Before the Industrial Revolution, machinery was mostly hand-made wooden structures made by woodworkers. Metals (mainly steel and iron) were used only to make instruments, clocks, locks, pumps, and small parts of wooden machinery. Metalworking relies mainly on the fine work of the machinist to achieve the required precision. With the extensive use of steam engine and the subsequent development of mining, metallurgy, ships and locomotives and other large machinery, the need for forming and cutting of metal parts more and more, the use of metal materials from copper, iron to steel development.

Mechanical processing (including casting, forging, welding, heat treatment and other technologies and equipment, as well as cutting technology and machine tools, cutting tools, measuring tools, etc.) has developed rapidly, thus ensuring the development of production needs of all kinds of machinery and equipment supply. At the same time, with the increase of production batch and the development of precision machining technology, it also promotes the formation of mass production methods (parts interchangeability production, professional division of labor and cooperation, assembly line and assembly line, etc.)