Useless Machine

This is a useless machine. It is useless in how it accomplishes nothing at all. When the switch is flipped, a motor arm subsequently switches itself off.

The box was made from 3/4” red oak that I resawed into 1/4”. The sides were fastened with box joints, while the bottom was simply glued on.

The electronics comprised of a DPDT switch, momentary switch, servo motor, and 2xAA battery pack. The motor was modified for continuous rotation. The battery is disconnected when the arm is fully retracted onto the momentary switch. When the DPDT switch is flipped on, the battery pack reconnects and powers the motor arm. The motor arm moves forward, frees the momentary switch, and flips the DPDT switch back off. The DPDT switch changes the polarity of the motor so that the arm retracts back onto the momentary switch, closing the circuit.

This project was completed in 2014 and sold on Etsy.