So, a very brief intro to how this works, or at least what we've discovered so far. Once you start thinking about experiments, be etheric and wander around for a while. Every so often you'll get a choice encounter where you'll find a lab. You can poke around, examine the equipment, or leave. If you've got a capacitor array or capacitor plug in your inventory you can also try to install them.
- Poking around will find a capacitor plug.
- Install a capacitor array (or, presumably, a plug) will power up the machine and change the encounter you get. (You can't get back to this encounter without draining the tube first, so you may want to look for clues first.)
- Examining the equipment will get you some Perception XP, and a clue. These clues seem to vary. Valmo found some results that indicated specific dial positions, while I got the number 104, which turned out to be a clue to turning the dial to 8 and 13. It's also apparently possible to not get a clue after checking a couple times, more investigation is needed.
Once you power up the machine, the next time you get the encounter you'll see a bubbling tube with a dial, and your only options will be to turn the dial or to walk away. The dial entry field allows for two digit numbers. You can try to brute force these, but you're probably better off looking for clues first. You'll need to turn the dial twice. Once to get a base substance, then again to put another substance on it. (Which numbers result in what outcomes appears to be randomized per player, possibly per reset.) Depending on what combination you do, you can get various bits of cyberware. Arms, legs and eyes have been found so far. There's presumably neuralware, bodyware and cyberorgans as well, from the item ID gaps that are still around. And it would be unsurprising if there's additional stuff as well. Perhaps being able to make an entire creature somehow, through the right series of steps?
If you turn the dial to the wrong setting, either nothing will happen or, if you already have something in the tube it's possible it will dissolve. From Valmo's results, it seems like a dial setting that causes one substance to dissolve may work for another substance. E.g., turning it to 2 causes flesh to dissolve, but if you had bones in there instead it will upgrade them to something that can be decanted. This is not 100% confirmed, though.
Once you've got a valid combination, turn the dial to 0 to decant the tube. If you've got something valid in there, you'll get your cyberware result. If not, you'll get an experimental beaker, a 2-body drug that seems to grant some energy, from what I recall in chat. Once you decant the tube, regardless of what result you get, the next time you get the encounter it will be back to the original version, and you'll have to power the machine up again. And have the chance to check for more clues.
Thanks to Valmo and GoldS for helping to work out what we've discovered so far.