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Bryant is a brand of machine tools. A division of Vermont Machine Tool, Bryant specializes in the grinding field, building grinding machines with computer numerical control (CNC). Bryant began as an independent machine tool builder. The Bryant Chucking Grinder Company was founded in 1909〔.〕〔.〕 and was an independent company for its first half century, during which time it was widely known in the machining industries by the colloquial name Bryant Grinder. In 1958, it was bought by Ex-Cell-O Corporation, another prominent machine tool builder, and became a subsidiary.〔 In 1986, Ex-Cell-O and its subsidiaries, including Bryant, were purchased by Textron.〔 In 1988, Textron sold Bryant Grinder to the Goldman Group, a financial investment group.〔 In 2002, Bryant was purchased by Vermont Machine Tool, where it has since operated as a division. ==Early decades (1910s-1930s)== The Bryant Chucking Grinder Company was founded in 1909 by William LeRoy (Roy〔.〕) Bryant, one of the machine tool entrepreneurs mentored by James Hartness of the Jones & Lamson Machine Company (J&L). Roy Bryant had joined J&L in 1897,〔 became chief draughtsman in 1899,〔 and was chief engineer by 1905.〔 While working on tooling for chucking lathes, he invented a multispindle grinder for second-operation work,〔 which he patented (). He took Hartness's advice and formed a company to build his grinders, and the Bryant Chucking Grinder Company joined J&L as one of several firms that made Springfield, Vermont an important center for machine tools and their tooling, such as accessories and cutting tools. (Others were the Fellows Gear Shaper Company and the Lovejoy Tool Company). Hartness helped finance the Bryant venture and was the firm's first president;〔 Roy Bryant afterward assumed the post. According to Vermont Machine Tool,〔 "By 1910, a 20,000 sq ft building was built on the current location across the street from J&L. During the same year, 9 machines were shipped to Ford and Cadillac." The Bryant Company established itself as a noted brand for both internal and external grinding,〔 and (like J&L) it became an important machine tool builder to the automotive industry.〔 World War I fueled great demand for machine tool builders such as J&L and Bryant. By 1917, the plant had doubled in size and was running 3 shifts a day.〔 Vermont Machine Tool says,〔 "Additional space was rented from J&L to help produce artillery shells.〔 The war promotion created two new machine models especially for the aircraft industry." During World War I, the Ford Aircraft Division kept 102 Bryant machines busy in its production of the Liberty engine,〔 and Bryant earned such a reputation for accuracy and precision that most of the grinding done on aircraft engines from World War I through the Interwar Period and World War II was performed on Bryant machines.〔 Vermont Machine Tool says,〔 "Firmly established in the automotive and aircraft sectors, Bryant began producing machines for the bearing industry." Roy Bryant, a member of ASME and SAE,〔 remained the firm's president and general manager until his death in 1931.〔 He was succeeded in the presidency by E.J. Fullam, then Treasurer of the Fellows Company.〔 The Great Depression brought desperation to machine tool builders, many of which closed down. The strength of the product lines of some companies, including J&L and Bryant Grinder, allowed them to survive, generally because they were on the forefront of productivity, accuracy and precision, or both. Such firms' survival was helped by exports. For example, the Soviet Union was a large and important customer for many American industrial firms (including Ford and machine tool builders such as J&L and Bryant Grinder) in the 1920s and 1930s. According to Vermont Machine Tool,〔 Bryant used the downtime created by the Depression to focus on improvements to its machine designs. In various cases, manually controlled machines were made into semiautomatic, hydraulic power replaced pneumatic, and automatic sizing became available as an option. Also during this decade, motorized spindles (rotary axes with their own motors instead of being served power by gear trains or belts) were incorporated.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bryant Grinder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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