They're made of the same ABS plastic (or in the case of transparent parts, polycarbonate plastic) as any joint pieces before them. The design is what's sturdier, not the material.None of mine have even showed any sign of breaking. Pity the same can't be said of the Y-joints in my Jetbug set, which was from an early production run and thus used the 2008-2010 style of joints.
they actually aren't made of the same plastic. I was trying to cut the bad sockets off an old broken Bionicle part and glue the Hero Factory joints in it's place, did this with a broken original Bionicle joint and with one from a Glatorian, and my hot knife could cut through both Bionicle parts without too much effort, while the Hero Factory joint seems to have a higher melting point. my hot knife isn't adjustable, so at the same temp, it was harder to cut. I've 3D printed a couple parts trying to mimic the shape, and they are indeed sufficiently strong, but I think they did more than just change the shape.
Broken 2.0 Parts
in Hero Factory Discussion
Posted
they actually aren't made of the same plastic. I was trying to cut the bad sockets off an old broken Bionicle part and glue the Hero Factory joints in it's place, did this with a broken original Bionicle joint and with one from a Glatorian, and my hot knife could cut through both Bionicle parts without too much effort, while the Hero Factory joint seems to have a higher melting point. my hot knife isn't adjustable, so at the same temp, it was harder to cut. I've 3D printed a couple parts trying to mimic the shape, and they are indeed sufficiently strong, but I think they did more than just change the shape.