The Machine Paradox

Throughout our lives, we engage with objects and interfaces whose underlying technology we barely comprehend, not just because of their complexity but also because they were intentionally designed to be closed systems. This seminar familiarised us with internal components building everyday objects and with digital manufacturing methods to hack software & hardware tools and prototype new artifacts.

The Useful Machine

Team: Oliver, Carlotta, Manuja, Carmen and me.
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The first exercise consisted in dismantling a broken machine and creating a forensic study for each of its electronic component, testing whether they worked to identify the faulty component(s). Our team chose an old microwave that did not work when plugged into a power source.

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Once all electrical parts were carefully disconnected, they were then individually repowered with an external power source and reconnected to identify the relationship between each component and recreate the circuit.

Surprisingly all the components were AC instead of DC, which means we had to plug components into the wall, ensuring sufficient security measures. Most components functioned at 240-250V, except the plate rotation motor which functioned at 30V.

All the pieces that we tested were working. We therefore concluded that the transformer and/or capacitor and/or the microwave emitter were the faulty pieces causing the microwave not to function, as these were the only untested components due to safety considerations.

The Almost Useful Machine

The next step of the exercise was to use components of the microwave to recreate an "almost useful machine". We decided to recreate a cooling microwave, Anxious Air. Anxious air is an anxiety inducing cooling microwave, which gets activated when food is put on the rotating plate. The microwave is built in a way that allows you to eat your food while it cools. This simultaneously activates a very annoying beeping sound, which makes the eating process rather uncomfortable.

Playing with Arduino

Before assembling our new machine, we tested each component with Arduino. As all our components were DC, we needed to connect the Arduino board with a relay, as it only works with AC.

However, we realised that our cooling mechanism did not need to be integrated with Arduino as it was an analog system activated by a switch. This is why we decided later on to add a movement sensor that would activate a beeping sound on a speaker through Arduino to make the machine a bit more high-tech.

Arduino was a completely new topic for me, and trying to wrap my head around the technology was rather overwhelming at first. But manipulating the technology for the first time helped me understand how components should be connected to one another on an Arduino board, and gave me a first glimpse of how to code interactions between components.

Anxious Air's Circuits

The machine consists of two separate circuits:

1. One analog circuit to activate the fan mechanically, thanks to a switch that detects weight on the rotation plate and sends a signal to activate the rotation motor, which triggers the fan to turn on automatically.

2. The other circuit serves to activate sound in the speaker and light around the fan when movement is detected by a movement sensor, thanks to an Arduino board.
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The Final Prototype

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The fabrication techniques used to build the final prototypes are the following:
-  Laser cutting for the wooden boxes housing the circuits on top and at the bottom of the structure of the microwave;
- 3D printing for the clamps used to hold the upper box to the metallic structure;
- A circular saw to cut the bottom metal sheet of the previous microwave to use in our new microwave;
- Vinyl cutter to create the stickers to brand our machine;
- The metallic structure was found in the FabLab and did not need to be fabricated.

Final Reflections

This project was really eye-opening for me, as this was the first time I manipulated electronic circuits to repurpose a machine. It gave me a good first overview of the functioning of electronic circuits and the different digital fabrication techniques available in the FabLab, which I plan to explore more in depth later on. 

This task really showed the value of "learning by doing", as, instead of learning theory about electronic circuits, we gradually discovered how components worked by manipulating and testing them, which gave us a much more tangible understanding of their functioning, as we experienced it directly ourselves. 

The fact that we had to create a machine that was nearly useless, or almost useful, was a very efficient way to unlock our creativity, as we didn't have to think within the boundaries of what is meant to be useful from a human-centric perspective. 

This project also demonstrated the real power of group-work and collaboration, as doing such a machine in less than 2 weeks would have never been possible without collaboration and the delegation of tasks between the different team members. I learned a lot from my team members who had backgrounds in engineering, and who were able to navigate electronic circuits much faster than me. 

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