How Was It Done
To get things done I decided not to
- make Power Point (TM) presentations
- write Word (TM) Document
- use TeamTrack (TM) (who the needs it anyway)
- use ClearCase (TM) (an over engineered piece of shit)
- use Visio (TM) for drawings
- use a 3D tool or CAD program
but
- type in basic VRML code using the splendid VrmlPad editor
- draw with a pencil on paper
- use an eraser for corrections
and
- make it work (prove that it can be done)
- make it nice (refactoring code)
- make it fast (but only where it makes sense)
At first I used a lot of information from the Internet and a set of drawing of the outside of a Curta I from Rick Furr.
A lot of information came from the Curta Disassembly.
When I had the basics in place I mailed Rick Furr the owner of The Calculator Reference a splendid website with a large section on the Curta
with a request for some measurements.
View the version I send to Rick
Over the next months I received every measurement I asked for and lots of suggestions too.
Rick measured many of his Curta parts and also sent photographs of all the details.
From then on it was a matter of stepwise refinement
- fix a few mistakes
- call other mistakes features
- add another part or two
- think of a new gimmick
and the result is
- 70 .wrl files with the actual VRML worlds (total: 118 kB)
- 1 main file of 8 kByte
- 69 prototype files between 1 kB and 5 kB each
- 15 images texture files (total: 227 kB)
- 2 x image texture for settings wheels (hi and lo-resolution)
- 2 x image texture for results wheels adder (hi and lo-resolution)
- 2 x image texture for results wheels turns counter (hi and lo-resolution)
- 1 x image texture for base (bottom) plate
- 1 x image texture for the colar
- 1 x image texture for the indentations in the settings shaft of 12 kB
- 3 x image texture for color settings wheels (3 kB each)
- 1 x image texture for the reversing lever shaft
- 1 x image texture for the body (standard)
- 1 x image texture for the body (with color setters)
- 12 wave files for the sounds (total: 619 kB)