Machine Paradox
Last updated
Last updated
In this course, we dive into the hidden workings of everyday objects and interfaces things we interact with daily but rarely understand, not just because of their complexity, but because they’re intentionally closed off.
This is a hands-on, two-week intensive course in fabrication, physical computing, and Fab Lab basics, designed to help us bridge knowledge gaps and build confidence in rapid prototyping. The goal is to inspire us to use digital manufacturing to design, prototype, and program an “honest” mechanical artifact.
At the start of this course, we were each asked to find a broken or discarded object within the school, clean it up, and place it in the center of the classroom. Afterward, we formed groups and selected an item to work on.
Our team chose a 3D printing extruder designed to process recycled plastic powder, which had been created by former students. We began carefully dismantling it, sorting all the screws and components to ensure we could reassemble it later. However, we hit a snag: some hardened plastic was stuck inside the screw mechanism, preventing us from separating the screw from the main shaft. To solve this, we activated the heating elements and used an additional heat gun to melt the plastic from within. Since the heating elements were exposed wires, we had to connect them to special adapters to safely power them with AC current.
For the next phase of the project, we were asked to choose a different object since the extruder didn't contain many electronic components. We selected a Fermax intercom, which includes a screen.
We then disassembled it to gain an understanding of how it worked, identify the electronic components inside, and determine what we could potentially reuse.
After disassembling the objects, listing all our components, and testing them, our task was to conceptualize a machine using the salvaged parts—a machine with no practical use that could serve as a critique. We came up with three ideas on different themes: food overconsumption, social isolation due to new technologies, and the privilege of having advantages simply based on where one is born. Ultimately, we chose the last idea.
This the first sketch of the idea of our marble game.
We spent the week working on this machine as a group. All construction steps and photos are included in the slides of our presentation.
Below are the slides from our presentation, providing more details on the construction of our machine.
Below are also the forensic reports of the two devices we disassembled, in which we analyzed each of their components.
The next activity was to create a video demonstrating the purpose of this machine. We were provided with a photo and video studio setup, so we wrote a script, filmed the video, and then edited it.
Finally, on the last day, we presented our project. Below is the video we created.
I would like to thank our professors for guiding us through the creation of our machines and helping us understand all the electronic components, ensuring that our machines would work! This course was quite intensive in terms of workload, especially in the final days, as we pushed to complete both the machine and the video. However, I found it very interesting to go through the process of repurposing non-functional objects, analyzing their construction, and attempting to get them working again. This experience also allowed us to study how manufacturers design these machines in ways that often make them difficult to modify and reuse. Additionally, this course taught us how to complete a project from start to finish as a team within a short timeframe. While I am still left with the feeling that we could have done better, as we weren’t able to accomplish everything we wanted perfectly, perhaps that was also part of the course’s purpose.
So we choose to do a a machine which represents how the arbitrary nature of life can impact your whole outcome. If you're lucky you'll have it easy in life, or not. In spite of that you'll leave an impact on the whole context of humanity, which in the end gets lost in the noise of it all.
