I’m recreating the paper form to use in a project, why you ask? I also ask myself that same question, I’m going to make a puncher and a reader, proably something ardunio driven outputting RS232 so I need to make my own cards as NOS cards are hard/expensive to find.
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-8-1024x473.png)
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-27-1024x530.png)
Links
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/punchcard/transform/
https://www.masswerk.at/keypunch/
https://www.jkmscott.net/data/Punched%20Cards.html
Card Dimensions
187.325mm and 82.55mm (7 – 3/8” and 3 – 1/4”) per Card
Data Density
In binary mode you have 12 Lines by 80 coloum, so in hex you get FFFF per line, 16 bits (ie; 1 word) x 80 so 80 words …..
Print Design
Print overlays so i can print anything I need on normal A4 stock, using 200gsm BUFF colour paper is ~0.20mm, a real card reads at ~0.19mm
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-11-728x1024.png)
Die Frames
designs for the die lines with left corner cut, but just flip it to get right hand cut.
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-6-734x1024.png)
2D CAD Layout
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-23-879x1024.png)
3D CAD extrusion to 1mm
Having the Tooling made in 1mm thick carbon 1018 steel amiing to use the compression method of die cutting
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-7-1024x547.png)
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-25-1024x647.png)
Punch Tool
punch locations are about 6.15mm apart so 12 rows
need to design some sort of frame to punch
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-9-1024x485.png)
Interleaving the solonoids for density
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-26-1024x601.png)
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-12-1024x749.png)
![](https://blog.hegars.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/image-20-663x1024.png)
Reading the Cards.
Optical reads, might make passthroug read and also bounce
Electronics
flyback diodes and shit