Format of the answer

[helen101]

There is a broken machine, so only 6 letters. No commas, no spaces, case is irrelevant, just six letters. PM me if you want - I programmed my answer so I can't give you much by way of hints, but I could tell you first machine if you like - that sort of hint I'm sure I'm not supposed to say which machine is broken in the forum - I'll message you.

[mehroon]

Helen, i have sent a pm to you. Please reply asap. Thanks very much

12 hours have passed since my last message. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REPLY. Very desperate and frustrated. Want to complete this riddle and get it out of my system. Please help. I am coming to this forum every half an hour to see if there is a reply. Take me out of my misery. Be a good samaritan

Besides Helen, others can also reply. Please help and THANKS VERY MUCH

[JWawro]

Wow. Relax.

Out of all the puzzles in PD, this one is actually completely straightforward solvable. I should have been able to see it through, after finding a solution that used all 7 machines, but appreciate the help I got. Completely logical, no trickery.

[janiem]

If anyone is still reading this forum please can I beg for a big big hint - where to start or which is broken? Thanks!

[juniper]

Is there someone who has solved this who wouldn't mind me PM-ing them with my thoughts so far? I'm only just starting on this one and would just like to know if I'm on the right lines so far.

Thanks if anyone can help.

[gordon]

Feel free.

[WickedPlans]

For those of use without programming skills, this is a hard one because there are a huge number of variables.
Narrow those variables down - I used a 3 colour coding system to help.

[blairski44]

As a non-programmer I am struggling on this one too. I thought I had it when three machines reduced the string to the letters in the solution (in the wrong order), but no combination of machines after that gives the right order.

Just to make sure I am reading it right, I have a question for Machine D: The Rotator
Reverses every pair of sausages to mix up the flavour.

Does this mean ABCD becomes BADC or CDAB?

Thanks for any help,

Blair.

[WickedPlans]

Yes, ABCD becomes BADC with machine D

I hit a similar problem to you of having the right letters but none of the remaining machines putting them in the right order. It means you are heading in the right direction.
Try using more machine/s earlier in the process.

[blairski44]

Thanks for the help. I got there eventually, but after narrowing it down I used brute force rather than working it out completely.

Glad that's over.

Blair.