In recreating the EDSAC computer, a surprising amount of mechanical engineering is required. EDSAC engineering was originally done by hand, but for the EDSAC Replica Project modern Computer Aided Design is being deployed.
In January 2013 the EDSAC Replica Project trustees management committee met at Teversham Engineering where they saw the first replica chassis come off the production facility. They also spoke to camera about their reasons for supporting the project.
This week sees the production of the first replica components for the recreation of EDSAC, the computer that 63 years ago made general purpose computing available to users for the first time.
EDSAC was essentially modular and consisted of 12 vertical racks, each holding up to 14 individual horizontal chassis. Only three original chassis have survived, so new ones have had to be commissioned.
