Lego Technic
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| Other names | Expert Builder Technical Lego |
|---|---|
| Sub‑themes |
Pneumatics Mindstorms |
| Availability | 1977–Present |
| Total sets | 100+ |
| Official website | |
Lego 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 arms, 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 and originally Technical Sets in 1977, and was renamed Technic in 1984.
Technic sets are often characterised by the presence of special pieces, such as gears, axles, and pins. Other special pieces include beams and plates with holes in them, through which the axles could be installed. 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, the power miners, and others, but mostly notably the BIONICLE sets (which were once sold as part of the Technic line), as well as a great many others.
The style of Lego Technic sets has been changing over time. Technic sets produced since the year 2000 use a different construction method, described as "studless construction". (Studs are the small circular knobs which appear on traditional Lego bricks.) This method utilises 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 latest generation of the Mindstorms range, the Mindstorms EV3 range (released September 2013), as well as the Mindstorms NXT sets (released August 2006), are based on the studless construction method.
Although studless beams (studs are the bumps traditionally associated with Lego parts) 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 unit width high, 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. 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.
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Wikipedia