3 ms·
Just like with electronics, it all started with individual components. It only looks so incredibly complex when all those individual units are composed into a b
by nosianu 4y ago
Just like with electronics, it all started with individual components. It only looks so incredibly complex when all those individual units are composed into a big whole.
Underneath it there is order similar to the layering of software though.
Here are a few mechanical computing components explained, the context here was real-time in- and output to control ship guns against ground, sea or air targets, taking into account own speed, angles, angular speeds, distances and their changes, and other factors, like wind, if they could be measured.
https://youtu.be/s1i-dnAH9Y4 https://youtu.be/s1i-dnAH9Y4 -- "Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control Computers - US Navy 1953"
So, the engineers coming up with the top level design probably did not think in "gears" but in higher level computing and transmission units.
- iancmceachern 4y agoExactly, we think in terms of interfaces. The apollo moon mission technical history is a good example. At a high level there is a big diagram with things like transmissions and modules drawn as single blocks. We define how those blocks need to interact with eachother. Then teams of engineers work on each block, designing and making each block to do what it was defined to do on that big flow chart. Each part is tested to its interfaces (which can be mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, control, etc) and if each part does what it's supposed to the whole thing should.