Process of changing from working by hand or with animals to work with machinery

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanization</span>

Mechanization

<p><b>Mechanization</b> is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery.  In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:</p>

<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r996844942" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}</style><blockquote class="templatequote "><p>Every machine is constructed for the purpose of performing certain mechanical operations, each of which supposes the existence of two other things besides the machine in question, namely, a moving power, and an object subject to the operation, which may be termed the work to be done.
Machines, in fact, are interposed between the power and the work, for the purpose of adapting the one to the other.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></p></blockquote>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Process of changing from working by hand or with animals to work with machinery</div>
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<figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right wiki-thumb"><a href="/en/File:Agricola1.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Agricola1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Agricola1.jpg/220px-Agricola1.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="729" data-file-height="1221" data-file-type="bitmap" height="368" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Agricola1.jpg/330px-Agricola1.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Agricola1.jpg/440px-Agricola1.jpg 2x" alt="Agricola1.jpg"></a><figcaption>A water-powered <a href="/en/Hoist_(device)#Mine_hoists" title="Hoist (device)" class="wl">mine hoist</a> used for raising ore.  This  woodblock is from <i><a href="/en/De_re_metallica" title="De re metallica" class="wl">De re metallica</a></i> by George Bauer (pen name <a href="/en/Georgius_Agricola" title="Georgius Agricola" class="wl">Georgius Agricola</a>, ca. 1555) an early mining textbook that contains numerous drawings and descriptions of mining equipment.</figcaption></figure>

<p>In some fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools. In modern usage, such as in engineering or economics, mechanization implies <a href="/en/Machine" title="Machine" class="wl">machinery</a> more complex than hand tools and would not include simple devices such as an ungeared horse or donkey mill. Devices that cause speed changes or changes to or from reciprocating to rotary motion, using means such as <a href="/en/Gear" title="Gear" class="wl">gears</a>, <a href="/en/Pulley" title="Pulley" class="wl">pulleys</a> or <a href="/en/Line_shaft" title="Line shaft" class="wl">sheaves</a> and belts, <a href="/en/Drive_shaft" title="Drive shaft" class="wl">shafts</a>, <a href="/en/Cam" title="Cam" class="wl">cams</a> and <a href="/en/Crank_(mechanism)" title="Crank (mechanism)" class="wl">cranks</a>, usually are considered machines.  After <a href="/en/Electrification" title="Electrification" class="wl">electrification</a>, when most small machinery was no longer hand powered, mechanization was synonymous with motorized machines.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span> Extension of mechanization of the production process is termed as <a href="/en/Automation" title="Automation" class="wl">automation</a> and it is controlled by a <a href="/en/Feedback" title="Feedback" class="wl">closed loop</a> system in which feedback is provided by the sensors. In an automated machine the work of different mechanisms is performed automatically.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-3"><a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span></p>



Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery.  In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows: In some fields, mechanization includes the use of hand tools. In modern usage, such as in engineering or economics, mechanization implies machinery more complex than hand tools and would not include simple devices such as an ungeared horse or donkey mill. Devices that cause speed changes or changes to or from reciprocating to rotary motion, using means such as gears, pulleys or sheaves and belts, shafts, cams and cranks, usually are considered machines.  After electrification, when most small machinery was no longer hand powered, mechanization was synonymous with motorized machines. 