Model D18R twin Brunsviga calculating machine (18 register) by Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG

Made:
1952-1959 in Braunschweig
maker:
Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG
Model  D18R twin Brunsviga calculating machine (18 register) by

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Model D18R twin Brunsviga calculating machine (18 register) by
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© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Model D18R twin Brunsviga calculating machine (18 register) by Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG, Braunschweig, Germany, c.1955. Consisting of a pair of 10 digit calculators coupled together.

Brunsviga was one of the most successful brands of mechanical calculators in the 20th century by the German company Grimme, Natalis & Co. which operated under the name 'Brunsviga Maschinenwerke AG' from 1950 to the 1970s. Brunsviga machines used a pin-wheel mechanism invented by Willgodt T. Odhner in Russia and Frank S. Baldwin in the USA between 1872 and 1874.

This one is an example of a double pinwheel machine, also known as the "twin" or "duplex" and has two independent machines working in parallel when the crank is turned, in contrast to difference machines that work in series. This special design, introduced in the early 1900s allowed the performance of more complex calculations and twin machines were widely used for military calculations. After the Second World War, they were employed in scientific operations particularly in surveying, in the case of this machine in geophysical surveying by Seismographic Services Ltd, a UK seismic exploration company. Brunsviga also produced a triple machine (Model 183) built at the suggestion of the geodesist Prof. Dr. Heinz Wittke, who was also the patent holder.

Details

Category:
Mathematics
Object Number:
1985-1943
Materials:
brass, steel, plastic and complete
Measurements:
overall: 15.65 kg
type:
calculating machine (pinwheel)
credit:
Seismograph Service (England)