Kit Vending

[Eric Hunting]

I was writing to a cartoonist friend I know from Iceland about the interesting art phenomenon known as the Art-O-Mat. Some years ago Congress imposed a ban on cigarette machines in public places, leading to a flood of the old machines ending up on the scrap market. An artist named Clarke Whittington was intrigued by the mid-century design of these old machines and bought one to refurbish. It ended up in a coffee shop where he was doing an art show, converted into the Art-O-Mat; a vending machine for tiny works of art packaged in boxes of the same cigarette box form-factor. This proved wildly popular, Whittington recruiting some 400 artists to supply dozens of these uniquely refurbished machines around the world attracting a large collector following.

http://www.artomat.org/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0NXzsTiC1A

I suggested that, perhaps, this might be a novel way to package and sell the independent comics art and other fandom items produced by his circle of friends. Many things have been made to fit in these boxes and there was once even a German art group that created cigarette-box-sized micro-books to sell through one of these machines. But there was one problem. These old machines weigh anywhere in the range of 500-700 pounds. Even on wheels, they would be rather difficult to bring to comics and fandom conventions. There were some smaller countertop cigarette machines but they were very rare. Contemporary vending machines have much more flexibility and come in a wide variety of sized, but toward the end of the 20th century they abandoned all attempts at distinctive style, evolving--with the exception of some branded machines--into bland black boxes relying on the packaging of goods inside them to attract customers. So I started looking around to see if there were any contemporary machines that still had some sort of distinctive design and the charm of mechanical operation. My first thought was the goshapon vending machines; the Japanese version of the capsule toy machines common to US supermarkets that have long been a craze in that country. Similar to the old US machines in operation, goshapon machines--often called 'capsule stations'--dispense much larger capsules suited to very elaborate toys and novelties that aren't always intended for children and have a very particular design intended to allow them to be stacked used on a countertop or grouped into vast arrays;

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GQtPFiK%2BL._SL500_SS500_.jpg

http://op.deadend-detour.com/wp-content/uploads/OP_TokyoMoneysinks_18.jpg

But these capsules, large as they are, have some limitations. They don't accommodate rectangular or flat items very well. And they're rather specialized. There may be no place to buy them, or these machines, in the US and importing such things from Japan is a rather costly proposition.

Then I learned of a rather interesting machine called the VistaVend or Twistie in Europe;

http://www.primevending.com/snack/compact-countertop-snack-vending-machine.html

This machine has a really interesting carousel dispenser that could accommodate items of variable form. But it was really designed for very tiny items and the four tiers of the ziggurat-like shape each had different sizes. Fine for stuff like candy but limiting for other things. I wondered why there seemed to be nothing like this in a simpler cylindrical shape. Then I ran into some Chinese export offers for just such a machine, but designed to sell Pringles chips in mini-cans;

http://www.diytrade.com/china/pd/5403046/AK401pringles_vending_machine.html

Made primarily of ABS, these machines come in a small variety of sizes featuring a 7 or 9 column carousel stacking from 6-12 items per column. You turn the carousel to choose the column to buy from. Some are electric powered--and even use batteries---but they are usually all mechanical and have a nice classic vending machine look despite the plastic composition. These machines don't seem to be too common in the US, but they are apparently very popular in the UK. (and the focus of some of the old vending machine franchise rackets…) I would imagine they well suit a pub environment. Being made in China, they're remarkably cheap, costing between $200-$300 new. Though they lack a lot of possibilities for customization, the top of the carousel has some possibilities for holding custom graphics in the form of rotating signs or back-lit displays. And it's impressive that you actually get so many product choices from one machine of this size.

Now, this paper mini-can form (3"x3 1/4") is at least as versatile as the old cigarette box and has more volume than the goshapon capsules. (they're probably much superior to the capsules for the things most often sold with them; figurines. They could be ideal for some designer toys) They can be made entirely of paper, using rolled end caps, and there are also available as recyclable clear plastic tubs. (goshapon are usually made of styrene) They have a lot of potential for novel labeling and they're perfectly suited to by-hand packaging. But most interestingly, they're very reusable/upcyclable just as regular sized Pringles cans are. This seemed like a good way to make a kind of Art-O-Mat with a distinctive yet cheap vending machine small enough to be easily moved from one fan convention to another, easily displayed on trade tables. In fact, it would be cheap enough to be a pretty safe experiment for most any independent artist.

But then another idea struck me, which is why I'm talking about this here. What if you used these cans to package little science and electronics kits for kids that could be dispensed at events like the Maker Faires from these easily portable machines? Folded and rolled instruction sheets would fit well in these (sometimes doubling as a label) and the cans could even be used as parts of the kits as well as their packaging. Just as with the Art-O-Mat, makers could be invited to design an assortment of such kits to put in the machines. This would also be an excellent way to vend small loose electronics parts, hardware, and many kinds of consumables. Apparently T-shirts and other kinds of clothing can also be packed into these. I can also imagine such things as novelty LED lights/lanterns where you pop a can out of the machine, twist it, and it lights up. In addition to using these vending machines, simple storage tubes or tall cardboard boxes with a cut-out dispenser at once could be made.

The possibilities for this simple form-factor seem endless. It might start a phenomenon at least as big as the Art-O-Mat.

Eric Hunting
erich...@gmail.com

[Dakota Hamill]

Sounds like a pretty good idea.  There is something fun about buying a kit, I won't lie.  Sometimes I buy kits and then never really put them to use. ..must be pscyhological, or laziness! I think it is that sense of completeness in a nice little package that has everything you need.

But besides just maker fairs (which don't seem to exist around Boston..or at least not regularly) how would you go about convincing stores or colleges to allow you to put them there?  I've always wondered what the % split is on those machines you see at grocery stores.  The margins can't be very high on candy so giving away a big % to the space owner could make it not worth the time, factoring in cost of gas to check on them bi weekly or monthly, or if a theft happens.  

I think they could do well like you said at fairs, but also at colleges that have a science or engineering department.  I know some local biotech companies have snack machine turned freezer machine with DNA ladders, plasmids, buffer, etc etc and I always thought those were pretty cool, but be prepared to shell out a bunch on the credit card!  

[Eric Hunting]

I've noticed some artists have clued into that aspect of kits, particularly with the look of the traditional plastic model kits where all the parts are laid-out on a frame of injection-molding sprue. There have been a number of pieces designed as full-scale model kits;

http://jalopnik.com/5931609/all-we-want-to-do-is-play-with-this-full-scale-aston-martin-model

http://www.flatheadv8.org/v8bob/carshow.htm

Though I think my favorite artist's take on kit design so far has been the hipster emergency supplies teddy-bear;

http://i.imgur.com/J6oE1.jpg

A few of the Art-O-Mats were setup on art school campuses so colleges would seem a natural setting. Some schools have used specialized vending machines for supplies for a long time; particularly for pens, pencils, erasers, and paper. The added weight and resilience of heavier steel body machines might be necessary in less supervised venues. But I think the charm with this relies on the aesthetic of a mechanical vending machine, much as it is with the Art-O-Mat. This wouldn't be nearly as interesting using the usual contemporary vending machine even though the spiral dispenser types common now are more reliable. The machines are just too bland and uninteresting--unless, of course, one made something more custom. 

[Nancy Ouyang]

<sorry for reviving an old thread but vending machines are awesome! hope this is on topic>

I'm part of a student-run shop, MITERS, at my university, and we considered stocking things like breadboards and arduinos (and other emergency project materials), but that's really not in our budget as a club. We sort of have a "if the person who knows where the secret cache and can deal with money" system set up, but I wanted to make a countertop vending machine. Used vending machines on ebay are hundreds of dollars and gigantic (we're tight on space). I decided that the relative portability/stealibility would be fine at MITERS since everyone that comes in is a student.

I made this prototype (uh... keep in mind this was mostly made over 48 hrs in final project crunch mode, it was a cardboard prototype that looked like this 24 hrs earlier) (video here: http://youtu.be/-yvnhAjPS_0 ) but my budget was more like $50 than $200, so I got stuck figuring out how to accept payment, because you really can't mechanically accept bills. (Maybe some sacrifice can be made where I make a bill reader that's not $$ because it doesn't have to check for counterfeits. But then I think something this flimsy is a bit sketchy with lots of cash in it. Hmm. I think for our own use probably an RFID reader + student ID would do the trick). It also has so many mechanical issues (but yay learning things from prototypes). 

But I wanted to put it out there, definitely doable to make a custom spring-based one. (also, anyone want to build a vending machine with me? XD).

The mechanical ones (Vistavend / pringles) are cool, I hadn't known they were commonly used before -- thanks for the information.

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[Billy Smith]

If you're visiting London, drop by London Hackspace,
http://wiki.london.hackspace.org.uk/view/London_Hackspace

We've got a vending machine that one member has been refurbishing.
He's managed to get the coin/note-recognition system working. He'd be
a good person to gossip to...

On 12 Mar, 10:48, Nancy Ouyang <nancy.ouy...@gmail.com> wrote:
> <sorry for reviving an old thread but vending machines are awesome! hope
> this is on topic>
>
> I'm part of a student-run shop, MITERS, at my university, and we considered
> stocking things like breadboards and arduinos (and other emergency project
> materials), but that's really not in our budget as a club. We sort of have
> a "if the person who knows where the secret cache and can deal with money"
> system set up, but I wanted to make a countertop vending machine. Used
> vending machines on ebay are hundreds of dollars and gigantic (we're tight
> on space). I decided that the relative portability/stealibility would be
> fine at MITERS since everyone that comes in is a student.
>

> I made this prototype<http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z1KOFm3m6HE/TvITrcvrbUI/AAAAAAAARLU/6Eag7AU...>(uh...

> keep in mind this was mostly made over 48 hrs in final project
> crunch mode, it was a cardboard prototype that looked like

> this<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_aJnrsOyVQc/TvIT015nIYI/AAAAAAAARN0/xEWhNZd...>24
> hrs earlier) (video here:http://youtu.be/-yvnhAjPS_0) but my budget was more like $50 than $200, so

> I got stuck figuring out how to accept payment, because you really can't
> mechanically accept bills. (Maybe some sacrifice can be made where I make a
> bill reader that's not $$ because it doesn't have to check for
> counterfeits. But then I think something this flimsy is a bit sketchy with
> lots of cash in it. Hmm. I think for our own use probably an RFID reader +
> student ID would do the trick). It also has so many mechanical

> issues<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSHAOryBwys>(but yay learning

> things from prototypes).
>
> But I wanted to put it out there, definitely doable to make a custom
> spring-based one. (also, anyone want to build a vending machine with me?
> XD).
>
> The mechanical ones (Vistavend / pringles) are cool, I hadn't known they
> were commonly used before -- thanks for the information.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 2, 2013 at 9:09 AM, Eric Hunting <erichunt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > I've noticed some artists have clued into that aspect of kits,
> > particularly with the look of the traditional plastic model kits where all
> > the parts are laid-out on a frame of injection-molding sprue. There have
> > been a number of pieces designed as full-scale model kits;
>

> >http://jalopnik.com/5931609/all-we-want-to-do-is-play-with-this-full-...

[Eric Hunting]

This was pretty good for a quick project. That laser cut box shape looks like it could be endlessly customizable. For instance, one might make a front panel with engraved graphics and extend its edges beyond the bounds of the box to accommodate any sort of decorations or stick-on sign graphics. 

 It's interesting how many vending machines today use those spiral/coil carrier mechanisms. When looking into this I found you could buy these as more-or-less generic modular units made in China that could be used in any cabinet design--though they're still a bit expensive. So, apparently, there is more of a food chain of standardized parts for larger vending machines today akin to that of general electronics. It seems to me that the popularity of this kind of mechanism may come from its combination of greater reliability and flexibility. Vending machines with these are definitely more 'solid state' than those of the past and accommodate a wider variety of items in the same machine, with the 'tuning' between product types a matter of software/firmware. Different size item, different spacing in the coil, different number of turns to dispense. I wonder if the pro machines have modules pre-wired for a certain number of turns relative to the product size or if they are programmed by other means. The compromise, of course, is that the machines of the type tend to be rather generic in design because they're relying on the packaging of the items to attract customers rather than design and graphics on the machine itself. The Japanese recently took a new angle on this, though, with the addition of display windows that double as touch screen displays. So the machine acts rather like a video bill-board when not in use then turns more transparent when you approach it with the window serving as a control panel for choosing items. 

It occurs to me that, now that we have a new lower level in cost for general purpose industrial robots like the Baxter from ReThink, perhaps we'll see the classic European/Russian kiosk turned into a new kind of super-vending machine. With 3D printer vending machines that have turned up recently, it seems like we're getting closer to realizing that Bruce Sterling short story Kiosk. 

I was recently writing to some friends about the prospect of a comic book introduction to the future--a sort of Cartoon History Of The Future, and why tomorrow might not suck, or Ludwig von Drake's Guide to the Post-Industrial Tomorrowland. (what would a 21st century version of The Carousel of Progress look like, anyway?) Writing about the evolution of the cultural idea of the 'store front' or 'shop' in a cashless economics system, it occurred to me that one of the remnants of Industrial Age century culture that would actually expand in use would be the concept of automated vending in the form of vending machines and automats, even though it would evolve into more of a public dispenser or asynchronous exchange device than 'vending' device. This might be particularly because of the transition from a suburban built habitat--which saw a decline in vending machine use and invention because in the suburbs there's no 'place to be' other than your house--to a New Urban habitat in order to facilitate the transition to a more environmentally sustainable culture. The more walkable/livable a habitat you create, the more 'third places' (the places that are neither work nor home that we systematically destroyed across the 20th century until the Japanese and Koreans re-discovered them through Karaoke parlors toward the end of the century) there are in the habitat, the more practical the vending machine becomes as a convenience technology with the ability to perform its own networked inventory management. 

http://1funny.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/dog-shop.jpg

[John Griessen]

On 03/17/2013 12:11 PM, Eric Hunting wrote:
> It's interesting how many vending machines today use those spiral/coil carrier mechanisms.

.
.

.
The Japanese recently took a new angle on this,
> though, with the addition of display windows that double as touch screen displays. So the machine acts rather like a video
> bill-board when not in use then turns more transparent when you approach it with the window serving as a control panel for
> choosing items.

Thanks for pointing this out Eric, it's a concept to "keep in the back of our heads"(1)

1. Paul Simon