Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver production prototype, 1936-1948

Made:
1936-1948 in Walton-on-Thames
maker:
John Adolph Sargrove
Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype) Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype) Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype)

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Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype)
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype)
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype)
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Sargrove sprayed circuit radio receiver (production prototype), made by John Sargrove, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, 1936-1948.

John Sargrove was a pioneer of Electronic Circuit Making Equipment (ECME), in order to automate the process of making radios. ECME could automatically produce complete radio circuit panels ready for assembly, at a rate of three per minute. A pre-moulded Bakelite panel was grit blasted, sprayed with metal and graphite, milled, lacquered and tested, emerging 20 seconds later for final assembly. The panels then only required a few components such as valves to be inserted by hand, and the completed assembly was fitted into a cabinet. This is a production model made by Sargrove, probably between 1936 and 1947. His idea was never taken up generally, partly because it was seen as a threat to jobs, but represents the first modern approach to automatic operation in electronic manufacture.

Details

Category:
Electronic Components
Object Number:
1964-257
Materials:
bakelite, glass, copper (alloy) and metal (unknown)
Measurements:
overall: 183 mm x 180 mm x 140 mm, 1.34kg
type:
radio receiver
credit:
Donated by John Adolphe Sargrove