Northeast Metro Tech Robotics Students Redesign Old Pinball Machine

WAKEFIELD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Robotics students at Northeast Metro Tech in Wakefield can call themselves real life pinball wizards.

Senior students in the Robotics and Automation Technology program designed and built a brand new pinball machine out of the shell of a 50-year-old machine that was previously donated to the school.

Department head Brian Caven had his 11 students strip down the original 1973 machine, named "Dealer's Choice," and rebuild it using state of the art industrial automation controls, displays, and electronics.

"[They] designed this machine from the ground up, all the electronics, the controls, everything, the graphics have been done by the students here," Caven told WBZ NewsRadio Wednesday.

The Robotics seniors collaborated with students in other trades at Northeast Metro Tech, including Auto-Body students who painted the body, Design and Visual Arts students who helped with graphics, STEM Department students who cut plastic parts for the machine, and Metal Fabrication students who welded and created new metal parts.

"I’ve never really collaborated with people on this level," said senior Jaiden Santos. "I had to rely on everyone else to get their job done in order to do mine, so I had to learn how to trust my peers."

"Seeing it all come together slowly and looking at it and seeing everybody’s different ideas put into one, it just makes me very proud of everybody here," another student told WBZ.

The brand new pinball machine is named "Circuit Meltdown." School officials said that while the machine's permanent home remains an open question, it will be on display this September at Pintastic, an annual pinball show in Marlborough.

WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.

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