I’m a huge fan of building and taking things apart, but I was blown away by how much this piece resisted disassembly. Really, this build was no breeze to deconstruct. Can you guess what my partner Scout and I took apart?
A printer, obviously
We started by removing the top part of the main device, since it was only connected via screws. The cover came off easily, giving us access to the control system. Prying it open revealed the motherboard and the buttons used to control the settings.
The brain of the fan
Hacking done the old fashioned way
Now we moved on to the fan itself. First we easily removed the back panel, which revealed the fan inside. This was going great! Surely the rest of the deconstruction will be quick and easy.
This was probably cursed
We attempted to remove the front panel. It should be an easy process, right? Find the screws, remove them, and observe the fan. Easy peasy, except for one little problem: there were no screws connecting the front plate to the body. Instead, it seemed to be connected to the main body by screws on the inside. This wasn’t the case, but we did not know that at the time.
The grey part was the frustrating part
Tried as we might, we could not remove the front part. It resisted both shearing and sliding force. If it weren’t for Dr. Wettergreen, it could have survived any apocalypse unscathed. Alas, not even it’s plastic will can resist Dr. Wettergreen, and after a tough battle we managed to remove it.
Look at them with their smug smile
These connectors were hidden under the black plastic. Nice looking, but a pain to remove.
Upon further examination, we found that the plastic piece was connected to the black piece surrounding it, and that piece was connected to the main body by plastic slots, which made it far easier to remove. While the parts were easy to remove once we figured this out, the device gave no indication that this was designed this way. Either it was intended to be taken apart but the design failed, or it was not designed to be taken apart at all.
With that out of the way, we got free access to the main fan and motor components. These were relatively easy to disassemble, although a ton of screws were unscrewed that day.
For a fan, it was incredibly dusty
The motor, which was located at under the fan, was a big cylinder of golden metal, like a treasure chest at the end of a quest. It had the most screws of any part and to remove it from the body meant to open it. inside we found not treasure but copper wires, meaning the motor was likely a brushless DC motor.
A shocking revelation
The motor was connected to a ton of wiring. They went directly from the wall plug to the motherboard, running the length of the body to do so. To keep them safe, wires near the motor were wrapped. We cut the wall plug for convenience, but otherwise it could have worked outside the body.
All the wiring on the device
And that’s it! We packed our tools and disposed of the plastics and electronics. It took us less than an hour to disassemble the entire device, and it could have taken us less where it not for the front part fiasco. It was really satisfying to see our work done and wonder how the pieces were fabricated and assembled. Also, never underestimate the power of plastic grooves. Sometimes, they can give screws a run for their money.
