Final answer:
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin and developed the system of interchangeable parts, revolutionizing industrial manufacturing by enabling the production of standardized, reliable products.
Step-by-step explanation:
American inventor Eli Whitney is well-known for inventing the cotton gin, a significant device in the history of the textile industry. However, besides the cotton gin, Whitney also devised a system of interchangeable parts. This innovation allowed if a part on a machine broke, to be easily replaced with an identical part. Before this system, each piece was unique and had to be custom-fitted, which was a time-consuming and costly process. Whitney's interchangeable parts meant that machines and products could be produced more quickly and efficiently, with each part being an exact duplicate of others. Whitney's idea was revolutionary and had a profound impact on industrial manufacturing, making it possible to produce standardized, dependable products on a large scale.