Since it’s Christmas Eve Eve, here is a little lighthearted Christmas entertainment. Regular readers of this blog or those who follow our Facebook or Twitter feeds will know that some of us are big fans of well engineered Lego projects. So, since many of us will soon be waiting our turn with the children’s or grandchildren’s Christmas Lego, we have collected together eight of the best videos of Lego engineering projects that we could find. Do you know of any more similar Lego projects? Then leave a link in the comments at the end of the post. Enjoy…
1. Lego Hello World
A fully functioning inkjet style printer built from Lego.
View Lego Hello World
2. MakerLegoBot: Lego Mindstorms NXT 3D Lego Printer
Following on from the inkjet printer model above we have the next evolution – a 3D printer. What next? Self replicating Lego?
View MakerLegoBot: Lego Mindstorms NXT 3D Lego Printer
3. The Antikythera Mechanism
From the article – “The Antikythera Mechanism is what you call truly old school technology. Argued to be the world’s oldest known computer, this ancient Greek invention was used some time circa 100BC to calculate and ‘predict celestial events and eclipses with unprecedented accuracy’. Skipping past the two millennia in which it lay lost on a sea floor somewhere, the Mechanism has now been recreated by an Apple software engineer by the name of Andrew Carol, who has lovingly pieced 1,500 Lego Technic blocks together, creating 110 gears and four gearboxes in total.”
View – The Antikythera Mechanism
4. Lego Factory
This project goes even further than the 3D printer and features a fully stocked Lego “warehouse”.
View – Lego Factory
5. Lego Robot Competition
LSSU students build robots using Lego Mindstorms.
View – Lego Robot Competition – EGNR 101: Introduction to Engineering
6. The Train Show #22 Worlds Largest LEGO Train Layout
An amazing train layout built entirely of Lego.
View – The Train Show #22 Worlds Largest LEGO Train Layout
7. Working Lego V8, 32 valve engine
Designed and built from scratch this amazingly detailed model of a V8 engine took over 300 hours of work.
View – Working Lego V8, 32 valve engine
8. Single Cylinder Engine
A working single cylinder engine powered by a vacuum cleaner. This is based on a twin cylinder version described here.
View – Single Cylinder Engine
9. Working Lego Flat 6 Engine
The third and final engine model is a hand powered flat 6 that includes a 2-speed transmission and a limited slip differential. Brilliant!
View – Working Lego Flat 6 Engine
10. James May’s Lego House
Last, but by no means least, here is Top Gear’s James May’s attempt to build a full size house out of standard Lego bricks. Sadly, the program isn’t any longer available to view from the BBC website (link below), but the video above links to part of it posted on YouTube. UK readers may already be familiar with the programme, but if you aren’t it’s well worth watching.
View – James May’s Lego House
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