Foundations of mechanical accuracy

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1. philipkglassMar 2026
   If you found this interesting and are a non-expert, I recommend browsing Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy by Wayne Moore (1970):

   https://archive.org/details/Foundations_of_Mechanical_Accura...

   Manufacturing got down to nanometer precision starting with macroscopic precision visible to the naked eyeball.

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2. nbernardDec 2025
   Not exactly what you are looking for, but you may still want to take a look at Moore's /Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy/. IIRC, it contains a section on the evolution of machining since the early 1800s and covers the transition between the making of parts made to fit together, to parts made to specs.

   BTW, in later parts of the book, Michelson appears as interferometry is used to check the accuracy of parts.

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3. mikewarotAug 2025
   The ultimate reference for this is the Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy, which is available as a PDF[1], the print versions aren't cheap.

   One example of precision is the Whitworth 3 plate method (invented in the 1830s), with this method, you can make surfaces that approach precision in the micron range, if necessary.

   Leonardo Da Vinici's screw cutting lathe sketches show a machine that uses 2 lead screws to generate another, which averages the values of the other two screws, using careful rotations of threads, etc, it should be possible to use this method to work your way up to a uniform precise screw where each new generation is better than the ones before it.

   [1] https://pearl-hifi.com/06_Lit_Archive/15_Mfrs_Publications/M...

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4. WillAdamsApr 2025
   Simon Winchester did a book on this:

   _The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World_

   (alternately title _Exactly_)

   https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/56364115-the-perfect...

   and for further technical details see:

   _Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy_ by Wayne R. Moore

   https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262130806/foundations-of-mechan...

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5. gsu2Jul 2024
   Moore Tool Company -- manufacturer of some of the machines that NIST uses to measure stuff[1] -- published a book called Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy that's pretty good: https://archive.org/details/FoundationsOfMechanicalAccuracy/...

   [1]: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2016/09/meet-bob-pmls-...

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6. mk_stjamesMar 2023
   Well, technically, three flat stones. Two flat-appearing stones can match (like two stacked Pringles chips) and still not be flat and thus not match a third true flat reference. Thus:

   "When two plates are not flat but still match, one will not match the third. By continually lapping or scraping the high points of their contact until all three show perfect bearing when intercompared, three flat planes are created" [1]

   [1] Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy by Wayne R. Moore c. 1970

   (An absolutely fantastic read)

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