[Youden]

The practical kind of steam engine that drove the industrial revolution is one example. Steam engines existed earlier but when they started turning the cylinders, they became much more efficient which allowed them to be used for a much larger variety of tasks.

"The Perfectionists" by Simon Winchester goes into a whole lot of detail about the history of precision and the role it's taken.

[roelschroeven]

Also Machine Thinking's videos "The 1751 Machine that Made Everything" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djB9oK6pkbA), "Origins of Precision" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRnrn5DE58) and some others on his channel.