The application of automation of assembly and testing in computer manufacture

The layout and construction of a typical second-generation digital computer is outlined, and an account given of the manual methods of assembly and testing in use until comparatively recently. The feasibility of introducing automation techniques is discussed, and an analysis made of those areas of production and testing most amenable to such treatment. Three applications are described, demonstrating the direct application of automation to the processes of wiring, logic-card testing and final commissioning, emphasizing the dramatic reduction in manufacturing time-scale made possible by the resulting increases in production efficiency and machine reliability.