For this lab I worked with Saad to deconstruct an old fax machine. The purpose of the lab was to look at how a machine is constructed, with emphasis on how they connect and how the way a device is put together can indicate who was supposed to access the elements. Overall I would say that some elements, such as the toner piece, were easy to access, indicating that during the lifespan of the device these pieces might need to be replaced whereas some elements, such as the multitude of circuit boards were very difficult to access.

Step 1: Overview of Device

We wanted to form a plan for how we were going to approach this device. We started with the basic, easy elements to remove, such as the phone attachment which just clipped out. The fax machine also had a hinge that allowed access to the top compartment.

 

Step 2: Top Compartment

To start the deconstruction, we removed the toner so we wouldn’t make a mess. From there we had a goal of separating the top piece from the hinge and worked our way trying to figure out how to do that. We started by removing all the screws until we hit a road block with wires.

 

Step 3: Bottom Removal

Once we could go no further with screws, we had to flip the device over to remove the bottom. This is because wires in the mid section were preventing us from removing more and the wires led to the bottom. This was a majority of the time, as there were lots of screws and wires covering access to other elements.

As seen on the left of the image to the left, there were many metal boxes that created layers to the bottom, as they would visually and physically block access to everything in the bottom. This led me to conclude that the elements in these protective boxes were not meant to be accessed by anyone other than possibly a technician.

 

Final:

Overall one of the things that surprised me the most about the device was the number of circuit boards in it. In most of the devices I have created, we create one central circuit board and connect everything to it. I think the reason this has so many boards is to minimize space as well as the number or wires needed to use.