james watt developed the steam engine with a rotary motion that could drive machinery.
james watt developed the steam engine with a rotary motion that could drive machinery.
who developed the steam engine with a rotary motion that could drive machinery?
james watt
section::::background.:rotary motion engines.









































james watt's design improvements increased the efficiency of the steam engine, improving the power to weight ratio, and created an engine capable of rotary motion by using a double-acting cylinder which injected steam at each end of the piston stroke to move the piston back and forth. the rotary steam engine simplified the mechanism required to turn a paddle wheel to propel a boat. despite the improved efficiency and rotary motion, the power to weight ratio of boulton and watt steam engine was still low.









































section::::background.:high-pressure steam engines.
steamboat
the new design was introduced commercially in 1776, with the first example sold to the carron company ironworks. watt continued working to improve the engine, and in 1781 introduced a system using a sun and planet gear to turn the linear motion of the engines into rotary motion. this made it useful not only in the original pumping role, but also as a direct replacement in roles where a water wheel would have been used previously. this was a key moment in the industrial revolution, since power sources could now be located anywhere instead of, as previously, needing a suitable water source and topography. boulton began developing a multitude of machines that made use of this rotary power, developing the first modern industrialized factory, the soho foundry, which in turn produced new steam engine designs. watt's early engines were like the original newcomen designs in that they used low-pressure steam and most of the action was caused by atmospheric pressure, due mostly to safety concerns. looking to improve on their performance, watt began considering the use of higher-pressure steam, as well as designs using multiple cylinders in both the double-acting concept and the multiple-expansion concept. these double-acting engines required the invention of the parallel motion, which allowed the piston rods of the individual cylinders to move in straight lines, keeping the piston true in the cylinder, while the walking beam end moved through an arc, somewhat analogous to a crosshead in later steam engines.
watt steam engine