<P> Crossbows made with bronze parts were produced in China during the Warring States period . The Qin Emperor unified China at least in part by equipping large armies with these weapons, which were equipped with a sophisticated trigger mechanism made of interchangeable parts . Ships of war were produced on a large scale at a moderate cost by the Carthaginians in their excellent harbors, allowing them to efficiently maintain their control of the Mediterranean . The Venetians themselves also produced ships using prefabricated parts and assembly lines many centuries later . The Venetian Arsenal apparently produced nearly one ship every day, in what was effectively the world's first factory which, at its height, employed 16,000 people . Mass production in the publishing industry has been commonplace since the Gutenberg Bible was published using a printing press in the mid-15th century . </P> <P> In the Industrial Revolution simple mass production techniques were used at the Portsmouth Block Mills in England to make ships' pulley blocks for the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars . It was achieved in 1803 by Marc Isambard Brunel in cooperation with Henry Maudslay under the management of Sir Samuel Bentham . </P> <P> The Navy was in a state of expansion that required 100,000 pulley blocks to be manufactured a year . Bentham had already achieved remarkable efficiency at the docks by introducing power - driven machinery and reorganising the dockyard system . Brunel, a pioneering engineer, and Maudslay, a pioneer of machine tool technology who had developed the first industrially practical screw - cutting lathe in 1800 which standardized screw thread sizes for the first time which in turn allowed the application of interchangeable parts, collaborated on plans to manufacture block - making machinery . By 1805, the dockyard had been fully updated with the revolutionary, purpose - built machinery at a time when products were still built individually with different components . A total of 45 machines were required to perform 22 processes on the blocks, which could be made into one of three possible sizes . The machines were almost entirely made of metal thus improving their accuracy and durability . The machines would make markings and indentations on the blocks to ensure alignment throughout the process . One of the many advantages of this new method was the increase in labour productivity due to the less labour - intensive requirements of managing the machinery . Richard Beamish, assistant to Brunel's son and engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, wrote: </P> <P> So that ten men, by the aid of this machinery, can accomplish with uniformity, celerity and ease, what formerly required the uncertain labour of one hundred and ten . </P>

Who used the factory model to control production of scientific inventions