Graph-plotting Device

a device for the automatic high-accuracy plotting of graphs of functions provided in an analytical form. It is used in cartography, meteorology, design, and automatic control systems. The majority of graph-plotting devices receive their input directly from computers or use data stored in intermediate information carriers, such as punched paper tapes, punched cards, or magnetic tape. The data provided are converted into signals that control the movement of the drawing head or the deflection of an electron beam in a cathode-ray tube.

The basic elements of a graph-plotting device include a means of recording (paper, photographic paper, cathode-ray tube, and so on), a drawing instrument (pencil or a light or electron beam), a drive for the drawing head (or a device for deflecting the beam), and a control device. The area of the drawing board of a two-coordinate graph-plotting device may be as much as several square meters, and its speed of tracing may reach 500 mm/sec.