I've cut Mylar tape with a Glowforge laser. It cuts very nicely but the alignment is a major hassle, plus you can only cut ~15" of tape which doesn't go very far. Not worth the effort. If you were to build a custom linear drive it might work. But also very slow.
Here's a picture of a mechanical (Teletype 33) punch block. These are quite high-precision parts with hardened pins. The pins drive through a narrow gape for tape, into matching holes in the top of the block. On the Teletype, the drive mechanism is slow, and the punch sits quite a long way from the single solenoid that sets up the bits. I assume high-speed punches have a similar block but a more direct (parallel) actuator. https://photos.app.goo.gl/F6QZQE3tiKgiGB6c7 CuriousMarc has a good video showing this sort of punch in operation, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzulZaJbdUU&list=PL-_93BVApb5-84G5kmgfuu7TQduTMc73H&index=8 On Fri, May 1, 2020 at 12:02 AM Anders Nelson via cctalk < cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote: > Hi all, > > I've had a paper tape reader for a while but never had a punch to make new > tapes, and the ones i've found are not only very large but also very > expensive. So I'm toying with the idea of making an open-source punch, but > I can't find any detailed diagrams of how the mechanism works. > > I'm assuming (without any data to back it up) that there is a cam, an array > of spring-levered pins, and horizontal spacers controlled by solenoids that > bridge the gap between the cam and each punch pin when called for. > > Does anyone have insight into how reliable/fast paper tape punches work? > -- > Anders Nelson > > +1 (517) 775-6129 > > www.erogear.com >
