What's better than a Useless Machine? One that is built on a clever, threaded "twisty vase" whose lid twirls open and shut!
Vladimir Mariano used an Adafruit controller to make this mesmerizing Rube Goldberg that combines the satisfying action of the twisty vase with the metaphor for endless suffering that is the Useless Machine, and came up with something that is a mess of contradictions and wonderfulness.
The first prototype used a simple delay-based timing loop to determine when to drop the magnet again, however over time this would fall out of sync with the vase's position and the magnet would fail to attach to the vase. For the second version, [Vladimir] improved things by using a limit switch to determine the position of the vase instead of running on timing alone. The machine's frame was also rebuilt using copper pipe, which allowed the wires and servo to be hidden from sight. The second revision of the project shows the difference polish can make – differences like these make the machine more suitable for display as a curio in a stylish home setting, rather then a messy project that lives on the workbench only.
Twist Vase Useless Machine
[Vladimir Mariano/Desktop Makes]
NEW USELESS MACHINE DOES THE TWIST
[Lewin Day/Hackaday]
