Industrial Design

In Situ Machines

Micha Baggenstos
In Situ Machines

Disestablishing the Assembly Line of Appliances

We need new narratives of production. Open and in situ. This exploration of electric appliances understands openness not as do-it-yourself, but as a network of independent producers: Could local ceramic studios manufacture electric appliances? Through clay 3D printing, standard components and reclaimed electronic waste, the cable-button-thermoswitch-resistor-machine becomes an electric kettle. A multi-socket. A coffee grinder.

Compared to the established logic of serial production, this alternative process opens up new principles of construction, altering how machines appear and how we interact with them. Globally circulating standard components are imagined with soft interfaces to fit into the ceramic structures. Meanwhile, the structure’s design can be shared to be reproduced and modified locally.

«In Situ Machines» proposes an open vision of how apparatuses can be conceived when locality, reuse and repair are treated as inherent parts of production.

While the standards remain, the clay design can be digitally shared and altered for local production.
While the standards remain, the clay design can be digitally shared and altered for local production.
Clay is printed on a custom generated path, finding its way around the standard components in a single continuous line.
Clay is printed on a custom generated path, finding its way around the standard components in a single continuous line.
Alternative design of a porcelain multi-socket.
Alternative design of a porcelain multi-socket.
The components feature a soft interface, allowing them to be pressed into place to assemble the machine.
The components feature a soft interface, allowing them to be pressed into place to assemble the machine.