lego technic parts in stl format

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Krowney — Sat, 25 May 2013 18:09:31 -0400

(fair disclosure: I work for Type A Machines)

I need to try some more experiments with the advice outlined above, but i have done succesful prints of lego compatible parts on our Series 1 printer. In fact, we demo'd an Arduino/lego adapter at MakerFaire at our booth last weekend that was printed in PLA. Seemed to work well enough.

Caveats:
(*) The fit will likely never be as tight as real legos. Those are *tough* tolerances to match. Lego Corp are (i've heard) the masters of injection molded plastic
(*) The fit we acieved is not bad though, but to make it work you cant just print the holes at the exact diameter and just hope it works...
(*) I did my models in CAD software and (CRUCIAL POINT) had to expand hole sizes by about 1/2mm to get the right fit.
(*) Added 1mm chamfers as well
(*) Also widened the holes after printing with a 4.8mm drill bit. No power tools needed, just a few turns manually.

...but with those caveats, its totally doable.

Obviously, it'd be easier to design printed lego objects using Ldraw etc...but then the hole sizes will still need adjustment. I guess you could just export to STL and then post process the holes to add a bit of extra diameter, but that sounds like a pain.

The cool application here (in my opinion) is to start making custom lego compatible pieces that have never been made before.

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Reedus — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 00:47:07 -0400

I'm no Makerbot Rep, but if the layer resolution on the Makerbot Replicator 2 and 2x is as good as they say it is in high-resolution mode, it is VERY possible to print out Lego parts. You will have to play with the settings of course and install a heated baseplate in order to keep the ABS from shrinking and warping, but it would be awesome!!! Of course, for the price tag, you could buy A LOT of Legos in bulk on ebay.

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

kwdelre — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:07:58 -0500

Lol....

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Dirty Steve — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 02:11:07 -0500

that's a distict possibility.

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Idolcrasher — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:13:41 -0500

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that these guys who take time to drop unhelpful posts like "learn to 3D model" are dicks... >:D<

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

MattMoses — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:53:50 -0500

Dirty Steve, I'm just trying to help :)
There are thousands of parts in the LDraw libraries, many of which are no longer available.
It just seemed like a nice way to make use of an existing resource.

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Dirty Steve — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:56:47 -0500

learn how to 3d model.......

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

MattMoses — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:24:06 -0500

You can convert LEGO Ldraw files to STL using open source tools. The generated STL imports OK into meshlab and OpenSCAD, but it might need repair before it can be sliced.

Step 1: Download and install LeoCAD

Step 2: Download and install Meshlab

Step 3: Start up LeoCAD, and pick out a part from the "Pieces" menu

Step 4: In LeoCAD, choose File -> Export -> Wavefront... and save the part as a .obj file.

Step 5: Start Meshlab, and choose File -> Import Mesh... and find your .obj from Step 4.

Step 6: File -> Export Mesh as... and choose STL format.

A lot more LEGO parts can be found at the LDRAW site

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Idolcrasher — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 03:21:10 -0500

found it MyBeam

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

Idolcrasher — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 03:18:12 -0500

I too would be interested in lego technic STLs

Re: lego technic parts in stl format

NelsonRap — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:14:29 -0500

why not draw your own

lego technic parts in stl format

moltean — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:52:27 -0500

hi,

are you aware of some lego technic parts in STL format that I can print on my 3d printer ?

or another format that I can easily (free software) transform in stl to be sliced by slic3r ...

thanks,
mihai