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This was a drum printer, the other common fast printed from the same era was a chain printer, essentially the same mechanism with a row of hammers one for each
by Taniwha 2y ago
This was a drum printer, the other common fast printed from the same era was a chain printer, essentially the same mechanism with a row of hammers one for each column and a chain of characters that would get whacked on as it sped past the hammers, they were really fast!
The reason why they probably didn't choose a chain printer for the shuttle is likely because they had a failure mode where if the chain broke it would tend to fly out one side of the printer and through the wall - our operators were cautioned not to stand beside it ....
- dugmartin 2y agoWe had to get printouts from the mainframe for my freshman CS class and they came out of a chain printer. It was in the next room separated by a set of cubbyholes for the printouts and it sounded terrifying when it was printing, even 20 feet away.
- michaelcampbell 2y agoMy college had a chain printer in "the computer lab" (obsolete now, but not everyone HAD a home computer then). The "joke" in the lab was to run a or write a program that printed a line of "-" or "=" with no newline so it would overstrike and eventually shear the paper, and often cause the printer to jam. This was especially 'funny' on Sunday nights, when printed programs for courses were due before class on Mondays.