Mechanical Engineering in the Midlands,1925–1950

Developments of popular interest that have taken place in the mechanical engineering industry in Birmingham and the surrounding districts by the year 1950, which is not only twenty-three years since the Institution last met there but also is the turn of the half century, are briefly surveyed. Power plant, incorporating steam boilers, steam turbines, oil engines, and gas turbines, is discussed, with special reference to the development of the oil engine and its adaptation for special usage in the 1939–45 war.

Changes in public and private road transport engines are traced up to the first turbine-engined private motor car.

Improvements in the design of machine tools from practical and aesthetic aspects are touched upon. Mass production and its effect on the craftsman, and advances that have been made in factory management, amenities, and the prevention and treatment of accidents are mentioned, as also is the rehabilitation of workmen, with special reference to the work carried on by the Birmingham Accident Hospital. In processes, the hydroblast method of cleaning castings and the automatic rustproofing of car bodies are described.