History
The original Perkins Brailler was produced in 1951 by David Abraham (1896–1978), a woodworking teacher at the Perkins School for the Blind. The director of the Perkins School for the Blind, Gabriel Farrell, asked Abraham to create an inexpensive and reliable machine to allow students to more easily write braille. Farrell and Abraham worked with Edward Waterhouse, who was a math teacher at Perkins, to create the design for the Brailler.
In 2008, a lighter quieter version was released. It also includes an erase key and an integrated carrying handle. The new model won the Silver Award in the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards.
The paper placement is achieved by rolling the paper onto an internal drum, unrolling it when the user presses a line-feed key, and using a clock-like escapement to move an embossing carriage over the paper. A system of six cams consisting of rods with a square cross-section transfers keystrokes to the wire-like styli contained in the carriage. Tolerances are close, and the buildup of oily dirt with normal use necessitates periodic cleaning and adjustment.
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