The development of the turret lathe around the middle of the nineteenth century was a key aspect of the advancement of manufacturing technology. Unlike bench lathes, engine lathes, and toolroom lathes, on which each tool change involved some amount of setup, and toolpath had to be carefully controlled by the operator, turret lathes allowed the multiple tool changes and toolpaths of one part-cutting cycle to be repeated with little time or effort. By taking the tool-changing and the toolpath control out of the hands of the operator and building it into the machine tool, it accomplished several feats: it made interchangeable parts easier, faster, and thus cheaper to produce; and it made their production possible by workers with little skill. As long as a few skilled engineers, toolmakers, and setup technicians made and equipped the machine correctly, just about any operator could be hired (inexpensively) to run it.