How Legos are made

[mzkhadir]

Business Week

 

[Platypus]

neat

 

[rivan]

I've always had a thing for Legos - it's one of my favorite learning toys. Technic <3

 

[iamwiz82]

Injection molding looks so cool when it's a toy and not a wire harness

 

[jhayx7]

That last picture is awesome! Look at all of those bins!!

 

[funboy6942]

Wonder if the the company perks for working for them in endless supply of lego rejects you get to take home? You just know the people who work there got to be swimming in legos at home.

 

[jtvang125]

I always wondered why there's such a price premium for legos. How expensive can it be to make plastic blocks using injection molding? I mean they are making them in huge amounts in quantity so it shouldn't be that expensive, right?

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: jhayx7
That last picture is awesome! Look at all of those bins!!

Yep. I'd love to see how that robot works.

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
I always wondered why there's such a price premium for legos. How expensive can it be to make plastic blocks using injection molding? I mean they are making them in huge amounts in quantity so it shouldn't be that expensive, right?

It most likely pays for R&D that goes into Lego sets. I don't think there's any other construction set as versatile as Lego both in terms of brick variety as well as complexity (they don't make just bricks).

 

[saymyname]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
I always wondered why there's such a price premium for legos. How expensive can it be to make plastic blocks using injection molding? I mean they are making them in huge amounts in quantity so it shouldn't be that expensive, right?

Supply and demand.

Legos are awesome. People will buy them at almost any price. $100 for a set? That's hours and hours and hours and hours of playtime. It's the same reason why parents won't flinch at buying a movie for $29 for thier kids.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
I always wondered why there's such a price premium for legos. How expensive can it be to make plastic blocks using injection molding? I mean they are making them in huge amounts in quantity so it shouldn't be that expensive, right?

your mostly paying for the

Logo trademark
New Plastic/Molding Plants
R & D of new brick shapes
R & D of new model designs for production
License to use Star Wars + Bat Man + Harry Potter trademarks in Lego Models

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: jtvang125
I always wondered why there's such a price premium for legos. How expensive can it be to make plastic blocks using injection molding? I mean they are making them in huge amounts in quantity so it shouldn't be that expensive, right?

A 2g block comes in at about 3-4 cents to manufacture, depending on their efficiency.

 

[skace]

That was a very cool read.

 

[ISAslot]

I've always been impressed with the quality of the bricks, their feel, etc. As a someone with tons of legos, I hated it when a Better Block from someone else mixed into my collection. I threw those worthless things out when I came across them. They feel so fake light and cheap.

 

[Kwaipie]

I wonder how long it takes their employees to become invulnerable to stepping on a lego.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Made? I thought they were one of the basic building blocks of the universe.

 

[glen]

The melted ABS is struck at a pressure of 25 tons to 150 tons -- depending on the type of brick being made -- with the metal molds. The intense force is important to the process, as it ensures that the bricks are accurately shaped.

I hate this crap.
How can someone be a professional journalist, and not use correct units

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: glen

The melted ABS is struck at a pressure of 25 tons to 150 tons -- depending on the type of brick being made -- with the metal molds. The intense force is important to the process, as it ensures that the bricks are accurately shaped.

I hate this crap.
How can someone be a professional journalist, and not use correct units

You mean they should have said "force" instead?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: glen

The melted ABS is struck at a pressure of 25 tons to 150 tons -- depending on the type of brick being made -- with the metal molds. The intense force is important to the process, as it ensures that the bricks are accurately shaped.

I hate this crap.
How can someone be a professional journalist, and not use correct units

You mean they should have said "force" instead?

I bet they changed it because they used force in the next sentence.

Those are fairly small presses, though I'm not suprised.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: glen
I hate this crap.
How can someone be a professional journalist, and not use correct units

You missed the bigger journalistic problem. Why did they come out with an exact copy of what hundreds of other places already published?

 

[WobbleWobble]

Man, if I had that much Lego when I was a kid... imagine what I could have built!