An assembly line is a type of industrial production in which prefabricated, interchangeable parts are used to assemble a finished product. The most basic assembly system consists of a simple conveyor belt which carries the product, such as a toy, through a series of work stations until it is finished. More complex lines include feeder belts to carry parts to work stations along the line, used for building cars and other complex equipment. The development of the assembly line revolutionized manufacturing, and contributed to the substantial fortunes of several major players in the Industrial Revolution.
Before the advent of the assembly line, when a commercial good was manufactured, it was usually created by hand, from individually fabricated parts. Factory production was limited by available floorspace, as only so many products could be made at once, and workers tended to see a project through from beginning to end. By the mid-nineteenth century, many companies in the food industry had begun to set up something resembling an assembly line to make the process more efficient, but it was not entirely streamlined. Goods like the early automobile and steam engines were still made by hand.
