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Robert Bosch (3)



In 1901 the working on the high-voltage ignition began. This is what made Gottlob Honold famous. One year later he had come so far, that the first ignition was installed in a Daimler with the name 'Mercedes'. All that was now protruding into the combustion chamber, were the spark plugs. Everything else was placed outside. Although the patent on this ignition system would be contested, as all important patents were, Bosch would still become world famous, also in the USA, where the automobile would soon be far more widespread than in Europe.

20 years later, after the First World War, everything was again completely different. For a long time now, the American cars needed a battery because of their various electric devices (starter-motor, windscreen wipers, lights) and also, they had a battery operated-coil ignition. Bosch had long since devoted himself to the generator, or more precisely, a vastly improved regulator.

Indeed, it took more than 14 years, before Bosch's inventions really became a worldwide household name. In the true sense of the word, the Daimler-Engine-Company, whose automobiles were becomming faster and faster through the Bosch ignition, carried the reputation over to America, where shortly after the turn of the century, a really big car-market had arisen. Shortly before his demise Daimler, who was now an old man, agreed to the change from the glow-pipe ignition to the Bosch system.

The First World War at first put an end to the Bosch success story. Thereafter, not only was Germany and the products it produced, hated in a large part of the world, but e.g., the American automobile industry was streets ahead of the Germans. Neither was the, not patented magneto-ignition including the very successful spark plug, any longer a unique selling feature. Apart from that, electrics in the car had now become widespread and the battery ignition had started its triumphal march forward.

Nowadays, one sometimes has difficulty to pin-point the area in which Bosch is active, since added to the countless electrical system articles, they also have a long tradition with hydraulic Diesel-injection-systems. It's here that one can see, that the company was founded as a precision-mechanics workshop. This is one of the reasons why post-war Germany was able to pull itself back up. One example was the newly developed voltage regulator for the DC-generator, which because of the complicated mechanics, hardly anyone was willing to take on.

Work on the injection pump only began in 1922 and lasted four years. Even Rudolf Diesel had foreseen the possibilities of hydraulic injection for the Diesel engine but had had to pass in view of the technological requirements. Just imagine e.g., that in a motor car with a Diesel engine nowadays, travelling at a reasonable speed on the motorway, only one large drop of fuel is injected per working stroke. If one want's to regulate such incredibly small amounts, one has to work with the tightest tolerances (approx. 1/1000 of a millimeter).

Although Rudolf Diesel did invent the engine, the complicated procedure of blowing in the air/fuel mixture was, until 1927, only sensibly usable for large Diesel engines (e.g., marine- and locomotive engines). Bosch's new A-pump opened the way for the utility vehicle market and much later, also the motor car market. This time it wasn't that easy to copy, because the most difficult thing was the production. What gave Bosch his almost unique position for decades, was e.g., the fluid-friction (lapping).

So, that's enough of the honours for Robert Bosch, who although he didn't actually do any developing himself, did have the right employees around him, they in turn, were obviously prepared to carry out the aims of their boss to the word. As far as the person Bosch, is concerned, our revelations can be kept short. E.g., he had to suffer a great deal of criticism from his colleagues, because he had very different ideas about how to treat his workers. One of his quotes was: "I dont pay good wages because I have a lot of money, I have a lot of money because I pay good wages." 02/10






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