interchangeable parts

interchangeable parts, identical components that can be substituted one for another, particularly important in the history of manufacturing. Mass production, which transformed the organization of work, came about by the development of the machine-tool industry by a series of 19th-century innovators. With precision equipment, large numbers of identical parts could be produced at low cost and with a small workforce. See also American System of manufacture; armoury practice; automobile industry; factory; Henry Ford; Henry Leland.