Manufactured · Design & Fabrication Intern · Brooklyn, NY · May–July 2026

P4UL

Adobe Illustrator
Autodesk Fusion
Print artwork
Fabrication

An octopus prediction machine for a World Cup watch party.

During my internship at Manufactured, I prepared the cabinet artwork for print and designed parts for the coaster input, power supply, and servo string routing.

Concept visualization of the P4UL cabinet with its octopus behind the front window — AI-assisted concept render of P4UL.

01 / The experience

How the machine was meant to work

The team designed a cabinet inspired by Paul the Octopus. A visitor would insert a coaster, watch Paul move, and receive a preprinted coaster with a prediction.

02 / Facade

Preparing the cabinet artwork for print

Manufactured provided the initial AI-generated concept. I recreated low-resolution elements as vectors in Illustrator, combined supplied and sourced artwork, and prepared the three facade panels for print. I also checked the window openings and mounting holes against the physical cabinet so the artwork lined up with the build.

Flat artwork for three cabinet panels — The flat print layout for the three cabinet panels.

Physical facade during the workshop build — The printed panels during assembly, with openings for the windows and coaster slot.

03 / Fit and motion

Adjusting the parts to fit the build

The original model used the wrong coaster size, so I measured the coasters we had and updated the input in Fusion. I checked for collisions and clearance, then reprinted parts as needed. For the stainless-steel brackets, I used full-size paper templates to check the fit first.

CAD model of coaster input parts — The revised coaster input in Fusion, sized for the coasters we had.

Two U-shaped mounting brackets in CAD — Power supply mounts I modeled for the build.

This was my first time working with servos. I wired and labeled about 16 of them and helped test the tentacles. We started with one tentacle and tried different lengths and numbers of sections. In an early test, the taped connection between a servo and its string came loose.

Electrical control module in the workshop — The wiring used during the motion tests.

Team member assembling components at the bench — Assembling the servo support structure on the workbench.

04 / Build status

Where the build stood when I left

The facade was installed, and we had tested individual parts of the mechanism. The full motion and coaster sequence was still being worked on when my internship ended.

Photos from the build

These photos show the character, cabinet, and internal mechanism during assembly at Manufactured.

The physical octopus puppet on a workbench — The physical Paul character during the build.

The team working inside P4UL’s open cabinet frame — The cabinet frame before it was closed up.

A close view of the belt mounted inside the cabinet — The coaster belt inside the cabinet.

Team credits. Project direction and initial facade concept: Manufactured. Main frame and coaster belt: Josh Corn. Character and stage: Maria Corazon. Wes Yan, Head Mechanical Engineer. Workshop imagery: Manufactured Inc., used with permission.