The best-known type is the commutator, which is an integral part of a DC dynamo, but before solid-state devices became available, independent mechanical rectifiers were used for certain applications.
This arrangement was only suitable for low-power applications, e.g. auto radios and was also found in some motorcycle electrical systems, where it was combined with a voltage regulator.
The machine shown in the reference[2] was designed by Read and Gimson et al., at British Thomson-Houston (BTH) Rugby, Warwickshire, England, in the early 1950s.
It is a three-phase mechanical rectifier working at 220 volts and 15,000 amperes, and its application was the powering of huge banks of electrolysis cells.
In the USA, similar rectifiers were made by the I-T-E circuit breaker company.