Lego Technic is a line of Lego interconnecting plastic rods and parts. The purpose of this series is to create advanced models of working vehicles and machines, compared to the simpler brick-building properties of normal Lego. In addition to encouraging creativity, Technic is also intended as a tool for children to learn some basic principles of mechanical engineering.
Lego Technic was first introduced in 1977 and underwent significant changes in around 2000. It is one of Lego's top-selling themes.
Overview
The theme was introduced either as Expert Builder or Technical Sets (depending on market) in 1977, and was renamed LEGO Technic in 1982.
Technic sets are characterized by their use of special pieces, such as gears, axles, and pins, which allow the construction of working mechanisms and mechanical structures. Other special pieces include beams and plates with holes in them, through which axles can 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, including 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 utilizes beams and pins rather than Technic bricks.
Mindstorms, a Lego line of robotic products, also uses many Technic pieces, although it is sold as a separate line of products. The latest generation of the Mindstorms range, the Robot Inventor (released October 2020), as well as its predecessors the Mindstorms EV3 (released September 2013) and the Mindstorms NXT (released August 2006), are based on the studless construction method.
In June 2023, The Lego Group built a life-size 1:1 replica of the PEUGEOT 9x8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar containing 626,392 Lego pieces.
Lego Technic components
The Lego Technic system expands on the normal Lego bricks with a whole range of new bricks that offer new functions and building styles. The most significant change from normal Lego is that single-stud wide bricks ('beams') have circular holes through their vertical face. These holes can accommodate pins, which enable two beams to be held securely together side-by-side, or hinged at an angle. The holes also act as bearings for axles, on which gears and wheels can be attached to create complex mechanisms.
Studless beams (studs are the bumps traditionally associated with Lego parts), referred to as 'liftarms', were first introduced in 1989 and through the 1990s and 2000s, an increasing number of liftarm designs have been introduced over time.
Gears
Gears have been included within Lego Technic sets since 1977 as a way of transferring rotary power and gearing up or down the speed. Gears come in several sizes: 8-tooth, 16-tooth, 24-tooth, and 40-tooth spur gears; 12-tooth, 20-tooth, 28-tooth, and 36-tooth double bevel gears; and 12-tooth and-20 tooth single bevel gears. The double bevel gears are cut so they can also be meshed as spur gears. There is also a 16-tooth spur clutch gear, a 20-tooth double bevel clutch gear, and a 24-tooth friction gear that slips when a certain amount of torque is put on it to prevent motors from damaging any parts or burning themselves out.
In addition to standard gears, some kits include a rack, a clutch, and even worm gears and differential gears. The original differential from 1980 had a 28 tooth bevel gear, designed to be meshed with the 14 tooth bevel gears (replaced by the 12 tooth gears) to give 2:1 reduction. They can also be meshed with the newer double bevel gears. It was replaced in 1994 by a newer design incorporating 16-tooth and 24-tooth gears on opposite sides of the casing. The casing holds three 12 tooth bevel gears inside. In 2008, an updated version of the original differential has been released, optimised for studless construction with a 28 tooth bevel gear on the outside and three 12 tooth gears on the inside. With the release of the 'Top Gear Rally Car' (42109) in 2020, yet another differential was created with a 28 tooth double bevel gear and five 12 tooth gears on the inside so that the differential could be rotated with gears above and next to the differential.
Chain links were also introduced as an additional way of connecting gears. Tension (resulting from the correct number of chain-link parts used), along with the combination of gearwheel-sizes used, is critical to reliable operation. 8-tooth gears are not recommended for this purpose.
Volvo Construction Equipment used a Lego model to develop an electric wheel loader.
Motors
The Lego Technic system has always included a variety of different electric motors. Broadly, these divide into those powered by batteries (held in a connected battery box) or by mains electricity (via a transformer.) Battery-powered is the most common.
The very earliest motors (p/n x469b) were 4.5 volt, and consisted of a modified "Electric Train Motor" (p/n x469) and along with the 4 driven bushes for wheels added an axle hole enabling axles of different lengths to be used. While these were released in kits with Technic parts they were not sold as Technic motors.
The first dedicated Technic motor was a 4.5 volt rounded brick (p/n 6216m) released in 1977 as part of the Expert Builder Power Pack (960-1) and Supplementary Set (870-1), this output via a small protruding axle that would rotate when the motor was powered. The motor was not geared, resulting in high-RPM, low-torque output. Gearboxes and a square casing were available. A 12 volt motor of the same physical dimensions as the 4.5 volt motor was also available in set 880-1. The 12 volt version is visually distinguishable by being black, rather than grey. The 4.5V and 12V motors were also compatible with the battery boxes and mains transformers used within the Trains series of the 1980s
The 4.5 volt motor was replaced by a similar but square 9 volt motor in 1990, as part of the new generation "Electric System" which dispensed with the pinned plugs and replaced them with regular bricks that incorporated contacts within the stud interfaces. This system gave more reliable contacts over time, as the pinned plugs had a tendency to go slack over time, or for the wires to fracture or come detached.
The 8297 'Motor Set' released in 2006 was capable of extremely high speeds and relatively high torque at the time, up to 1700 rpm and 14 N.cm, and was advertised as an accessory to motorise Technic vehicles during the 9V System 'era'.
Recent motors contain an axle hole enabling axles of different lengths to be used.
Starting with the release of 8275 'Technic Bulldozer', Power Functions (which used infrared to remote control) was introduced as a new electric system and started introducing motors of different sizes, including the M, L, XL and steering (Servo) motor.
The current electric motor systems are Powered Up and Control+, introduced with sets 42099 'X-treme Off-roader' and 42100 'Liebherr R 9800 Excavator'. As a result of the L and XL motors being able to calibrate to become steering motors, there is no dedicated servo motor, as there is no need for one.
Pneumatics
Lego pneumatics is a variety of Lego bricks which use air pressure and specialised components to perform various actions using the principles of pneumatics. The LEGO pneumatics components were first introduced in 1984, and have featured in a variety of LEGO Technic and LEGO Educational (DACTA) products. Lego pneumatic components include air pumps, pneumatic cylinders, pneumatic tubing, three-way valves, and air tanks. As of 2024, 34 Lego Technic sets that contain pneumatics have been released.
Technic Figures (sometimes informally known as the "maxifigure") are figures that appeared in Technic sets, appearing sporadically but heavily featured in the CyberSlam/Competition line. They were first introduced in 1986 in the Arctic Action line, and were produced until 2001. They are much larger and have several more joints than the standard minifigure, including bendable elbow and knee-joints. Each figure comes already assembled and is not meant to come apart, but parts can be popped off by pulling too hard. They can connect to both standard Lego System bricks and on Technic parts, and Technic pegs can fit in their hands.
30 different kinds of Technic figures were created, some sets included the same figures but with different accessories and stickers. The Part Number for figures started with Tech0. The thirty part numbers for the figures finished with 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 12, 13, 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 or 41.
In 1999 Lego Technic Introduced Lego Slizers (known as Throwbots in the US) which were colorful action figures built with Lego Technic parts and branded under Lego Technic. The Slizer sets were released between 1999 and 2000 consisting of 10 main figures Torch, Ski, Turbo, Scuba, Jet, Amazon, Granite, and Electro, Flare, Spark, and 2 Titan figures Millennium and Blaster. Slizers was later replaced by Lego RoboRiders in 2000. RoboRiders were similar in concept to Slizers with Technic Built figures with 6 main figures Swamp, Lava, Frost, Onyx, Dust, Power 4 mini builds and The Boss (Known as Super RoboRider internationally). RoboRiders was later replaced by Bionicle in 2001 which later spun off into its own line and was considered not part of Lego Technic by 2003.
"Studded" (Beams) versus "Studless" (Liftarms)
Although liftarms (studless beams) have been present in Technic sets since 1989, the change from primarily studded to primarily studless construction around the year 2000 represented a major paradigm shift and has been quite controversial. Initially liftarms were used primarily as styling parts, or to create smaller sub-assemblies which attached to a studded chassis. With an increasing number of liftarm designs introduced, a tipping point was reached around the year 2000 with models introduced primarily constructed from liftarms instead of traditional beams.
The primary advantage of studless construction is the addition of new construction methods that were previously unavailable. Liftarms 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.
However, studless construction also introduces disadvantages. Studless construction is not immediately intuitive, requiring the builder to think five or six steps ahead. While studded construction follows the classic bottom-to-top building pattern, studless construction requires building inside-to-outside. Studless constructions are noted to often be more flexible than an equivalent studded construction. This is due to the amount of flex in the clip-based pins which are used to attach studless parts together, whereas studs provide a more rigid friction fit.
As of 2005, Lego has begun to re-incorporate studded bricks back into the Technic line. Despite not being ideal for building dense mechanisms in multiple directions, studded bricks are characterized by greater rigidity and torsional resistance than studless beams. Several studless sets from the mid to late 2000s and early 2010s took advantage of this fact and featured studded Technic bricks—often in load-bearing capacities. Examples include 2005's 8421 Mobile Crane, 2007's 8275 Motorized Bulldozer or 2013's 42009 Mobile Crane MK II. In recent years however, studded bricks have become all but absent from the Technic line, and remain used primarily as to mount front grills in vehicles and pieces of detail not achievable by Technic panels, while transparent plates are used for lights.