"When did these machines come into being, and did they find acceptance in the world of quality lightweight bikes during the say 70's and 80's?"
Not sure when the machines came into being, but the first decent machines came from Holland Mechanics in about 1980. These were the machines that the brothers Hjertbert (Jon & Ric) hotrodded to create Wheelsmith wheels, which were the first decent production wheels. If memory serves Wheelsmith also came into being around 1980.
I have seen various wheelmaking machines in Taiwanese bike factories, but not of the quality of the Holland Mechanics stuff. That was 15 years ago and no doubt the world has changed considerably. Perhaps if Jon or Ric are reading this they could chime in and fill in the blanks here.
Bryant Bainbridge
Portland, Orygun