Energon Transfer Machine

The Energon Transfer Machine was a piece of Decepticon technology that was created to draw upon the materials the Insecticons devoured and convert them into energon cubes.

It appeared as a series of glass cylinders where the Transformer would enter and two tubes would descend, connecting to the structure of the mechanoid whereupon it would draw energy into a central pipe connecting all the cylinders to a larger machine further in the base where the energy would be compressed into energon cube format.

Fiction

The Transformers cartoon

The initial version of this device was permanently installed in Decepticon Headquarters. Megatron used it on the Insecticons in order to convert the material they ate into energon. Only a few small cubes were given to the Insecticons which Megatron claimed to be because of the costly process of the transfer machine. This was a lie—in reality the huge amounts of energy captured by the device were being rerouted to the next room, where the Decepticons were transferring it to cubes. Quest for Survival

A scaled-down, portable version of the transfer machine was used in the field when the Insecticons attacked a city. As the Insecticons gathered energy, it was transferred to cubes and loaded by the Decepticons into a nearby space bridge for transport to Cybertron. The Revenge of Bruticus