variety of plain or patterned stitches. Ignoring strictly decorative aspects, over three dozen distinct stitch formations are formally recognized by the ISO 4915:1991 standard, involving one to seven separate threads to form
4510-431: The material can form a top cover stitch simultaneously. The needle threads form parallel rows, while the looper threads cross back and forth all the needle rows. Coverstitch is so-called because the grid of crossing needle and looper threads covers raw seam edges, much as the overlock stitch does. It is widely used in garment construction, particularly for attaching trims and flat seaming where the raw edges can be finished in
4592-423: The material while the needle is in the material. In fact, the needle may be the primary feeding force. Some implementations of needle feed rock the axis of needle motion back and forth, while other implementations keep the axis vertical while moving it forward and back. In both cases, there is no feed action while the needle is out of the material. Needle feed is often used in conjunction with a modified drop feed, and
4674-581: The material, there is no feed action. Almost all household machines and the majority of industrial machines use drop feed. Differential feed is a variation of drop feed with two independent sets of dogs, one before and one after the needle. By changing their relative motions, these sets of dogs can be used to stretch or compress the material in the vicinity of the needle. This is extremely useful when sewing stretchy material, and overlock machines (heavily used for such materials) frequently have differential feed. A needle feed, used only in industrial machines, moves
4756-481: The most popular line of engines for U.S. Experimental / Amateur-Built (E/A-B) aircraft, surpassing the 5 next-most-popular brands, combined. The aircraft piston engine prefixes are: Lycoming was one of the principal pioneers of turbine engines -- turboshaft to be precise—for medium- and heavy-lift helicopters, some of which have found other applications as well. Its 1,400 horsepower (1,000 kW) T53 hybrid free turbine / shaft turbine engine initially powered
4838-469: The new manufacturing facility, which employed 250 people. The factory produced 50 to 60 sewing machines per day. With the development of the "New York Bicycle" in 1891 (designed by employee S. H. Ellis), the company diversified its product offerings. Until the early 1900s, the factory produced sewing machines , bicycles , typewriters , opera chairs and other products. By 1907, the manufacture of sewing machines had become unprofitable for Demorest, and
4920-420: The only FAA -certified aerobatic and helicopter piston engines on the market. The company has built more than 325,000 piston aircraft engines and powers more than half the world's general aviation fleet, both rotary and fixed wing . Lycoming has been a principal pioneer of turbine engines for medium and large helicopters, and has also produced engines for small jetliners and business jets. Lycoming
5002-604: The others for patent infringement. This triggered a patent thicket known as the Sewing Machine War. In 1856, the Sewing Machine Combination was formed, consisting of Singer, Howe, Wheeler, Wilson, and Grover and Baker. These four companies pooled their patents, with the result that all other manufacturers had to obtain a license for $ 15 per machine. This lasted until 1877 when the last patent expired. James Edward Allen Gibbs (1829–1902),
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#17328013153805084-631: The piston lines being built in the original Williamsport factories, and turbines in Stratford. By 1961, Lycoming produced 600 to 700 engines per month. Its most successful post-war products were a series of air-cooled flat-4 and flat-6 general aviation engines. Most famous among these are the O-320 and O-360 four-cylinder engines, and the O-540 six-cylinder engine. Many light aircraft are powered by versions of these engines, with power ratings in
5166-481: The point on the same end carrying the upper thread, and a falling shuttle carrying the lower thread. The curved needle moved through the fabric horizontally, leaving the loop as it withdrew. The shuttle passed through the loop, interlocking the thread. The feed was unreliable, requiring the machine to be stopped frequently and reset up. Hunt eventually lost interest in his machine and sold individual machines without bothering to patent his invention, and only patenting it at
5248-538: The project to Deere, which brought in Lycoming to sell the developed engine into the aviation markets. It was guaranteed a startup run by Cessna , also owned by Textron. Just as production was ready to start, Cessna announced it was halting its small-aircraft business for an indefinite period, and SCORE was cancelled. The remains of the Deere licenses were later purchased by Rotary Power International, which briefly produced
5330-496: The same amount of clothing, reducing clothing prices significantly. As supply increased, prices also dropped. While many middle-class women enjoyed increased leisure during the Victorian era, working-class women faced intensifying demands, particularly in the clothing industry. The invention of the sewing machine, which revolutionized garment production, brought longer working hours for seamstresses, especially during peak times of
5412-402: The same machine. Besides these general categories, there are also uncommon feed mechanisms used in specific applications like edge joining fur, making seams on caps, and blind stitching. The drop feed mechanism is used by almost all household machines and involves a mechanism below the sewing surface of the machine. When the needle is withdrawn from the material being sewn, a set of " feed dogs "
5494-400: The same operation as forming the seam. A zigzag stitch is a variant geometry of the lockstitch. It is a back-and-forth stitch used where a straight stitch will not suffice, such as in preventing raveling of a fabric, in stitching stretchable fabrics, and in temporarily joining two work pieces edge-to-edge. When creating a zigzag stitch, the back-and-forth motion of the sewing machine's needle
5576-401: The same seam. Lockstitch is the familiar stitch performed by most household sewing machines and most industrial "single needle" sewing machines, using two threads, one passed through a needle and one coming from a bobbin or shuttle. Each thread stays on its own side of the material while being sewn, interlacing with the other thread at each needle hole by means of a bobbin driver . As a result,
5658-632: The side, but as more homes gained power, they became more popular, and the motor was gradually introduced into the casing. Sewing machines were strictly mechanical, using gears, shafts, levers, and so on, until the 1970s when electronic machines were introduced to the market. Electronic sewing machines incorporate components such as circuit boards, computer chips, and additional motors for independent control of machine functions. These electronic components enabled new features such as automating thread cutters, needle positioning, and back-tacking, as well as digitized stitch patterns and stitch combinations. Because of
5740-409: The stitch length and direction is controlled entirely by the motion of the material being sewn. Frequently some form of hoop or stabilizing material is used with fabric to keep the material under proper tension and aid in moving it around. Most household machines can be set for manual feed by disengaging the drop feed dogs. Most industrial machines can not be used for manual feed without actually removing
5822-399: The stitch. Plain stitches fall into four general categories: chainstitch , lockstitch , overlock , and coverstitch . Chain stitch was used by early sewing machines and has two major drawbacks: A better stitch was found in the lockstitch. The chain stitch is still used today in clothing manufacture, though due to its major drawbacks, it is generally paired with an overlock stitch along
5904-421: The turbine production to Williamsport, but this led to a series of quality control problems and eventually it was abandoned. Another attempt to rescue Williamsport was made in introducing the "radical" SCORE engine, a Wankel engine originally developed through a joint venture between Curtiss-Wright and John Deere . Curtiss-Wright lost interest in the design just as it was maturing and sold its interests in
5986-524: The underside of the table. Domestic machines have their OEM motors mounted inside the machine. There are two different types of motor available for industrial machines: a servo motor (which uses less electricity and is silent when not in use), and the more traditional clutch motor (which is always spinning, even when not in use). A clutch motor is always running and making noises when it is connected to electricity. The constant operation ensures consistency and speed. The servo motor uses less electricity than
6068-453: The year when wealthy customers placed orders in preparation for "the Season”—the high point of the fashion season. Many women worked a minimum of eighteen hours, and sometimes up to twenty hours a day, particularly those employed by high-end London retailers. Despite the technological advancements, the industry’s seasonality left women with low wages during peak periods and no income for much of
6150-596: The year. Faced with such economic instability, some women turned to prostitution to survive. This moral and economic tension extended to broader societal concerns. A challenge working-class women in the textile industry often faced was the notion that factory work could lead to moral decline, fueling fears of widespread prostitution. This anxiety was reflected in literature of the time, with several novels depicting female characters who fell into prostitution after entering factory work. Often, these narratives attributed their downfall to spending wages on ‘finery’ or clothing, which
6232-550: Was a fairly successful design, and was used widely in light aircraft , including Cord's Travel Air . In the 1930s, Lycoming made a number of attempts to develop successful high-power aircraft engines. The 1 200 hp (895 kW) O-1230 was Lycoming's attempt to produce an engine based on the United States Army Air Corps hyper engine concept, and used a variety of features to produce nearly 1 hp/ in (46 kW/L) of engine displacement . However, by
6314-449: Was designed to aid in the manufacturing of various leather goods, including saddles and bridles , but it was also capable of working with canvas, and was used for sewing ship sails . Although his machine was very advanced for the era, the concept would need steady improvement over the coming decades before it was practical enough to enter into wide use. In 1874, a sewing machine manufacturer, William Newton Wilson, found Saint's drawings in
6396-424: Was forced to pay a lump sum for all machines already produced. Singer then took out a license under Howe's patent and paid him US$ 1.15 per machine before entering into a joint partnership with a lawyer named Edward Clark. They created the first hire-purchase arrangement to allow people to purchase their machines through payments over time. Meanwhile, Allen B. Wilson developed a shuttle that reciprocated in
6478-832: Was renamed as the Jones Sewing Machine Co. Ltd and was later acquired by Brother Industries of Japan, in 1968. Clothing manufacturers were the first sewing machine customers, and used them to produce the first ready-to-wear clothing and shoes. In the 1860s consumers began purchasing them, and the machines—ranging in price from £6 to £15 in Britain depending on features—became very common in middle-class homes. Owners were much more likely to spend free time with their machines to make and mend clothing for their families than to visit friends, and women's magazines and household guides such as Mrs Beeton's offered dress patterns and instructions. A sewing machine could produce
6560-667: Was seen as fostering vanity and eventual vice. Elizabeth Gaskell’s Mary Barton (1848), set in Manchester, exemplifies these themes. From the 1840s to the 1920s, such questions about the relationship between the clothing women wore and the clothing they made generated moral panics. Works like Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil (1845), Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie (1900), Emile Zola's Au Bonheur des Dames (1883), and Honoré de Balzac's Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes (1847) similarly explored these themes. Adding to these discussions
6642-419: Was the influence of William Acton, a Parisian-trained British doctor who argued that one of the primary causes of prostitution was women’s excessive love of finery, or clothing. Acton suggested that this "vanity" drove women into prostitution, although historians debate whether he meant that women engaged in prostitution to buy fashionable clothing or that admiration for the attire worn by prostitutes led them into
6724-540: Was used in the Cord L-29. Lycoming also produced a double overhead cam straight 8 used in the legendary Duesenberg J series. This powerplant produced 265 horsepower, six times the power of a contemporary Model A Ford. A supercharged version, generating 325 horsepower, was installed in the Duesenberg SJ and SSJ models. In 1929, Lycoming produced its first aviation engine, the nine-cylinder R-680 radial . This
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