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Re: The True Aficionado?

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<hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote in message 
news:57684584-e9a6-43d6-b773-67e7caf0574c@googlegroups.com...
> On Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 11:28:18 AM UTC-5, Morten Reistad wrote:
>
>> I worked with PDP11s (/34's mostly) controlling welding and
>> steel stamping presses (bending 6mm steel like you fold up a
>> paper). They had extra filters installed in front of the intakes,
>> but otherwise lived in a VERY compromised environment.
>> They worked just fine.
>
> The IBM history talks about developing IBM's various process controllers,
> e.g. the 1710, 1800, and System/7.  Given their applications, very high
> reliability was a must.  However, given their applications, their work
> environment wasn't so great.  It was a challenge.  IIRC, the IBM S/7 was
> priced too expensive for its market and thus wasn't a big success.  I
> think the 1800 (based on the 1130) was more successful.
>
> bitsavers has a much of stuff on process control.  Admittedly, I don't
> understand a lot of it, but it makes for fascinating reading.  There
> is one magazine reprint of a process controller for ancillary processes
> of an oil refinery that's generally in layman's terms.  The setup,
> programming, and testing effort must have been enormous since any bug
> could ruin the output product or even be dangerous.  But I suspect
> that even developing and debugging a manually operated process was also
> quite a challenge.

Yeah, I was talking to one fella involved in doing that with a steel
rolling mill. Get it wrong and they had to get people in with oxy
equipment to cut up the abortion to get it out of the mill.

> A nearby chemical plant had an open house.  It was fascinating to see
> the control panels.  They seemed high tech, although they told us they
> were actually rather old.  Operators would control the feed,
> temperature, and other factors in the "kettles" to make product.
> (Too bad photography was strictly forbidden, lots of neat stuff).
>
> I was surprised to learn that this huge plant only made intermediate
> raw materials, not finished products.  For instance, they made red
> pellets which were later used to be turned into auto tail lights;
> carloads and carloads of pellets.  Another major product was the
> lining material for cans of paint.  I had just assumed paint was
> merely placed in a metal can, that there was no lining.  But there is,
> and this company made it.
> 

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Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-02-21 15:48 +0000
  Re: The True Aficionado? mentificium@gmail.com - 2016-02-21 13:43 -0800
    Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-02-23 13:13 +0000
      Re: The True Aficionado? mentificium@gmail.com - 2016-02-23 06:06 -0800
      Re: The True Aficionado? "hgww" <hgww@gmail.com> - 2016-02-24 04:40 +1100
        Re: The True Aficionado? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-02-23 09:50 -0800
        Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-02-24 13:40 +0000
          Re: The True Aficionado? "hgww" <hgww@gmail.com> - 2016-02-25 03:14 +1100
            Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-01 13:55 +0000
              Re: The True Aficionado? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2016-03-02 01:30 +1100
                Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-02 14:19 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2016-03-03 03:51 +1100
                Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-03 13:39 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-03 16:18 +0100
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2016-03-04 03:52 +1100
                Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-04 13:22 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-03-04 16:33 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-03-04 15:47 -0600
                Re: The True Aficionado? Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2016-03-05 01:04 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-05 13:57 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2016-03-06 11:40 -0800
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Osmium" <r124c4u102@comcast.net> - 2016-03-06 23:18 -0600
                Re: The True Aficionado? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-04 17:18 +0100
                Re: The True Aficionado? Dan Espen <despen@verizon.net> - 2016-03-04 22:09 -0500
                Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-05 13:57 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? Huge <Huge@nowhere.much.invalid> - 2016-03-05 14:36 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? jmfbahciv <See.above@aol.com> - 2016-03-06 14:08 +0000
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Sangmo" <ju410@gmail.com> - 2016-03-07 02:03 +1100
                Re: The True Aficionado? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-06 17:28 +0100
                Re: The True Aficionado? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2016-03-06 11:54 -0800
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Sangmo" <ju410@gmail.com> - 2016-03-07 07:39 +1100
                Re: The True Aficionado? Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> - 2016-03-06 17:24 -0700
                Re: The True Aficionado? Morten Reistad <first@last.name.invalid> - 2016-03-05 18:43 +0100
                Re: The True Aficionado? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2016-03-06 11:34 -0800
                Re: The True Aficionado? Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> - 2016-03-07 16:24 -0600
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Rod Speed" <rod.speed.aaa@gmail.com> - 2016-03-04 03:45 +1100
                Re: The True Aficionado? "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-03-03 16:01 -0600

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