Talk:Dividing engine

Non-linear scales
Does anybody know how non-linear scales, in particular the logarithmic scales required by slide rules, are constructed? MarkMLl (talk) 13:54, 28 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Good question. I'd speculate that the marks are set based upon their decimal value as measured on a linear scale. Regards, RJH (talk) 15:48, 10 March 2012 (UTC)

Needs more content
While this article has a good discourse on the history of dividing engines, there needs to be more info on how the dividing engine works. Especially because parts of the history section refer to various parts of the machine but these are never described. Wizard191 (talk) 23:57, 27 January 2009 (UTC)

I second that, lots of "x improved y, but z improved x, and Longitude board this and that". This is all great for the history section, but the rest of the real article seems missing. I mostly want to see the major types of dividing engines with a description how they work. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.49.101.238 (talk) 00:44, 11 May 2013 (UTC)

The term "ruling engine" should be redirected to this entry and should appear in the entry as an alternative term. Encyclopedia Britannica, for example, calls it a ruling engine. Robert Franks (talk) 08:36, 25 July 2013 (UTC)


 * Agreed, although was "ruling engine" just applied to linear divisions, with "dividing engine" applied to both linear and circular? Andy Dingley (talk) 09:05, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Many years and still nothing done
The previous section dates from 2009 and asks about explanations on the instrument. We are now in mid-2015, and I have the same complaint: there is absolutely no indication here of how a dividing engine works. I don’t know how, and came here to learn about that. Can anyone explain? CielProfond (talk) 15:52, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

Newbould Indexer.
I think the article should refer to the Newbould indexer. Simple in principle. More accurate than other dividing engines. Created in the USA. AnnaComnemna (talk) 13:16, 4 October 2015 (UTC)


 * It's technically interesting and the Smithsonian have one in their collection, so I think it passes any questions of notability. However it was only invented in the '60s(?) and so it's rather a different generation to most of those here. Andy Dingley (talk) 13:27, 4 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Here's Newbould's own explanation http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general-archive/ot-mother-invention-159279/  However it's not terribly readable unless one is already "skilled in the arts".   We'd also need some coverage of the 18th century French precursor to it that used the same "use of an non-integer number of teeth with a corresponding open space on the engaging member." idea. Andy Dingley (talk) 13:30, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

I came here after reading Practical Machinist. I would be interested in your defence of the proposition that it should not appear in this article because it is a recent innovation. Using this logic we should not update biographies of living people when they die. I do not intend to discuss this further or update the article. AnnaComnemna (talk) 17:43, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

Merge?
I have just discovered that Wikipedia currently has an article entitled "indexing Head", which covers the same subject. If a merge is not justified, perhaps a "see also" should be provided. AnnaComnemna (talk) 14:23, 8 January 2016 (UTC)
 * They're substantially different and this would be a bad merge.
 * A dividing engine divides rotation into a great many divisions, and is a relatively lightweight device that isn't intended to support a substantial load. They're used for ruling measurement scales or scientific instruments. They may also be able to generate new numbers of divisions, not previously available. An indexing head in contrast is to support a workpiece for a high-load operation, such as in a milling machine. They're more restricted in their divisions, as they rely on having pre-drilled index plates with the right number of divisions (although this is multiplied by gearing).Andy Dingley (talk) 19:51, 8 January 2016 (UTC)
 * My impression is that today's indexing heads and rotary tables are directly descended from the dividing engines of the early 19th century. At the very least, the articles on those subjects should "see also" dividing engine and dividing engine should "see also" those.
 * There is a general problem with most of the writeups on industrial technology, and that is that they are a-historical. They describe the tools as used today with little or no reference to their evolution from earlier predecessors.  These tools just are, with no history. Douglas W. Jones (talk) 03:27, 14 March 2024 (UTC)