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These photographs show the assembly of pinwheels, and their setting levers, of two different pinwheel calculators with the covers removed.
On the left is a Schubert machine, which has the normal pinwheel mechanism, with a setting lever indicated with red dots and the pinwheel disk to its right. When the crank is rotated, the setting levers rotate with the pinwheels
through the slots, completely inside the machine, and back out again.
On the right is the improved mechanism of the Muldivo Mentor / Walther WSR160. The setting lever is again indicated with the red dots, and transmits through to the disk alongside, indicated with green dots, which actually sets
the pinwheel to its right. When the crank is rotated the disk marked in green rotates, but the setting lever and its red-marked disk stays still.
The main advantage is that each setting lever is topped with a soft plastic
cap (see photograph at top) which makes it easier to set the levers, and less painful on the fingers after hours of calculating!
Ray Mackay has produced an interesting history of the Walther Company and its calculators at http://www.xnumber.com/xnumber/walther.htm.
Operating Manual
Here is the operating manual of the Muldivo mentor - Front cover, diagram, index, p1, p2, p3, p4, p5, p6, p7, p8, p9, p10, p11, p12, rear cover.
This model was promoted for use by schools in teaching the basics of mathematics.
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