Wire-wrap - Revision history

Jnc: /* See also */ +Wire-wrap tutorial - de-orphanize

2024-09-11T12:18:29Z

‎See also: +Wire-wrap tutorial - de-orphanize

Jnc: +cat

2018-12-14T18:57:11Z

+cat

Jnc: copyedit

2017-06-08T23:02:15Z

copyedit

Jnc: typos

2016-11-15T15:50:05Z

typos

Jnc: A decent description

2016-11-14T17:10:01Z

A decent description

New page

'''Wire-wrap''' was once a popular technology for production of electronics, especially computers. The basic concept is that a series of 'pins' (generally about 2cm tall, and usually plated in either tin or gold) are connected by wires (usually insulated with teflon, and stripped about 1 inch at each end) which are wound around the pin, usually by a powered 'gun' (although manual wire-wrap tools do exist). A single pin can usually hold several wires; the exact number depends on the height of the pin, the guage of the wire, etc.

It was widely used for production, primarily of [[backplane]]s, during the late 1950's to early 1980's, with much of the wrapping being done by automated machines driven by a pre-recorded program (although in the early machines this would have been from a tape, not an computer). Wire-wrap finally fell out of use for production when multi-layer [[PCB]] technology allowed use of PCB's in backplanes.

One advantage of wire-wrap in this application is that it is easy to make repairs and changes, even in the field; the old wire(s) are removed, and replacements added. This ability to produce assemblies by automated machinery, but also make repairs and changes, is still fairly unique.

It was also popular in prototyping applications, since it made it easy to wire a custom board. (In fact, boards filled with chip sockets with wire-wrap pins were available for major busses, such as [[UNIBUS]] and [[QBUS]], precisely for prototyping and very-low-volume production.)

In this application, it has been superceded by the close integration between new, advanced [[CAD]] tools (which can do PCB layout) and PCB fabrication houses, which makes fast bespoke production of PCB's in low volume cost-effective.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Wire-wrap''' was once a popular technology for production of electronics, especially computers. The basic concept is that a series of 'pins' (generally about 2 cm tall, and usually plated in either tin or gold) are connected by wires (usually insulated with Teflon, and stripped about 1 inch at each end) which are wound around the pin, usually by a powered 'gun' (although manual wire-wrap tools do exist). A single pin can usually hold several wires; the exact number depends on the height of the pin, the gauge of the wire, etc.
+'''Wire-wrap''' was once a popular technology for production of electronic systems, especially computers. The basic concept is that a series of 'pins' (generally about 2 cm tall, and usually plated in either tin or gold) are connected by [[conductor|wires]](usually insulated with Teflon, and stripped about 1 inch at each end) which are wound around the pin, usually by a powered 'gun' (although manual wire-wrap tools do exist). A single pin can usually hold several wires; the exact number depends on the height of the pin, the gauge of the wire, etc.
-It was widely used for production, primarily of [[backplane]]s, during the late 1950's to early 1980's, with much of the wrapping being done by automated machines driven by a pre-recorded program (although in the early machines this would have been from a tape, not an computer). Wire-wrap finally fell out of use for production when multi-layer [[PCB]] technology allowed use of PCB's in backplanes.
+It was widely used for production, primarily of [[backplane]]s, during the late 1950's to early 1980's, with much of the wrapping being done by automated machines driven by a pre-recorded program (although in the early machines this would have been from a tape, not a computer). Wire-wrap finally fell out of use for production when multi-layer [[printed circuit board]] technology allowed use of PCB's in backplanes.
 One advantage of wire-wrap in this application is that it is easy to make repairs and changes, even in the field; the old wire(s) are removed, and replacements added. This ability to produce assemblies by automated machinery, but also easily make repairs and changes, is still fairly unique.
-It was also popular in prototyping applications, since it made it easy to wire a custom board. (In fact, boards filled with chip sockets with wire-wrap pins were available for major busses, such as [[UNIBUS]] and [[QBUS]], precisely for prototyping and very-low-volume production.)
+It was also popular in prototyping applications, since it made it easy to wire a custom board. (In fact, boards filled with [[integrated circuit|chip]] [[chip socket|socket]]s with wire-wrap pins were available for major [[bus]]ses, such as [[UNIBUS]] and [[QBUS]], precisely for prototyping and very-low-volume production.)
-In this application, it has been superceded by the close integration between new, advanced [[CAD]] tools (which can do PCB layout) and PCB fabrication houses, which makes fast bespoke production of PCB's in low volume cost-effective.
+In this application, it has been superseded by the close integration between new, advanced [[computer-aided design|CAD]] tools (which can do PCB layout) and PCB fabrication houses, which makes fast, bespoke production of PCB's in low volume cost-effective.
 [[Category: Components]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:57, 14 December 2018
Line 8:		Line 8:

	In this application, it has been superceded by the close integration between new, advanced [[CAD]] tools (which can do PCB layout) and PCB fabrication houses, which makes fast bespoke production of PCB's in low volume cost-effective.		In this application, it has been superceded by the close integration between new, advanced [[CAD]] tools (which can do PCB layout) and PCB fabrication houses, which makes fast bespoke production of PCB's in low volume cost-effective.
		+
		+	[[Category: Components]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:50, 15 November 2016
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	'''Wire-wrap''' was once a popular technology for production of electronics, especially computers. The basic concept is that a series of 'pins' (generally about ~~2cm~~ tall, and usually plated in either tin or gold) are connected by wires (usually insulated with ~~teflon~~, and stripped about 1 inch at each end) which are wound around the pin, usually by a powered 'gun' (although manual wire-wrap tools do exist). A single pin can usually hold several wires; the exact number depends on the height of the pin, the ~~guage~~ of the wire, etc.	+	'''Wire-wrap''' was once a popular technology for production of electronics, especially computers. The basic concept is that a series of 'pins' (generally about 2 cm tall, and usually plated in either tin or gold) are connected by wires (usually insulated with Teflon, and stripped about 1 inch at each end) which are wound around the pin, usually by a powered 'gun' (although manual wire-wrap tools do exist). A single pin can usually hold several wires; the exact number depends on the height of the pin, the gauge of the wire, etc.

	It was widely used for production, primarily of [[backplane]]s, during the late 1950's to early 1980's, with much of the wrapping being done by automated machines driven by a pre-recorded program (although in the early machines this would have been from a tape, not an computer). Wire-wrap finally fell out of use for production when multi-layer [[PCB]] technology allowed use of PCB's in backplanes.		It was widely used for production, primarily of [[backplane]]s, during the late 1950's to early 1980's, with much of the wrapping being done by automated machines driven by a pre-recorded program (although in the early machines this would have been from a tape, not an computer). Wire-wrap finally fell out of use for production when multi-layer [[PCB]] technology allowed use of PCB's in backplanes.