eli5 Why weren’t machine guns possible to make in the past?

Question

What stopped 18-19th century armies with guns from being able to create automatic weapons like AK-47s and Uzis?
Since they don’t use electricity I feel like they’re made with materials and technology that was already available in the 1750s, surely they could’ve put their heads together to create a machine gun and just annihilate any ops…

Thanks

In: Engineering

Answer 1

>they’re made with materials and technology that was already available in the 1750s

That’s the thing. The manufacturing technology wasn’t there at the time. The rifle cartridge hadn’t been invented and wasn’t possible at the time, and the capability to make guns with the tolerances, materials, and durability to withstand operating conditions didn’t exist.