JP! wrote: 14 Oct 2020, 06:52
That's crazy. Seems like most trackballs only have 3 bearings. These should last forever. I would hate to see what these originally cost us taxpayers
I can't even imagine. Assuming it was Government -> Contractor for system/installation -> Measurement System Incorporated and it was billed to the government as "cost plus" (they bill the Government whatever it costs plus a certain percentage) they'd have every reason to go above and beyond mil-spec to create something immortal (I swear this casting is as thick as a small engine block).
My guess is that they designed it in the early 80's and stuck with it, but they may have also used older parts with proven reliability. I can't really fault the process, but I'm not sure building input devices to last
50 150+ years (except for the foam) makes any sense when the system it controls will be replaced after 15-20.
As wasteful as it is I love to see what engineers and designers do when the cost of a system is so high that they can justify making the "perfect" input device for it.