UPDATE! - Print Your Own Bricks and Technic Parts!

We've all had that problem where we're building a robot or other LEGO design and we're missing a piece. Right? Well... that problem is about to go away for good.

LEGO has announced that it is making the digital blueprints for all of its bricks, Technic parts, and other doo-dads available to LEGO hobbyists around the world. With these digital blueprints (.dxf files are just one of the many file types they'll be releasing), anyone with a 3D printer (such as the MakerBot) will be able to simply load in a brick or other item and print it out!

I'm including a photo here of a 3D printer that I'm currently building - I can buy the filament (plastic) in many colors, so I'll be able to print out custom Hassenpins, for example, in purple, blue, yellow, and more!

Again... this is a big day for LEGO fans around the world - LEGO will continue to sell its wonderful kits in stores with plans to offer its own LEGO 3D Printer sometime in late 2011. For now, they're giving those of us with our own 3D printers the ability to print out our own bricks in plastic... but just wait a few more months and LEGO fans will be able to buy their own LEGO 3DP. The ultimate goal, according to LEGO, is to sell digital blueprints for all its kits to the consumer and have them print the kits out at home - it will be a bit of a shock to see LEGO kits disappearing from toy stores, but just being able to download a kit's parts list and print them out on your own - TOTALLY WORTH IT!

In addition to making the files available, there are also plans to install 3D printers in all LEGO Stores over the next 12-18 months - customers will be able to go in the store, select the parts they want, and have them printed out immediately.

We'll let you know as soon as we get our hands on the first batch of digital blueprints!

UPDATE: Well, it turns out that LEGO is turning off its machines on August 1, 2011 - from that point on, it will rely on 3D printing sales from its LEGO stores and sales of downloadable blueprints for its LEGO 3D Brick Printers. LEGO will begin selling smaller versions of its 3D printers to customers (rumor has it prices will be around $500 or so... not bad) in September 2011 and plans on offering plastic filament (to melt and print with) in all the standard LEGO colors.

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 2

The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these summer and fall remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Remote controlled material handle r by Jozua van Ravenhorst (aka Mr Jo) This remix combines the LEGO Technic Material Handler (42144) with MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313) It uses the power of pneumatic cylinders to move objects around. By using a bluetooth remote control, very precise movements can be made with this model. Touch sensors in the base chassis prevent the turret twisting the cables that go through the turntable to much. The program has several protections to prevent over pressurizing the system for each of the 3 individual pumps and valves that control the 2 booms and claws. The real version of this machine is mostly used in waste material sites to bring the material to machines that sort and

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by Coder Shah in our MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity. 1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT

MINDSTORMS Retires!

2023 is the 25th Anniversary of the MINDSTORMS brand. For 25 years, MINDSTORMS has educated and inspired a generation of robot builders, both children and adults. Unfortunately, the LEGO Group decided to end the line on December 2022. Many ROBOTMAK3RS have been passionately involved with the development of MINDSTORMS through the MUP and MCP programs. Even with the newest Robot Inventor line, several ROBOTMAK3RS were invited to submit additional bonus models that were included in the official app. Regardless of the retirement of a major LEGO robotics product line, ROBOTMAK3RS continue to MAKE-SHARE-INSPIRE using all LEGO robotics platforms available to us. Here is the official statement from LEGO. Since its launch in September 1998, LEGO MINDSTORMS has been one of the core ‘Build & Code’ experiences in the company’s portfolio, carrying with it significant brand equity and becoming a stand-out experience for the early days of consumer robotics and leading to current Build & Code

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