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IBM 3000 Accounting Machine

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SunDown79

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So I picked up some IBM bits and pieces and one of them is a reference manual for the IBM 3000 Accounting Machine.
The manual is in English but published by IBM Deutschland in April 1961.

Now the mystery to me is that I don't seem to be able to find information on this system online anywhere.
Perhaps it was known under a different name/model in the rest of the world ?

So does anyone else perhaps have any information on this system ?

If wanted I can scan the photo that is included in the manual of the machine.
 
Is it something like the RAMAC 305? That's said to be the first in a family, so maybe the 3000 was a later model - or as you said, naming used in a different country/region. Or an umbrella term used later to represent the entire system (305 appears to be the model/part number of the "CPU").
1736552669363.png
 
I think the RAMAC 305 is a bigger system

I found one reference that mentions this system : https://archive.org/details/sim_ins.../324/mode/2up?q="IBM+3000+accounting+machine" (the magazine is called Instrument Practice, edition March 1961).
It also mentions that this system is for companies that could not afford a full-scale machine.

There was another one on archive.org but it was just one line so not much use.

The reference manual I have calls a fullblown system including the accounting system an IBM 3000 System.
The IBM 3000 system would consist of;

- IBM 3020 Punch/Verifier
- IBM 3080 Sorter
- IBM 3000 Accounting Machine
And optionally an IBM 3050 Interpreter

Will scan a picture later on.
 
That is an interesting blurb. It seems to be saying that it does not use the traditional "Hollerith" punch card, but something new ("smaller") - but not the 96-column mini-card format they introduced in 1969. I can't tell from the blurb if they are describing a collection of existing machines or some sort of single machine that combines the features of other machines. I also wonder about naming of things like "IBM 3080 Sorter" - does that mean it was a typical punch-card sorting machine (possibly built for a new card format)? Or is it some sort of integrated machine with direct-connections to the accounting unit? Lots of questions. Also, wondering if the reason there is so little information might be because it did not do well and was dropped from the product line - possibly over-taken by electronic data processing (computers).
 
Ah, those pictures tell a lot. Looks like separate punch-card data processing machines that are loosely associated, tied together by manually moving cards between machines as dictated by the person developing the procedures (fairly standard punch-card data processing methodology). Possibly the reason for the new number scheme was the new card format, which just may not have caught on. Any close-ups of the cards?
 
Yes there is a drawing of one of the cards and some more detail information on the cards. I will scan the whole manual, gonna be a bit of work but good to digitize.
 
Fascinating. thanks! Interesting card format... 12x2 rows and 80 half-columns. Definitely locks you into buying IBM equipment, which may have been their plan since everybody else was making Hollerith punch card equipment by then. You can imagine it being a predecessor to their 96-column mini-card they used with their 370 computers. This one does seem to use the Hollerith codes, but just physically packed into a smaller card.
 
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