We’ve probably all seen (and built) a useless box, in which you flip a switch that activates a servo that pops out a finger and flips the switch off. [Coffeman500] decided to take this a step further by building a useless box with multiple switches. Flip one, the finger pops out to flip it back. Flip several switches, and the finger pops out and flips each back in turn.
It’s a smart build that [coffeeman500] says is his first electronics build. The compulsively switching brain of this is an ATmega328 driving an A4988 stepper motor driver, with one stepper moving the finger mechanism and the other moving the finger along a rail to reach each switch in turn. [Coffeeman500] has released the complete plans for this wonderful waste of time, including 3D models for the box and mechanism, plus the code. Redditors are already planning bigger and more useless designs with more switches, a pursuit that we fully support.
Via [reddit]
Three switches? Pfaugh! Here’s one with eight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqk_nWAjBus
I like how fast it is and that it only uses an allen wrench to flip the switches!
Now that is a totally useless machine. This is the best one I have ever seen anywhere. Awesome.
An 8 switcher was featured on here MANY moons ago
https://hackaday.com/2012/12/22/an-even-more-useless-machine/#more-92186
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Try https://i.imgur.com/oVlNI0r.gifv
Link still doesn’t work. Just comes up as a white screen.
https://imgur.com/oVlNI0r.gifv
Link via above pic still doesn’t work. Just comes up as a *black* screen.
The internets is utter rubbish.
it reminds me of a voting machine…
The 8-switch one from a few years back used servos from an old inkjet printer and an ATmega8.