Connection Machine CM-1 Supercomputer

[jparenti]

Kind of an esoteric subject here: the Thinking Machines Corporation’s Connection Machine CM-1 from 1985. Still working at making it buildable and doing the graphics on the front for the banks of red LEDs. Right now it’s printed in black and white while I work the design out.

[FRD]

That should be a fun project!..

[MacSongLi]

Very different subject. Well done!

Gary

[jparenti]

I’ve been working to make the internal structure a little easier to handle. I’m just using a B&W laser printer for now since I’m doing multiple test builds until I get something I’m happy with.

I added in a couple of other builds of subjects that use a lot of the same parts — a 2 cube version of the CM-1, which was a prototype used for testing prior to assembling the full version, and a CM-2a, a smaller single cube variety that I found some pictures of online. The rear panel has lots of little details that are invisible with such poor printing from the laser printer. Hopefully the color copies I get at the print shop will show those later.

[jparenti]

As long as I was working through the series I figured I needed to include a CM-5.

The best way to do this one was a series of simple boxes attached to each other. I still have to draw the LEDs for the front panel and tighten up the edges to make sure it fits but so far it’s not bad. Again this is just a B&W laser printer copy for testing.

[jparenti]

I had to do another one just to see what the model looked like with “networked” units. This is the configuration of FROSTBURG, the CM-5 used by the NSA that’s now in the National Cryptologic Museum.

[jparenti]

I finally printed the CM-2a in color to see how the LED graphics look. The back panel is better in this resolution but I still say I spent way too much time on something that’s barely visible.

[jamoldover]

I don't think I would agree (that you spent too much time on the fine detail since it's barely visible). One thing I've found over the years is that when the detail is missing, even if it's almost imperceptible to the eye, the brain still notices that it's not there, and vice versa. Getting the fine detail right makes a difference, even if you don't think it would.

[jparenti]

Originally Posted by jamoldover

I don't think I would agree (that you spent too much time on the fine detail since it's barely visible). One thing I've found over the years is that when the detail is missing, even if it's almost imperceptible to the eye, the brain still notices that it's not there, and vice versa. Getting the fine detail right makes a difference, even if you don't think it would.

That was kind of my thought process. The model is drawn in a vector drawing program so I wanted the end product to be able to be scaled up and down without losing detail. On my first color print, you can actually see the Greek characters on the control panel under magnification. The rear panel of the CM-2a looks better than the test print without the excess detail even when the words are barely perceptible.

[rmks2000]

I am impressed on how crisp the fold edges of the computer are.