At 22:53 11/23/98 -0600, Doug Yowza wrote:
>And you thought your VT100 was cool? Through an elaborate move involving
>a network of collectors across the country, I finally ended up with a
>Flexowriter in my office!
>
> http://www.yowza.com/classiccmp/friden/
>
>What's a Flexowriter, you ask? Before the KSR33 TTY was invented around
>1962, this was the way you got data into and out of your PDP-1, PB-250,
>etc.
>
>I really don't know much about it (it's just PDP-1 bait), but I'm
>interested in any docs, software (see below), or emotional outbursts
>from veteran users.
>
>My vague understanding of how this was used comes from a few scraps of web
>info. I believe it was used as a letter quality printer and paper tape
>punch with computers. It also has a paper tape reader. I think the
>reader could be interfaced to a computer, but I think it could also be
>used standalone! (Some?) flexowriters could accept programs to generate
>form letters and the like -- the first word processor!
I have a Flexowriter setting in the basement of our old house. Let me tell
you a bit about another common use for Flexowriters.
At my past place of employment, the one I have once was used as a numerical
control programming terminal. It stood alone, no electrical communications
connection to the machine tool for which a program was being written. An
ASCII paper tape was punched containing the programmed moves and machining
functions (standard "M" and "G" functions plus others) which was carried
over to the numerically controlled machine tool, loaded and started.
A couple of the NC controllers we had were the old General Electric Century
Mark II models which controlled large Burgmaster NC drilling machines. They
were a mid-50's design using stepper switches and bunches of
hermetically-sealed relays and a two-axis thyratron servo table positioning
system. A Fiden tape reader was used to read the tape several characters at
a time according to the next move or function the machine was required to
make while the program was run. AGHHH!
Those Mark II's were ornery and hard to troubleshoot with all their relay
logic and the tight timings thereof. A rather small two pound PLC would
handle the programming and controlling on those Burgmasters today in
conjunction with a new, solid state servo drive system. I still have the
Mark II printsets which are by now, I would guess, *really* rare.
Back in the 50's, 60's and to the mid-70's paper tape was a very typical
way a machine tool program would be generated and run. A 'real' computer
was far too expensive especially for small shops back in the old days to
run a typical machine tool. Huge companies may have had some sort of single
computer to act as a program generating and storage device which was
somehow linked to a large group of NC machines but I personally know of no
real examples. But I would wager IBM, DEC, General Electric and others had
some involvement with this either in their own large factories or as a
contractor to others.
Microprocessor-based CNC (CNC = Computer Numerical Control) controls began
to replace the old NC controls around the mid-70's. Removeable media,
semiconductor memory and especially the revolutionary microprocessor helped
drive this change from paper tape NC systems. The Fridens and Teletype
ASR33s (which were another popular paper tape generating device) slowly
began to be scrapped.
Back in the early 80's, ACU-RITE Inc. took the NC machines and this
Flexowriter out of service. Most of the machines were sold to others and
the Flexowriter tossed into warehouse storage. For a couple of machines we
kept I designed the mechanical and electrical interfaces for installation
of a couple of those new-fangled CNC boxes which one could buy separately
(Bendix Dynapaths were used) and built a couple of simple CNC Bridgeport
mills for the company's machine shop.
During that time, I rescued the Flexowriter out of a dumpster after I
discovered that warehouse storage area was being cleaned out. I also
grabbed my DG Nova 1200 and other DG items before it was supposed hit the
dumpster later that week! :-)
>
>Corrections and pointers to Friden stuff welcomed.
Well, this Flexowriter is not something that was in my collecting interest
but I kept it all these years. Therefore, I never actively kept an eye open
for Friden docs, parts or such stuff. It is on topic for our group so I
will pay better attention for Flexowriter items, docs and pointers.
Now I must get rid of the Flexowriter as I do not have enough room to keep
it (just ask Hans F. and his wife who have seen only a small part of my
collection :-)). FREE to a good home. It's heavy! It should be restorable
or at least good for parts. Otherwise, and I'm not joking, it will have to
end up at the scrap yard to continue its original destination from 15 years
ago :(
Regards, Chris
-- --
Christian Fandt, Electronic/Electrical Historian
Jamestown, NY USA cfandt_at_netsync.net
Member of Antique Wireless Association
URL:
http://www.ggw.org/freenet/a/awa/
Received on Tue Nov 24 1998 - 11:44:41 GMT