In this paper, we have combined a pragmatic and a sociocultural perspective on how artifacts are used in technical problem-solving. With these perspectives we explore how three mechanical engineering students build a plastic spider together, using instructions they found on the internet. Ten hours of video recordings were selected for a detailed analysis regarding linguistic, material, and embodied resources, using Dewey’s pattern of inquiry and Wartofsky’s notion of artifacts. Dewey’s pattern of inquiry renders the students’ relationship with different artifacts in time and space observable, and thereby how students orient themselves towards distinct purposes in different phases of their problem-solving process. A sociocultural perspective enables us to investigate how engineering students as part of the professional practices become acquainted to technology. Our analysis shows that although the problem was ill-structured, problem-solving in design and construction is a concrete activity and includes the three levels of artifacts: physical tools, preservation and transmission techniques and possible or imaginary worlds. An understanding of artifacts, instructions, an intended design, and communicative activities is significant for developing learning activities in engineering education.