Partially assembled 2-valve radio receiver, 1947

Partially assembled 2-valve radio receiver, 1947. Radio receiver made on the ECME machine. In 1947, John Sargrove developed a machine for automatically producing electronic circuits for radio sets. This took the name 'ECME' - Electronic Circuit Making Equipment. ECME worked by automatically milling the bakelite blanks that formed the circuit boards. It then added resistors, capacitors and the metallic circuits by a spraying process, leaving only the final assembly to be completed by hand. Though ECME worked successfully it required high tooling costs and long production runs were needed to make the process economic. FInance and orders were insufficient and the project ceased within a year. ©SSPL/Science Museum