The IBM 1710 was a process control

Process control

Process control is a statistics and engineering discipline that deals with architectures, mechanisms and algorithms for maintaining the output of a specific process within a desired range...

 system that IBM

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 introduced in March 1961. It used either a 1620 I

IBM 1620 Model I

The IBM 1620 Model I was the original implementation of the IBM 1620 scientific computer, introduced in 1959.This unit was produced as inexpensively as IBM could make it, in order to keep the price low...

 or a 1620 II

IBM 1620 Model II

The IBM 1620 Model II was a vastly improved implementation, compared to the original Model I, of the IBM 1620 scientific computer architecture....

 Computer and specialized I/O devices (e.g., IBM 1711

IBM 1711

The IBM 1711 Data Converter was part of the IBM 1710 process control computer. The 1711 contained an analog-to-digital converter that accepted signals from the IBM 1712 Multiplexer and Terminal Unit that were between -50 millivolts and +50 millivolts and converted them into signed, four decimal...

 A/D and D/A Converter, IBM 1712

IBM 1712

The IBM 1712 Multiplexer and Terminal Unit was part of the IBM 1710 process control computer. The Terminal Unit provided the physical connections between factory wiring and the computer. The 1712 could support up to 300 separate wire pairs. Signal types supported included analog input, analog...

 Discrete I/O and Analog Multiplexer

Multiplexer

In electronics, a multiplexer is a device that selects one of several analog or digital input signals and forwards the selected input into a single line. A multiplexer of 2n inputs has n select lines, which are used to select which input line to send to the output...

, factory floor operator control panels).

The IBM 1620

IBM 1620

The IBM 1620 was announced by IBM on October 21, 1959, and marketed as an inexpensive "scientific computer". After a total production of about two thousand machines, it was withdrawn on November 19, 1970...

 used in the 1710 system was modified in several ways, the most obvious was the addition of a very primitive hardware interrupt

Interrupt

In computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change in execution....

 mechanism.

The 1710 was used by many paper mill

Paper mill

A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...

s and oil refineries

Oil refinery

An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...

.

External links

• "Evolution of Small Real-Time IBM Computer Systems" (1.25 MB PDF file), from the IBM Journal of Research and Development.
• IBM Archives: IBM 1710 — Control system