What Do We Collect - General Collections
Scientific and Technological Research
Scientific and technological research were important aspects of the manufacturing industries of Sheffield
and many of the developments were a result of the vast input into research. Companies, and later the
University of Sheffield, developed their own laboratories and materials research departments. This was
particularly the case in the steel industry as new innovations in steelmaking were demanded as well as
the need to guarantee quality within steel castings.
The Trust has a collection of approximately 100 items of measuring and testing equipment used across
many industries. These consist of laboratory equipment such as microscopes, weighing equipment, metal
hardness testing equipment and tension and friction testing equipment.
Other aspects of the collection are cross-referenced and discussed in other areas. For example,
documents relating to scientific and technological research are housed within the archives collection,
such as papers by Hatfield, Brearley, the Hadfield company archives or in the library where published
research papers and patents are stored. In addition the photographic collections have within them a
large collection of images which relate to microscopic testing of metals and metallurgical research.
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