Lego Technic
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Early example of Lego Technic.
Technic is a line of Lego interconnecting plastic rods and parts. The purpose of this series is to create more advanced models with more complex movable parts, such as machines with wheels, in addition to the simpler brick-building properties of normal Lego. The concept was introduced as the Expert Builder series in America and as Technical Lego in the UK in 1977, and was renamed Technic in 1984.
Technic sets are often characterized by the presence of special pieces, such as gears, axles, pins, and beams. Some sets also come with pneumatic pieces or electric motors. In recent years, technic pieces have begun filtering down into other Lego sets as well, most notably the Bionicle sets (some of which were sold as part of the Technic line), as well as a great many others.
The style of Technic sets has been changing over time. Technic sets produced since the year 2000 use a different construction methodology, described as “studless construction” (Studs are the small circular knobs which appear on traditional Lego bricks). This method utilizes beams and pins rather than technic bricks.
Mindstorms, a Lego line of robotic products, also uses a large number of Technic pieces, although it is sold as a separate line of products. The next generation of the Mindstorms range, the Mindstorms NXT range (released August 2006), is based on the studless construction method.
“Studded” versus “Studless”
A construction using the old pieces with studs.
Although studless beams have been present in Technic sets for many years, the change from primarily studded to primarily studless construction represented a major paradigm shift and has been quite controversial.
The primary advantage of studless construction is the addition of new construction methods that were previously unavailable. The new studless beams are exactly 1 width unit in height, in contrast to studded beams, which are a non-integer multiple of one unit. It can be awkward to use studded beams in vertical structures because it is necessary to insert plates between the studded beams in order to get the holes to line up.
A vehicle using the new pieces without studs.
Studless beams allow greater flexibility when building in multiple dimensions, while remaining compatible with “classic” studded beams. Some builders also believe that models constructed with studless beams look nicer than their studded counterparts.
However, studless construction also introduces disadvantages. Studless construction is not immediately intuitive, requiring the builder to think five or six steps ahead. While studded construction follows the classic bottom-to-top building pattern, studless construction requires building inside-to-outside. There is also the issue of inertia: studded construction has been around for much longer, and has a much stronger tradition, than studless construction. It is also obviously easier to incorporate other lego bricks and plates into studded construction.
As of 2006, Lego has begun to re-incorporate studded bricks back into the Technic line, which can be seen in sets such as the Mobile Crane.
Lego Technic components
Lego Technic system expands on the normal Lego bricks with a whole range of new bricks that offer new functionality and building styles. The most significant change from normal Lego is that single-stud wide bricks (‘beams’) have circular holes through their vertical face, positioned in-between the studs. These holes can accommodate pins, which enable two beams to be held securely together, either side-by-side, or at an angle.
Motors
Lego Technic system has always included a variety of different electric motors. Broadly, these divide into those powered by batteries, held in a connected battery box, or by mains electricity, via a transformer. Battery-power is the most common.
Early motors were either 9 volt or 4.5 volt, and consisted of a large brick with a small protruding axle that would rotate when the motor was powered. The motor was not hugely geared-down, resulting in high-RPM, low-torque output.
Recent motors contain a hole into which an axle should be inserted, enabling axles of different lengths to be used.
In late 2007, a new motor system was released called ‘Power Functions‘; it was included within LEGO set 8275 Motorized Bulldozer. It comprised a set of motors, two IR receivers, IR remote control and a battery box, thus resulting in a remote-control model. One IR receiver would connect to the battery box whilst the other receiver connected to the motor (up to two motors per receiver), thus remote-control was achieved.
Pneumatics
Gears
Various Lego Technic gears.
Gears have been included within Lego Technic sets as a way of transferring rotary power, and of gearing-up or down the speed. Gears come in several sizes: 8 tooth, 16 tooth, 24 tooth and 40 tooth spur gears, 12 tooth, 20 tooth and 36 tooth double bevel gears, and 12 tooth and 20 tooth single bevel gears. The double bevel gears are cut so they can also be meshed as spur gears. There is also a 16 tooth clutch gear, and a 24 tooth friction gear that slips when a certain amount of torque is put on it to prevent motors from damaging any parts or burning themselves out.
In addition to standard gears, some kits include a rack, a clutch and even worm gears and differential gears. The original differential had a 28 tooth bevel gear, designed to be meshed with the 14 tooth bevel gears (replaced by the 12 tooth gears) to give 2:1 reduction. They can also be meshed with the newer double bevel gears. It was replaced by a newer design incorporating 16 tooth and 24 tooth gears on opposite sides of the casing. The casing holds three 12 tooth bevel gears inside.
As of 2008, an updated version of the original differential has been released, optimised for studless construction.
Chain links were also introduced as an additional way of connecting gears. Tension (resulting from the correct number of chain-link parts used), along with the combination of gearwheel-sizes used, is critical to reliable operation. 8-tooth gears are not to be recommended.
