Makesound by Jean-Philippe Renoult: the CNC milling machine

The CNC is one of the largest machines of fablabs. For Makesound, binaural sound composition series for Makery, the artist Jean-Philippe Renoult turned the Electrolab numerical control milling machine into a dinosaur of modern times. Headphones highly recommended!

In the words of Jean-Philippe Renoult, sound artist: “I felt immediately attracted to the LARGE CNC milling machine of the Electrolab hackerspace in Nanterre [near Paris], the TOS FNG 40… Heavy, military green… a tank. It seems prehistoric to me although it was ‘only’ made in 1991. It then springs to life, step by step, part by part… like a Tyrannosaurus rex stretching after awakening!

“In this case, detail sounds intrigue me: the creaking and the pressure of the axle trees, the jerks and short impacts of the drill shaft on a piece of metal…Impossible not to think of an animal…In the end, my accomplishment accounts more for the organ than the piece of machinery. I now know that machines have a soul, especially when they groan!”

See the previous Makesound columns