clockwork LEGO Useless Machine -- turns itself off

The sole function of this LEGO(TM) machine is to turn itself off. Having seen a number of electrical or electronic solutions I decided to go for a purely mechanical one. I used a LEGO clockwork motor to provide the power, which provides a lot less oomph than the electric ones. The first "working" design needed far too much torque, and the last prototype you see here works much more smoothly. I also wanted the appearance to be as close to "just a box with a switch" as possible, to have just a single hole for the clockwork key, and yet to be able to display the innards using hinges.

The hardest part was probably getting the flap to operate easily and smoothly, and to open and close at the correct parts of the cycle. Careful design of the "pusher" allowed the hole to be fairly small in the later prototypes. There were probably around ten partial or complete prototypes before I found a reliable method and layout. I use the latest prototype(s) as a reference for the next, so I try to have enough bricks around to keep several on the go at once.

This kind of device has been called Shannon's Ultimate Machine, the Leave Me Alone Box, and the Most Useless Machine.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• clockwork
• LEGO
• machine
• Shannon
• useless

[dejakob1]

MY CONSTRUCTION GUID IS BROKEN SOMEHOW

please go to : legocn.net (then scroll down and click next till you find the useless machine)

LIKE THIS COMMENT TO KEEP IT READABLE FOR EVERYONE!

[cdguy47]

CAN YOU BUILD ME A GAMING PC OUT OF LEGOS?

[CaloKruse]

this isnt useless, is for making many likes an views

[DasLunicorn]

I can built a house out of lego :/

[appleintosh]

@Bradguy123 It's possible. You just need a motor system. The older 9v system works better than power functions because it's smaller

[IFUCKINGLOVEPOOP]

i thought of something else when i read "turns itself on"

[Bradguy123]

Is it possible to make one of these completely out of legos and rubber bands, without requiring the wind up? I'm gonna try.

[cozaassy9]

wait till it figures out the seacrets of the world

[winterka100]

It reminds me of a sign on a wall that says "Do not remove this sign."

[sonicgood200]

thats cool

[legos1011]

It's so pointless I LOVE it!!

[Onwexry]

ok, it has already been done, in clarity, and with a good set of picture based instructions, at the site dejakob1 mentioned above, and i'm not sure if it's new of not. i'll see if it works, and someone else comment, so i'm not feeling like nobody sees this.