Xerox 8845 Folder Card

[cascode]

Found this interesting card at a swapfest today. Looks to be some sort of battery backed SRAM card. Anyone have any background on what this thing was used for? There doesn't seem to be much online about it.

Perhaps a good teardown candidate? 

[helius]

The Xerox 8845 was a wide-format plotter for engineering drawings. It had a baler unit that could fold up the output and punch holes or reinforce the edges.
"Using a Folder with the 8845
The 8845 Folder must have the appropriate fold card inserted in order to work properly. Up to two fold cards can be inserted at one time. Refer to the Operator Manual for the Xerox 8845 Folder for more information."

The shape of the card looks like some Japanese memory card from the pre-PCMCIA era. I know I've seen them before.

[cascode]

Interesting! I might try popping open the lid and talk to the thing.

[amyk]

It may have once held calibration constants or even the firmware for the machine. I know some old machines had a protection method that involved storing the firmware in battery-backed SRAM that would be erased if the unit was opened, in an attempt to deter reverse-engineering.