
ReCurta: Our goal is to build the first Curta calculator since 1972 - 0xdada
https://github.com/daeken/ReCurta
======
jshprentz
Marcus Wu designed, 3D-printed, and assembled a 3x scale working Curta
calculator. He shared his models and progress on Thingverse at
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1943171](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1943171)

His YouTube channel includes many videos of the development, assembly, and
operation of his calculator. Watch a short demonstration at
[https://youtu.be/ShFkJgck6Pw](https://youtu.be/ShFkJgck6Pw)

Adam Savage commissioned Marcus to build a copy. Adam unboxes his 3D-printed
Curta on YouTube at
[https://youtu.be/j9uRckJLqLk](https://youtu.be/j9uRckJLqLk)

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digi_owl
I wonder if Adam ever envisioned he would get such a following when he agreed
to co-host Mythbusters.

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falcolas
I agree that Mythbusters was important to Adam's progression, but perhaps not
just because of the exposure of being a co-host of a popular show. It gave him
"fuck you" money and let him know just how many people at large are interested
in doing what he does.

Ultimately, Adam has done much more to put him in his current spot than just
co-host Mythbusters. He has gone to maker events, cons, and works hard to
encourage others to take up the making hobby. He makes tutorials on how to
create props freely available. He actively participates in the community, and
makes people feel good about themselves - such as unboxing and praising
creative efforts.

IMO, Adam is the quintessential example of what is possible when someone no
longer has to worry about providing for food and shelter, and can do what they
want. Maybe he's the 1% in that regard, but the value provided by his 1% is
worth the other 99%.

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daeken
Well, this is a surprise! ReCurta had been in a bit of a holding period for a
while; we did all the drawing translations and the conversions to Solidworks,
but then hit a wall when it came to finding a way to actually make the thing.

Last month, I bought a lathe and mill and started teaching myself machining,
with the goal of making it myself. It's going to take a long time, but it's
pretty amazing making brand new Curta parts.

~~~
jacquesm
You may want to look into etching as a method of manufacture of flat pieces of
metal as well.

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repiret
Per
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curta)
“The Curta is a small mechanical calculator”

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NotSammyHagar
Also that Wikipedia page mentions that someone had made a Curta using a 3D
printer but because it the low tolerance they had to make very big pieces.

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epse
Yes! There's a video on Tested (YouTube) where Adam receives his

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jhoechtl
The Curta-Test: A 3D-printer to be able to print a functioning Curta in
original dimensions

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svet_0
Can anybody estimate how far from that are modern 3D printers in terms of
precision?

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opencl
Current SLA printers could probably do it, they have much better resolution
than the typical FDM machines. SLA machines have gotten a lot cheaper in the
past few years but the consumables (resin) remain expensive. And FDM printers
will probably never really get significantly better than the current state of
the art, there's only so much refinement you can make to squirting melted
plastic out of a nozzle.

I have a cheap 300USD FDM printer and even on that you can put a 0.2mm nozzle
on and use 0.04mm layer height. These sizes however are already not very
practical, in addition to being excruciatingly slow to print it does a very
poor job of handling any geometry with overhangs in the printed object.

Even the cheaper SLA models (i.e. Wanhao D7 is ~500USD shipped from china and
a kickstarter model called SparkMaker is supposedly going to be 250USD) are
capable of fantastic levels of detail.

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userbinator
The "original Curta Type I engineering diagrams" can be found here:
[http://www.vcalc.net/curta_1_engineering_drawings.zip](http://www.vcalc.net/curta_1_engineering_drawings.zip)
(warning: large file)

 _Everything produced as part of this project is being released into the
public domain. Everyone should be able to inspect, visualize, or even build
their own Curta calculator; it shouldn 't be fated to forever be an expensive
relic on eBay._

Interesting. I wonder if the Chinese might take off with the plans and start
making clones, the same way you can now find surprisingly good mechanical
watches on AliExpress.

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bunderbunder
A nice video explaining how they work:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loI1Kwed8Pk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loI1Kwed8Pk)

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matt-attack
Awesome! I’ve got a great mint condition Curta and it’s simply an amazing
piece of engineering. Love to see renewed interest in the design.

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funwithjustin
Long-shot, but if there's any chance you're in the Bay Area, do you think I
could buy you coffee or lunch to check it out some time? I really want to see
a Curta in-person.

~~~
cdjk
They have one at the Compute History Museum, although it’s behind glass. It’s
worth going here for everything else they have too - try to go when they have
an IBM 1401 demo going.

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avh02
Oh man, I've been wanting to buy my dad a curta for years (he started his
career in electronics, repairing calculators in the 70s/80s). If something
like this pans out might make it affordable.

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gbtw
Did you try and drag it into fictiv to see what they would qoute you for
making it :)?

[https://www.fictiv.com/](https://www.fictiv.com/)

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hitekker
> 2 years ago

Would be worth updating the title to (2015) or (2016)

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_alias
Why wouldn't you 3d print it?

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jacquesm
For the same reason you will not be printing a mechanical watch: the device
parts have a resolution that is measured in 1/100ths of a mm, no 3D printer
that is even close to affordable can make parts like that. Besides that you
will want your parts to be made out of metal powder to be sintered rather than
plastic filament which is the material of choice for budget 3D printers.

