We present two models in which the production of entanglement is pursued with time dependent global fields, a chain of spin 1/2 particles and a chain of harmonic oscillators. It is shown that time dependent driving of the systems allows for a much greater creation of entanglement than in static situations. In the case of spins we point at the possibly best parameters to be used for optimal performance. In the case of oscillators, an exact result is given. We further relate the entanglement created in the chain of oscillators with the minimal amount of thermodynamical work that needs to be spent in the process.