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Ken Shirriff

The Bendix CADC is an amazing electromechanical analog computer that was used by fighter planes in the 1950s. Tiny rotating gears and cams performed mathematical calculations. Let's disassemble one of the special servomotors that powered the gears and see how it works. 1/16

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Ken Shirriff

The cylindrical motor/generators rotated shafts inside the CADC, with a feedback loop to determine the right position. The tachometer generator provided speed feedback to the control circuitry, slowing the motor as it approached the right position instead of overshooting. 2/16

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