It appears that my progress on my Monotype computer interface is so slow that parts obsolescence is catching up with me. A few months ago I was looking into future supply of parts for the interface and found that the…
Category: Caster Computer Control
New Monotype Control PCB Test
I’ve populated my new PCB with components and after a bit of fiddling, I’ve run a test on it and everything appears to work. The board has a few problems that had to be patched over, including: A missing trace…
A PCB for the Monotype Computer Interface
I’ve been slowly plugging away (apparently, for at least 9 years!) at an interface to control my Monotype Composition Caster using a computer. The caster was originally designed to be controlled by a 31-channel punched paper ribbon, which is read…
Towards a better casting day
After analyzing the problems from my bad casting day, I’ve managed, with some success, to address all the problems (numbered to match the previous post): I disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the mould, and checked the carrying frame height on the…
Solving caster communications the expensive way
During my Bad Casting Day, I was having problems with the communications between my caster computer interface and the 14-year-old Windows laptop I was using to drive it. They connect using a USB cable, and I thought electrical noise might…
More updated caster pneumatics
One of the conclusions of my Bad Casting Day was that I needed better regulation of the pressure of the compressed air which controls the caster operation. The caster has about 30 pins about 3/8″ (1cm) in diameter which must…
A slightly better casting day
After the really bad casting day a few weeks ago, almost anything would be an improvement. I had taken steps to resolve some of the problems, and here is the result:
A Bad Casting Day
Yesterday I made a try at casting a font of 12-point Caslon Old Style using composition mats and the computer interface for the caster.The results were less than stellar. A whole bunch of things went wrong:
Monotype Computer Control: First Run
I have my 12-point Binny Old Style diecase set up, so last Saturday, I tried my first run with my laptop controlling my Monotype Composition Caster. The text is a little note to include when I ship type across the…
Video: First run of Monotype Compostion Caster Computer Control
I just posted a video on YouTube of the first run of my Monotype Composition Caster under control of my laptop computer. I have been working on the hardware and software for this interface on and off over several years,…
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