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Comic Sans typeball designed to work with the IBM Selectric typewriters

(www.printables.com)
160 points Sami_Lehtinen | 5 comments | 03 Sep 25 03:13 UTC | HN request time: 0.996s | source
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ProllyInfamous ◴[03 Sep 25 19:44 UTC] No.45119701[source]▶
The problem with this 3D-printed typeball is that without being injection-molded with an extremely durable plastic, it will not make good strike. I suspect it would also be torn apart (separating at the printed layers), beginning with the smaller common characters (e.g. the period/comma would quickly fail). The typeball hits the paper hard and it is under incredible rotational strains.

I've recently retired an IBM Selectric II, only because it is so damn finicky! When it is operating it is a fantastic machine, but it definitely needs a full-time technician to service (and they've almost entirely died off at this point, save for Berkeley). I got tired of the pulley creep [which eventually leads to gibberish output], only solved with continued maintenance (parts too fine for my electrician hands, and my nearsight is antiquating rapidly).

For my daily drivers, I still love my Smith Corona "Coronet Super 12", which has individual strikes and a powerful motor (for all your latenight raging / brainstorming). Can't [easily] change the font, though (which is why I have multiple S-C models).

¢¢

replies(1): >>45119897 #
1. Doxin ◴[03 Sep 25 20:09 UTC] No.45119897[source]▶
> without being injection-molded with an extremely durable plastic, it will not make good strike.

I wonder how true that actually is. A properly 3d printed ABS part isn't really much if any less durable than an injection molded part. It's mostly just worse with respect to feature resolution.

replies(1): >>45122558 #
2. ProllyInfamous ◴[04 Sep 25 01:49 UTC] No.45122558[source]▶
>Mostly just worse with respect to feature resolution.

Inclusive to my injection-molded comment, but could be mitigated (e.g.) with an acetone bath (to "smooth" the layers/resolution).

The stress fractures will most-definitely grow parallel to the layers, though... watch a Selectric's mechanism (rotational; linear; impact), in slow motion:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/RTtKaqIpOJc

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/izZ02t2UEGc

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1ctlRduNCn4

replies(1): >>45136278 #
3. Doxin ◴[05 Sep 25 08:28 UTC] No.45136278[source]▶
Ah yeah, you would probably get stress risers along the layer lines. Hadn't considered that failure mode. I'd still expect wear and "mushrooming" of the type to be a problem before stress fractures are though. Plastic is pretty soft and gummy when you get down to it.

Interesting to see the timing on the mechanism too. It looks like it's already getting the rotation set up for the next character before the return stroke even happens. I suspect in normal use the ball would bounce off the page, avoiding smears.

EDIT: worst case you could always make a silicone mold and cast the type ball in an engineering resin of one kind or another. That probably fares better over the long term than 3d printed plastic.

replies(1): >>45142505 #
4. ProllyInfamous ◴[05 Sep 25 19:18 UTC] No.45142505{3}[source]▶
>I suspect in normal use the ball would bounce off the page, avoiding smears.

>Plastic is pretty soft and gummy when you get down to it.

I don't think most people could break the typewriter ball with their bare hands, either by pulling or compressing ("squishing"). Just tried this with my least-favorite font — 275lb blue-collar electrician can't break it (barely any deflection).

Not sure what the plastic's composition is, but it is absolutely RIGID (as it must be). The thing can fly letters onto the page (I can do sustained 80wpm, with bursts into 100+ — thing could go twice my output rate on a clear-headed day, mechanically).

Selectrics are just absolutely modern marvels (still)!

>engineering resin

The ball's plastic is harder than cured JB-Weld™ (standard 2-part mixture).

replies(1): >>45161681 #
5. Doxin ◴[07 Sep 25 20:07 UTC] No.45161681{4}[source]▶
Oh yeah on a human scale there's plenty of VERY hard plastics.

It's still pretty soft and gummy when compared to a LOT of materials. It's all relative and whatnot. You'll often find machinists using descriptors like "chewing gum consistency" for stuff like copper. On that scale plastic is pretty soft and squishy.