Henry Ford and the Assembly Line

Henry Ford and the Assembly Line

Henry Ford not only invented the Model T, but also, he perfected the concept of

the assembly line and mass produced cars as we know it. By doing this, people in

America and soon people around the world could ravel 200 miles in a ten-hour period.

Before this invention of the automobile people could only travel 20 miles in one day by

horse.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863. He was the first of six to his parents

William and Mary Ford. Henry grew up in a typical 19th century home and attended a

one-room schoolhouse. At an early age, he had an interested in mechanical things and a

dislike for arm work. At the age of 16 in 1879, Henry left his home to work as an

apprentice machinist in Detroit. For three years Henry worked as an apprentice, then

returned to his home town.

The next couple of year's Henry worked at home, and occasionally fixed steam

engines, and briefly took over his dad's farm. In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer

with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. Henry was promoted to Chief Engineer

in 1893, which gave him enough money to experiment. In 1896 Henry completed his self-

propelled Quadricycle. This Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like big bike

tires. To steer this contraption, a tiller like a boat was used: The automobile had two

speeds and no reverse. After two unsuccessful attempts to make a manufacturing company

to produce automobiles, the "Ford Motor Company" was built in 1903. Fords first

assembly line was became the models for future assembly lines. Henry became the Vice-

President and Chief Engineer of his own company. The factory built only a few cars a day

but still remained in business.

Ford soon began working to make a simple, sturdy car that large numbers of

people would be able to afford. He achieved one of the first such cars with the Model T,

which appeared in 1908. This was the only car Ford produced. The original price of a

Model T was $825. This was too high of a price for many customers. To lower the price,

Ford and his coworkers tried new ways to reduce production costs. The company created

an assembly line method in which conveyor belts brought automobile parts to workers.

Each