The IBM 402 and IBM 403 Accounting Machines were tabulating machines introduced by International Business Machines in the late 1940s.
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 An IBM 403 accounting machine with built-in printer (left) wired to an IBM 514 summary punch (center). | |
| Type | tabulating machine |
|---|---|
| Release date | 1948 |
| Predecessor | IBM 401, IBM 405 |
| Related | IBM 407 |
Overview
editThe 402 could read punched cards at a speed of 80 to 150 cards per minute, depending on process options, while printing data at a speed of up to 100 lines per minute. The built-in line printer used 43 alpha-numerical type bars (left-side) and 45 numerical type bars (right-side, shorter bars) to print a total of 88 positions across a line of a report.[1]
The IBM 403 added the ability to print up to three lines, such as a multiline shipping address, from a single punchcard, instead of just one line per card with the 402.[1]
The 402 and 403 were primarily controlled by a removable control panel. Additional controls included a carriage control tape and mechanical levers called hammersplits and hammerlocks, that controlled some printing functions.[1] Both the IBM 402 and IBM 403 were considered smaller models of the prior model IBM 405.
In July 2010, a group from the Computer History Museum reported that an IBM 402 was still in operation at Sparkler Filters, Inc., a manufacturing company that produces chemical filtration systems, in Conroe, Texas, still as of 2022[citation needed] the company's accounting and payroll is done on the oldest American computer in service within the United States of America or elsewhere on the Earth.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c IBM Accounting Machine: 402, 403 and 419 Principles of Operation (PDF). 1963. Form 224-5654-13.
- ^ Visit to a working IBM 402 in Conroe, Texas