RV ancestry

Started by Mike, August 11, 2011, 09:42:32 AM

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Mike

Thanks to George for sending me this interesting bit of history from around 1990

Gopher

Today's closest match being a Dima DD-500 aka DotMaster?

phonoplug

Is this the same 'versatronics'? Just that the RV Versatronics was in Oxfordshire, just up the road from me as it happens, not Cardiff.

Mike

Quote from: phonoplug on August 12, 2011, 10:48:22 PM
Is this the same 'versatronics'? Just that the RV Versatronics was in Oxfordshire, just up the road from me as it happens, not Cardiff.
Seems a rather too similar to be a coincidence... I wondered what those cutouts were for behind the front panel trim on my RV....

George04

Hi
My recollection is that the VMR3000 became 'no longer available' and the business moved to Oxford to develop the pick and place attachment around 1991. I do recall a Versatronic sales rep telling me of the move to from Wales to England and I am certain it is the same business.
It would be interesting to know more of the history of this interesting machine.
George

phonoplug

I wonder how good it would have been at producing dead straight tracks. Going by what the RV is like when you are trying to move the arm in a straight line during PCB alignment, for example. Probably a bit wobbly!

George04

The photo in the brochure above with the black tracks was drawn using an etch resist 'pen' in the holder on the machine which was then swapped for a PCB drill for hole drilling. As you can see from the photo it looked pretty good at the time. The board was then etched in the normal way. There was to be a direct milling option (using gerber isolation software) but I don't know if this happened. The Evaluation Pack did have a great VHS video of the machine in action which demonstrated all this by making a copy of the machines own front panel XY readout PCB but sadly my tape was lost in a basement flood several years ago,
I wonder if VSMT has a copy?
George