Machine

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This article is about devices that perform tasks. For other uses, see Machine (disambiguation).

Wind turbines

A machine is any device that uses energy to perform some activity. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work. A simple machine is a device that transforms the direction or magnitude of a force without consuming any energy. The word "machine" is derived from the Latin machina.^[1]

1 Usage
2 Types of machines
3 See also
4 References

[edit] Usage

Historically, a device required moving parts to be classified as a machine; however, the advent of electronics technology has led to the development of devices without moving parts that are considered machines—the computer being the most obvious example.^[1]

"Engines" are machines that convert heat or other forms of energy into mechanical energy. For example, in an internal combustion engine the expansion of gases caused by the heat from an exothermic chemical reaction applies a force to a movable component, such as the piston of a reciprocating-piston gasoline engine.^[2]

Machines are ubiquitous in a wide variety of industrial, commercial, residential and transportation applications. Those employing hydraulics are especially useful in manufacturing and construction.

[edit] Types of machines

Simple machines	Inclined plane, Wheel and axle, Lever, Pulley, Wedge, Screw
Mechanical components	Axle, Bearings, Belts, Bucket, Fastener, Gear, Key, Link chains, Rack and pinion, Roller chains, Rope, Seals, Spring, Wheel,
Clock	Atomic clock, Chronometer, Pendulum clock, Quartz clock
Compressors and Pumps	Archimedes screw, Eductor-jet pump, Hydraulic ram, Pump, Tuyau, Vacuum pump
Heat engines	External combustion engines	Steam engine, Stirling engine
Heat engines	Internal combustion engines	Reciprocating engine
Linkages	Pantograph, Peaucellier-Lipkin
Turbine	Gas turbine, Jet engine, Steam turbine, Water turbine, Wind generator, Windmill (Air turbine)
Aerofoil	Sail, Wing, Rudder, Flap, Propeller
Electronics	Transistor, Diode, Capacitor, Resistor, Inductor
Miscellaneous	Robot, Vending machine, Wind tunnel, Check weighing machines, Riveting machines

[edit] See also

Automation

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1985.
^ "Internal combustion engine", Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Third Edition, Sybil P. Parker, ed. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994, p. 998 .

Oberg, Erik; Franklin D. Jones, Holbrook L. Horton, and Henry H. Ryffel (2000). ed. Christopher J. McCauley, Riccardo Heald, and Muhammed Iqbal Hussain. ed.. Machinery's Handbook (26th edition ed.). New York: Industrial Press Inc.. ISBN 0-8311-2635-3.