Awesome Machines

Newbie maker Simone Giertz is getting better at putting hardware together, but her latest invention ended up being more dangerous than her previous ones. It’s a double knife-wielding chopping machine that chops so hard it’s carving through the chopping board.

An incredible demonstration of the power of water, as this high pressure cutter slices cleanly through metal like a hot knife through butter. The 5-axis Kimla Streamcut can slice smooth and precise parts from a wide variety of materials, from foams to ceramics and stone.

We’ve already learned how to make our own gummy candies, but this neat video from Bosch Packaging Technology shows how they’re made in mass quantities. There’s something immensely satisfying about all those gummy bears and worms rolling off the assembly line.

Artist Graham Dunning demonstrates how to replicate sounds normally created with synthesizers and digital equipment, instead using a turntable, vinyl records, and mechanical and electrical devices in their place. The whole thing gets pretty bonkers by the end.

Builder Arthur Sacek created this neat robotic LEGO contraption which can manipulate the individual pins one of those pin art desktop toys to draw uploaded images. Every time it finishes drawing a frame, it snaps a picture to create animations.

(PG-13: Language) Some people make us feel unworthy of being in the same species as they are. Then there are folks like Simone Giertz, who makes it a point to develop modest ideas into hilariously mediocre results. If she can be average, then so can you!

This robot has a single task to perform – to cut food into pieces. And that it does. What makes Newtech’s ultrasonic cutting machine so amazing, is that it doesn’t care what angle or position its target enters the conveyor at – it always finds the perfect center.

Footage of a relatively simple, yet ingenious 4-axis industrial milling machine that can cut, engrave and shape up multiple objects simultaneously. These sort of machines are most often used to make decorative woodwork, furniture legs, or small sculptures.

Bob Partington created the world’s slowest Rube Goldberg machine, driven by molasses, a turtle, melting popsicles, and other things that take forever. Thankfully, the tedious 6+ week long process has been reduced to three minutes for your viewing pleasure.

A remarkable look at a fast-moving industrial laser cutting machine as it makes quick, precise work of sheet metal. Watch as the 1000W XT Laser cutter blasts dozens of perfect circles and squares through metal in a matter of seconds.

JelleKnikkers built this fun take on the model railroad, replacing the train cars with about 30 1/2-inch steel marbles. The track is about 200 feet long, and constructed from LEGO components. The glow-in-the-dark marbles at the end are pretty neat too.

A demonstration of Power-TEC’s automotive dent repair system which starts out by placing numerous anchors, then uses a special clamp that perfectly straightens out the damaged metal. It’s not meant for structural supports, but the result is still impressive.

Watch in awe as this CNC cutting machine transforms hunks of solid titanium and aluminum into an intricate electric guitar. The 124 piece guitar looks identical to the real deal, though at 15 pounds, it’s about twice the weight of a Fender Stratocaster.

Jelle Bakker built this 33-foot-long wooden contraption, dubbed “Marble Tsunami,” through which thousands of marbles roll their way to their eventual resting place. We can only imagine how loud this thing is in person.

Gizmodo writer Attila Nagy takes us behind the scenes of a 3.7 mile-long conveyor system that shuttles books to reading rooms around the National Széchényi Library in Budapest, Hungary. Here’s a video of a similar system in action.

This record-setting LEGO machine was on display at the Brick show last year in London. Made by Maico Arts and Ben Jonkman, the insanely complex build used 88 interconnected modules to shuttle balls from one end to the other.

YouTube and Vine trickster Zach King created this wacky video which features what appears to be a typical Rube Goldberg machine, but that has magical powers thanks to the wonders of editing and post-production.

This incredible machine is the Plasser & Theurer RU 800 S, and what it’s doing is building a railway line by laying rock, beams, and track with minimal human intervention – a once monumental task if you’ve ever seen an episode of Hell on Wheels.

This hypnotic video shows how a modern kitchen appliance can knead a potful of freshly steamed rice into a chewy and delicious Mochi rice ball. We kept waiting for the ball to slither its way out of the pot and start talking.

This incredible tech from DMG MORI is a single machine that can create metal objects using a process called laser deposition welding, which melts a metallic powder into a desired form. It can then mill the parts to further refine them.

While we’re not sure of the practical uses for a metal bike helmet, we’re still mesmerized by this Mazak Variaxis 5-axis milling machine as it replicates a Rudy Project Windmax helmet from a block of aluminum using PowerMILL software.

This incredibly complex machine takes spools of fiberglass, Kevlar or carbon fiber and braids them together for form a durable composite. Similar techniques are being used to make lightweight automotive and airplane parts.

LEGO tinkerer Kleinraum42 pitches his idea for a set which encourages builders to create fun interactive machines using marbles and LEGO dominoes (LEGOminoes?) Head to LEGO Ideas and vote to help make it a reality.