Brown & Sharpe

Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon Metrology, Inc., a multinational corporation focused mainly on metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the most well-known and influential firms in the machine tool industry. Its influence throughout mechanical engineering was such that its name is often synonymous with certain industrial standards that it established, including:

• The American wire gauge (AWG) standards for wire;
• The Brown & Sharpe taper in machine tool spindle tapers; and
• The Brown & Sharpe worm threadform for worms.

Since being acquired by Hexagon Metrology in 2001^[1], Brown and Sharpe has concentrated exclusively on metrology equipment.

History

Founding (1833) to World War I era (1916)

Brown & Sharpe was instrumental in the development of machine tools and machining technology (including toolmaking, metrology, production, etc.). It was responsible for the improvement and wider dissemination of milling machines, micrometers, turret lathes, screw machines, and other tools. A thorough account of the details is given in a seminal classic of machine tool history, Joseph W. Roe's English and American Tool Builders (1916).^[2]

World War I through World War II

This section requires expansion.

Post-World War II era

This section requires expansion.

During the 1980's and 1990's Brown & Sharpe started focusing more and more on developing Coordinate-measuring machines, devices for dimensional measuring, as a more modern and larger progression to their established micrometers.

In 1994 Brown & Sharpe acquired DEA of Italy an established manufacturer of CMMs.^[3] With the 2001 acquisition by Hexagon Metrology^[1], Brown & Sharpe ceased direct production and support of all non-CMM products to focus purely on CMM development. Current B&S handtools are manufactured by the Swiss Company TESA.

References

Bibliography

• Roe, Joseph Wickham (1916), English and American Tool Builders, New Haven, Connecticut, USA: Yale University Press, LCCN 16-011753, http://books.google.com/books?id=X-EJAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage . Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (LCCN 27-024075); and by Lindsay Publications, Inc., Bradley, IL, USA (ISBN 978-0-917914-73-7).

Further reading

• Rolt, L.T.C. (1965), A Short History of Machine Tools, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: MIT Press, LCCN 65-12439 . Co-edition published as Rolt, L.T.C. (1965), Tools for the Job: a Short History of Machine Tools, London: B. T. Batsford, LCCN 65-080822 .

External links

• Brown & Sharpe's official site