Automated Safe Cracking – Project Fails for Now

microcontroller_Safe_CrackerIf you have suffered with loss of memory and cannot get your valuables out of your family safe that is hidden behind your mirror then don’t worry as a bloke named Carlos has created a safe cracking contraption that will sit on your safe going through every possible combination till the safe is cracked open. At least, that is the idea for now.

The reason Carlos created this gadget was because he found a safe at home and spotted that others had tied to rip it open unsuccessfully and rather than taking a drill to it he thought he’d build a robot to do it for him. Unfortunately the safe cracker didn’t have a strong enough motor to turn the dial, so this will come back in V2 of the cracker.

“Of course, there are many ways of achieving this (e.g. cutting holes into its walls, removing the hinges, hiring a locksmith) but I do not want to break the safe, nor I want to hire anyone to do it in my place. Inspired by so many movies, the first thing I tried was to listen to the (nonexistent) clicking of the dial as it turns: it did not work at all. Very quickly, I decided that the appropriate way of doing it (given my set of skills) was to have a machine do it in my place. So, I decided to build a little manipulator that will test all possible combinations of the safe until it opens up. Since this requires precise positioning I thought a servo motor would be the best choice of actuator (and also because I have some other project ideas involving servos).”

As mentioned above, this version just didn’t have the power to even turn the dial on the safe. Carlos decided to post the results of his findings here and will hopefully come back with a version that does work. It will be fun to follow this project.

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