We got a kick out of this crazy-looking machine when we saw it recently at a street fair in Providence, RI. RISD Industrial Design student Mike Hahn has created what he calls a Re-Blowmolding machine. The name refers to the fact that the machine takes #2 plastic bottles that were blown into molds in factories and reshapes them using heat and air. According to Hahn, "Essentially it is an oven combined with a molding apparatus and air injection. The plastic is heated evenly all the way around and a two part mold is then forced around the flexible bottle. When air is injected in to the bottle through the spout the plastic fills the mold and cools very quickly."

Right now, Hahn is taking milk bottles that he's collected from local coffee shops and transforming them into hanging planters. We'll be honest: they're not the world's most visually appealing planters, but Hahn adds that the machine is a work in progress: "There is still a long way to go with the mechanism and process to achieve a consistent product, but the unexpected nature and sculptural qualities of each form has a been well received in its present use."

Check out another picture and couple videos of the machine in action after the jump.