18 replies to this topic

[Hapori Tohu]

Everyone's done it once. Stack LEGO Brick after LEGO Brick to make a tower that ends at your ceiling...and then falls over. Countries even compete for the tallest LEGO tower. But researchers at Open University wanted to calculate how much force a single LEGO Brick could take. So they decided to put a 2 by 2 LEGO Brick in a hydraulic testing machine to see how much force it could take before deforming. And the answer is...430 kg of force. That's 950 lbs, for those people that don't like metric for some reason. This means that you could make a 2 by 2 tower 2.17 miles high before the bottom one started to deform. So don't think you'll ever surpass your LEGO Bricks and hurt them for a change.

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[CHTrilogy]

You know, I didn't think that was actually possible! Considering how light Lego bricks usually are.

[Paleo]

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

[Meiko]

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

They aren't terrible quality. They're nowhere near as good as LEGO, but other clone brands have much worse quality.

[The Renegade Emperor]

Wow, that's amazing! It's about 4214 newtons. Impressive. I'd have never thought about this possibility, I admit.

However, I doubt someone would be able to create such a tower...

Edited by The Renegade Emperor, Dec 10 2012 - 09:01 AM.

[Paleo]

 

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

They aren't terrible quality. They're nowhere near as good as LEGO, but other clone brands have much worse quality.

 

Although I do agree that some other clone brands can be much worse, I've played with some MEGABLOKS, and I've seen lots of broken pieces. They also fade really quickly.

[Wind Elemental]

That's one amazing fact. Who knew Lego bricks could be so strong?

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Anyone else feel inspired by this to make a 2.17 mile high Lego tower out of Lego Bricks?  

 

Anyway, this is really cool. I never would've thought that a Lego Brick could take so much force.

[Bambi]

Wow, that's pretty cool. Who would have guessed?

[Makuta Matata]

That's a lot of force. o.o

[fishers64]

Have no fear! You can stomp all over your Lego bricks and rest assured that they will remain intact. 

 

Although they forgot to test the strength of a connection between bricks. The bricks in that 2.71 mile high tower won't deform, but if I hit it with my baseball bat it will come crashing down, and all those non-deforming bricks will hit unwanted targets in the near vicinity. 

[~Shockwave~]

next news article: some guy builds that tower.

[Lyichir]

 

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

They aren't terrible quality. They're nowhere near as good as LEGO, but other clone brands have much worse quality.

 

And the quality issues with Mega Bloks aren't necessarily related to their strength. The main issues I've seen with Mega Bloks are color quality and ease of assembly/disassembly, both of which are pretty irrelevant as far as force testing is concerned. For all we know, Mega Bloks could potentially take MORE weight than the equivalent Lego brick (although the effect of this as it pertains to your average builder is negligible).

[Fsnorglepuff]

You know, a kilogram is a unit of mass, not a unit of force.  It would be 4214 Newtons. 

[Dralcax]

 

 

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

They aren't terrible quality. They're nowhere near as good as LEGO, but other clone brands have much worse quality.

 

And the quality issues with Mega Bloks aren't necessarily related to their strength. The main issues I've seen with Mega Bloks are color quality and ease of assembly/disassembly, both of which are pretty irrelevant as far as force testing is concerned. For all we know, Mega Bloks could potentially take MORE weight than the equivalent Lego brick (although the effect of this as it pertains to your average builder is negligible).

 

Well, I vividly remember a few instances. I was playing with a Neoshifters set and converted it to ball form. This required connecting the heel to the forearm. Simple enough, right? But when I tried to change it back into a robot, the heel, instead of disconnecting, broke in two.

 

I would say it's a combination of being flimsy and annoying to disconnect. Because I sure can't muster that much force.

 

Now if only we could test the strength of an '08 ball socket... Which should have happened four years ago at Lego headquarters

[Meiko]

 

 

 

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

They aren't terrible quality. They're nowhere near as good as LEGO, but other clone brands have much worse quality.

 

And the quality issues with Mega Bloks aren't necessarily related to their strength. The main issues I've seen with Mega Bloks are color quality and ease of assembly/disassembly, both of which are pretty irrelevant as far as force testing is concerned. For all we know, Mega Bloks could potentially take MORE weight than the equivalent Lego brick (although the effect of this as it pertains to your average builder is negligible).

 

Well, I vividly remember a few instances. I was playing with a Neoshifters set and converted it to ball form. This required connecting the heel to the forearm. Simple enough, right? But when I tried to change it back into a robot, the heel, instead of disconnecting, broke in two.

 

I would say it's a combination of being flimsy and annoying to disconnect. Because I sure can't muster that much force.

 

Now if only we could test the strength of an '08 ball socket... Which should have happened four years ago at Lego headquarters

 

You have to keep in mind that ball joints and especially ball sockets have more stress on them than a LEGO brick. They require to be stressed to attach, which eventually weakens the plastic. Not saying the '08 ball sockets were good, but you have to understand that developing ball joints and ball sockets requires a lot more engineering than a LEGO brick does.

[Rooster Nui]

Lego bricks are light but i didn't expect them to hold that much, wow.

[MisterGryphon]

 

 

Next experiment: compare maximum weight load of a LEGO brick to that of a MEGABLOKS brick (hint: MEGABLOKS bricks are terrible quality).

They aren't terrible quality. They're nowhere near as good as LEGO, but other clone brands have much worse quality.

 

Although I do agree that some other clone brands can be much worse, I've played with some MEGABLOKS, and I've seen lots of broken pieces. They also fade really quickly.

 

 

 

I bent a MEGABLOK with my hands when I was fairly young. :/

[Electric Turahk]

Ah yes, I remember having this article shown to me when it was first posted. I was definitely surprised by how much weight they can hold. Kudos to LEGO for making such a strong product!

The tower height is what interested me the most. It's probably only in perfectly ideal conditions, where nothing else is acting on the bricks and they're all created identically, that you could reach that height. Granted, a real tower testing this would probably still come close, but I think would ultimately fall short.

~|ET|~