comparative display of old cam with IBM ASCC-Mark I cam
Date: 1930-1937
Inventory Number: 1997-1-0236
Classification: Computer Part
Subject:
Maker: International Business Machines Corporation (1911-present)
Maker: Harvard Computation Laboratory (1944 - 1997)
Cultural Region:
Dimensions:
9.8 × 25.2 × 6.3 cm (3 7/8 × 9 15/16 × 2 1/2 in.)
Bibliography:
A Manual of Operation for the Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator
Description:
Two cams mounted side by side, for comparison, on a rectangular metal plate perpindicular to a thin, rectangular metal base. Left cam is much larger, consisting of a brown wheel with shallow grooves over about one half of its circumference. It is designed to make contact with a long lever. Right cam [New Style] is much smaller, consisting of a blue and white wheel with many gooves all the way around. It it makes contact with a small piece of metal attached to a white bar.
In Collection(s)
FunctionCams are generally used to translate the rotational motion of the wheel into the motion of the lever.
Curatorial RemarksFrom tag:
I.B.M. Cams
Left
STANDARD CAM
designed about 1930
Right
NEW STYLE
designed about 1937
I.B.M. Cams
Left
STANDARD CAM
designed about 1930
Right
NEW STYLE
designed about 1937
ProvenanceOn March 13, 1997, the following instrument was picked up from the Howard H. Aiken computation Laboratory, 33 Oxford Street. The instrument was transferred to the Collection by Edward P. Jackson, Facilities Manager in the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The instrument was on exhibition in the entrance area adjacent to IBM Mark I computer on the first floor of the Science Centre, Harvard University.
