Manufacture of Wire Spring Relays for Communication Switching Systems

This paper describes the manufacture of the major sub-assemblies for the general purpose wire spring relay. Their mass production to close tolerances and at low cost has required the development of entirely new and different machines and techniques. Several machines of the type discussed are already in operation and more are under construction to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for these excellent relays. The combination of such widely different kinds of processes into integrated machine units is a great step forward in the march toward the automatic factory so widely acclaimed in these modern times. Knowledge gained during this development has already been used by Western Electric in planning the manufacture of future communication apparatus and in lowering the cost of present Bell System products. It will doubtless be recognized that automatic facilities of the type described require a major capital investment, the justification for which must depend upon a large and continuing demand as well as a stable product design.