PRECISION: THE STORY OF IBM MAGNETIC TAPE

[Music] like this way these men are involved in a process that was painstaking researched before a single piece of equipment was installed every precautionary procedure every modern device is employed to assure absolute cleanliness every step in the process is methodically checked and monitored for precise control is essential here Science and Technology are combined in the most modern facility of its kind to produce the most modern records keeping medium IBM data processing Magnetic [Music] Tape these are the sights and sounds of 20th century records keeping familiar sights and sounds to the modern data processing manager almost routine routine hardly when you consider that modern data processing systems can process information at speeds measured in billionths of a second and working as an integral part of the data processing system Magnetic Tape must match with unfailing accuracy the computer spectac ular [Music] speeds this is the language of magnetic tape the bit pattern precisely positioned spots or bits recorded on the iron oxide surface of a reel of tape bits can form numbers letters special symbols each pattern recognizable by the computer as data in the time it takes you to blink an eye 3/10 of a second half a million bits of information can be written on the tape's surface and read back to verify the information each bit a signal each signal a unit of data each unit of data a pattern of information and the demand for accuracy becomes more and more [Music] critical to meet the many new demands on tape performance this new IBM facility at Boulder Colorado houses at a single location the research engineering and Manufacturing operations for both IBM tape drives and IBM Magnetic Tape assuring defect free Magnetic Tape begins with the materials the properties of the oxide the binder the chemicals that make up the tape surface are [Music] tested from here until the tape is packaged for shipment the same critical adherence to specification is followed the first step the iron oxide binder solution that will form the tape surface is m a batch at a time before it is pumped to the coating room rolls of polyester film are moved into the coating room through a specially constructed entrance designed to prevent clean room contamination before during and after coating the web is wound under strictly controlled tension to prevent wrinkles or Distortion that might Mar the recording [Music] surface here coating and film are combined in a permanent bond to form magnetic tape [Music] in this specially constructed room the equipment the people the air itself must be totally clean why this super sensitive concern for cleanliness while the oxide coating is still wet a particle of foreign matter so small that it would take a microscope to detect it could settle on or in the coating and become a permanent part of the tape surface a defect that could appear on the tape drive as a signal dropout a loss of information as it leaves the coating operation the iron oxide coating and polyester backing is now Magnetic Tape the coated tape is moved to the curing room automatic controls pinpoint the exact location of every [Music] roll during the extended curing period the web is constantly rotated to prevent uneven stresses as the final hardening of the oxide coating takes place the physical and chemical structure of the coating changes molecules are interconnected through a chemical process to form a durable recording [Music] surface the curing is completed the tape is ready to be slit and wound onto the familiar half-in reels web tensions machine tolerances and speed fluctuations are held within an extremely tight range tolerance is so rigid that if the/ in width of the tape were scaled up to the length of a highway stretching from Los Angeles to San Francisco the width variation over the entire distance would be less than 2 in [Music] it has taken 7 Days under the most rigid manufacturing control to produce this tape now it is tested under equally rigid criteria a sample of each new tape lot under goes 23 hypercritical tests width thickness strength curvature friction on brass on Chrome on rubber the tolerances cannot vary Lots which pass this test barrier are then accepted but only for further testing each reel of tape is examined on special testing equipment that duplicates the conditions of the drives the tape will be used on an information pattern is recorded and read back in every bit position in every channel will a bit once recorded produce a recognizable signal does the signal strength vary from bit to bit are there any places on the tape that might produce a false signal are there any deviations in the tape edges that might improperly guide the tape across the re right head microscopically small defects flaws or contaminants can prevent the recognition of tape signals signal Dropout occurs when a FL and the iron oxide coating separates the tape from the magnetic head on the tape drve in other parts of the boulder complex machine design and Magnetic Tape Engineers are looking for ways to improve methods of information exchange this specially developed IBM computer capable of measuring the entire range of tape recording characteristics helps provide IBM tape development Engineers with the data to explore entirely New Concepts in magneet recording the newest advances in tape tape transport tape container design are developed and tested here all with a single purpose of providing greater efficiency in the computer room in special environmental Chambers tape is subjected to cold heat humidity it endures constant reading and writing over the same spot for prolonged periods start stop start stop how well will it perform how long will it perform how can it be improved pure research applied research manufacturing research product research since the first Magnetic Tape was put to use for data processing in the early 1950s each new industry standard each new specification level has been established in the Laboratories at IBM the tape on these reels is a Precision data storage instrument the reels themselves are equally precise in design and construction as a last protection step each reel is placed in a container numbered then sealed in a plastic wrapper for shipment and as they are shipped this is the beginning not the end for these reels of [Music] tape in tape Li liaries that flank data processing rooms across the country tape reels contain information as diverse as the organizations that use them determine seat Avail today an airline can determine seat availability and confirm a reservation from any place in the world in 3 seconds with data on thousands of reels of tape the data processing manager can write read back un real to another or merge data from several reals of tape into one without an error the cattle breeder using tape hypothetically produce new animal strains Generations before his calf is born and for today's style conscious Shopper data stored on Magnetic Tape can make the pattern cut the dress keep the inventory record the sale bill her and credit her charge account computers today are being used to explore for oil deposits classify cancer experiments control a lunar Landing all in fractions of a second yet their primary use is still the day-to-day routine processing of business data routine yes but only because new performance levels of IBM Magnetic Tape are matching with accuracy the computer's higher speeds IBM developed IBM manufactured IBM tested tape brings new levels of machine and tape compatibility to data processing compatibility measured in processing time in information accuracy and ultimately an increased information [Music] flow for