Awesome Machines

A zoetrope machine that plays 3D-printed animations by spinning them on a disc in front of an array of LED strobe lights. The machine will offer interchangeable animation plates you can print like the fish-eating-fish and jumping frogs shown here. Coming to Kickstarter.

Footage of an amazing machine in a quarry in Malta, which makes quick work of cutting slabs of stone using a pair of deadly looking saw blades which slice through the hard material like a hot knife through butter. The guy walking alongside better watch his step.

Does machine automation give you a thrill? Then tune in now for 10 minutes of robot porn, recorded by HD1080ide at Hannover Messe 2017, where robots poured beer, wielded lightsabers, lifted cars, played air hockey, and secretly conspired to take over the world.

Evil Mad Scientist Labs‘ borderline magical AxiDraw now has a variant that reaches up to two sheets of US Letter or A4 in one go, making it faster and more efficient. Just like the V3, it can use normal pens and markers to make “handwritten” letters and drawings.

Too lazy to deal with trick-or-treaters this Halloween? Then you need to build a machine like the one that JK Brickworks made. This fun LEGO robot delivers individual candies with its skeleton hand, then gives kids a scare when they try to grab their treats.

This cable-driven machine holds a pen in its grip and can not only draw intricate and detailed lettering, but can emulate the imperfections of handwriting. It can create calligraphy and draw images as well. Contact ZarPlotter if you’re interested in purchasing one.

This electromechanical sound maker uses moving turntable arms to select and play grooves carved into an enormous cylinder. The positions of the arms and sounds played correspond to the positions of 27,000 pieces of space junk drifting about over our heads.

If you think crabs are adorable little creatures not meant to be chopped up and eaten, look away. Otherwise, check out this fascinating bit of machine porn – a horrifying robot designed for separating the parts of the crustaceans so humans can enjoy the meat inside.

While banks and even grocery stores have fully automated coin sorting machines these days, there’s something appealing about the simplicity and elegance of Klopp Engineering’s crank-operated coin sorters, which can sift through up to 600 coins per minute.

Natural Nerd shows how to build a countertop machine which can dispense multiple beverages. It uses aquarium pumps to move liquids into your cup. It’s best for tea, juice, and other non-carbonated drinks. Full materials list and build details available on Instructables.

Vietnamese shop Wood Marble Machine shows off one of their super cool kinetic toys, a modular machine which sends dozens of marbles rolling around in perpetuity. It looks like you can even order their machines, though we’re not sure if they ship internationally.

Most of the tunnels we’ve driven through are filthy, layered with exhaust from vehicles driving through. But in Switzerland, Colas Suisse keeps the tunnels spotless with this amazing contraption, which uses an array of spinning brushes to scrub off grime as it drives along.

Maker and demolition man Giaco Whatever no longer has a lawn, so he decided to turn his mower’s motor and blade into a massive blender. Along the way, he chops up some ping pong balls and some cans of Coke with spectacular results. The carnage starts at 5:49.

Engineers from MIT’s CSAIL are showing off a fascinating new robot which can walk, roll, sail, and glide, by “wearing” tiny exoskeleton outfits which allow it to perform different tasks. Its skins can be shed by dissolving them in water when it wants to move on to a new activity.

Hand Tool Rescue shared this chainsaw-wielding, wheeled machine that can be placed around the trunk of a tree, then climbs its way towards the top, trimming off branches as it goes. We’re not sure how knows when to come back down. Original footage via Bidone1967.

Mechanical LEGO builder Josh DaVid shows off one of his coolest creations. When you turn the crank on this little automata, a lawnmower floats above a pair of treadmills, which make it appear as if the mower is cutting the grass.

As a result of losing a bet, jackofallspades98 ended up spending more than four months getting his two table contraption to work, a mesmerizing machine filled with balls making their way through a maze filled with teeter-totters, ramps, loops, and more.

Laser engravers are some of the coolest machines you can have in your workshop, and can produce designs with extreme precision. But we’ve never seen one work as fast as the Tykma Vereo, which manages to spit out an entire image on sheet metal in about a minute.

Marble enthusiast Murmiland posted this immensely satisfying video of a single marble which sets off an avalanche of over 2,600 others as they head downhill on a path towards a wall made from building blocks. Murmiland, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!

It’s not exactly the most mechanically complex build, but we still love the idea of YouTuber Goober’s (we made a rhyme!) spring-loaded cardboard and hot glue vending machine which can dispense up to five of your favorite candies with the push of a button.

Back in 2009, genius woodworker Matthias Wandel shared one of his childhood projects: a LEGO machine that laid out an evenly spaced row of dominoes. He recently upped the ante and remade the machine out of wood. Skip to 5:23 in the video for the finished machine.

As long as you don’t get it wet or put it near fire, cardboard is a strong and versatile building material. The guys at Mini Gear show us how to make a number of nifty desktop vending machines using cardboard, rubber bands, and hot glue as their primary materials.

Beyond the Brick met up with builder Tom Atkinson at Brickworld Chicago 2017 for an extensive tour of this seemingly endless LEGO machine built collaboratively by LEGO fans who each worked on their own modules which linked together. That ferris wheel was amazing.