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Hi all
I was building the sports car I announced some time ago (If you don´t
remember, check http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=8218 )when I saw some
perpendicular axle joiners were splitting.
Check it yourselves:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=278993
(WARNING: file too heavy, 115KB... a less detailed version is at
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=28892 )
You see 1 toggle joint toothed (all of my six are in the same condition) and
3 axle joiners: the 2 of the left, along other one, are the ones in the
worst condition;the other one is an average one... but all of my
perpendicular axle joiners are cracked in some way.... and worst of all: all
in the same place!
(disclaimer: what you saw isn't any kind of part of the car... it was only
for putting those parts in my scanner. All of these images were made putting
the lego in my scanner)
This problem made me remove all axle joiners (I'm afraid someday one of them
would break) and stop building until problem is fixed. This problem is also
present in one of my 30.4x14 VR wheels.
But how? Is it any way of stopping and/or correcting that problem? Or at
least, avoiding it?
Also... Some axles, specially axles 6 and 8, are bent (some of them up to 5
degrees or more). Check it yourselves:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=28892
(if you want a hi-res image, try this:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=279024
WARNING: file too heavy... 100KB)
The pictures speak for themselves. And almost the same questions:
Is it possible to straighten those pieces? or at least avoiding further
bendings in these and other axles? Does the rubber bands have something to
do with them?
Maybe I'm expecting too much... or I'm the only unlucky one with those
problems....
Thanks a lot
Luis Miguel
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In lugnet.technic, Tobbe Arnesson writes:
>
> Seems you put too much stress on your parts.
>
> Remember that it's plastic and a toy and can't handle whatever you throw at
> them.
Well, I have similar experience, and my opinion is it's because of age.
My oldest parts did the same and I didn't do anything wrong to them (I mean
things like lot of load, stress or anything) All I did was I built a model
and than I left it several years on shelf. I think ABS becomes more crispy
through years as "softener" (or how to call the stuff that makes plastic
elastic) very slowly disappears (I am not a chemist so I don't know if ABS,
but things made from PVC do have this problem). Axle joiners are under
constatnt stress even when put on axles (you can see how they become
slightly deformed when you put them on) so once they just break. But it's
just a hypothese as I didn't made any tests (LEGO bricks are just too
expensive here.. )
Does anybody have different experience? (e.g. 20 years old parts in
excellent condition and so on? )
bye rob
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hi axles can be unbent
some of mine were bent now they are not :)
you can do it in hands but carefully
and about joiners
didn't you set your model on open sun light, did you
my legoland bricks especialy small parts break more easly than before
they seems to be more hard and fragile (no elasticity)
but maybe my observation is wrong
btw: the brick colors are changing itself too (on sun light)
let me express condolences to you on the death of your bricks :))))
(joking)
best regards
pixel
"Luis Hernández" <lmhariano@latinmail.com> wrote in message
news:H69Bs9.KDy@lugnet.com...
> Hi all
>
> I was building the sports car I announced some time ago (If you don´t
> remember, check http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=8218 )when I saw some
> perpendicular axle joiners were splitting.
> Check it yourselves:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=278993
> (WARNING: file too heavy, 115KB... a less detailed version is at
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=28892 )
>
> You see 1 toggle joint toothed (all of my six are in the same condition) • and
> 3 axle joiners: the 2 of the left, along other one, are the ones in the
> worst condition;the other one is an average one... but all of my
> perpendicular axle joiners are cracked in some way.... and worst of all: • all
> in the same place!
> (disclaimer: what you saw isn't any kind of part of the car... it was only
> for putting those parts in my scanner. All of these images were made • putting
> the lego in my scanner)
>
> This problem made me remove all axle joiners (I'm afraid someday one of • them
> would break) and stop building until problem is fixed. This problem is • also
> present in one of my 30.4x14 VR wheels.
>
> But how? Is it any way of stopping and/or correcting that problem? Or at
> least, avoiding it?
>
> Also... Some axles, specially axles 6 and 8, are bent (some of them up to • 5
> degrees or more). Check it yourselves:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=28892
> (if you want a hi-res image, try this:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=279024
> WARNING: file too heavy... 100KB)
>
> The pictures speak for themselves. And almost the same questions:
> Is it possible to straighten those pieces? or at least avoiding further
> bendings in these and other axles? Does the rubber bands have something to
> do with them?
>
> Maybe I'm expecting too much... or I'm the only unlucky one with those
> problems....
>
> Thanks a lot
>
> Luis Miguel
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In lugnet.technic, Luis Miguel Hernández writes:
> I was building the sports car I announced some time ago (If you don´t
> remember, check http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=8218 )when I saw some
> perpendicular axle joiners were splitting.
[snap]
This is not a new problem. There are several parts that used to crack
relatively easy. Among these are the ones shown on your picture:
Technic Axle Joiner Perpendicular
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/6536.gif
Technic Connector Toggle Joint Toothed
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/4273.gif
Also prone to this problem used to be the following parts:
Technic Axle Pin
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/3749.gif
The lips of the pin give way, so it doesn't hold well inside a technic hole
anymore. Especially with the older type, recognizable by having small
grooves across two of four ribs at the 'axle'-end.
Technic Bush
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/3713.gif
crack in line with the slot
Technic Bush 1/2 Type I
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/4265a.gif
crack in line with one of the four 'arms' of the axlehole
Technic Connector
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/3651.gif
crack in line with the slot (similar to Technic Connector Toggle Joint Toothed)
Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight
http://img.lugnet.com/ld/4070.gif
crack in middle of lip on lower-frontside (especially with yellow ones,
quiously) This doesn't make the headlight bricks unusable, but reduces the
'clinging' power to approximately 66%-50%
In my opinion this is not caused by extreme stress, since I'm realy carefull
with my models. I believe that a long periode of aging is not the reason
also, because I remember that the cracks appeared within 2 years of me
buying the models using such parts and they where kept out of direct sunlight.
I think that these parts where under-dimensioned initially, and I have the
impression that later molds of these parts and later released parts seem to
be a lot more resistant (more material or other plastic recipe) Some parts,
for instance Technic Bush 1/2, even have been redesigned into a realy
different version.
I advise you to collect all your broken parts and phone the consumer service
of The LEGO Company and ask for possible replacements. I've heard that it's
helpfull if you provide the set number and page number in the instuction
booklet, for easy and positive indentification of the part.
With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.
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In lugnet.technic, Paul Kleniewski writes:
> hi axles can be unbent
> some of mine were bent now they are not :)
> you can do it in hands but carefully
What do you mean? bend it to the opposite side with my hands?
I'll try it, thanks.
> and about joiners
> didn't you set your model on open sun light, did you
> my legoland bricks especialy small parts break more easly than before
> they seems to be more hard and fragile (no elasticity)
> but maybe my observation is wrong
Nope... none of my lego has been on open sunlight.... they prefer to be
enclosed in dark boxes (once they stayed there for about 18 months)...
> let me express condolences to you on the death of your bricks :))))
> (joking)
>
> best regards
> pixel
What????? do you mean my bricks are about to die???
Isn't there anything I can do for them???
Don't make me cry!!!! (joking, but the questions are kind of serious)
Well... some ideas
- Add glue to the broken pieces
- Cover the fissures with tape or something like that
Are some of them possible?
Thanks a lot
Luis Miguel
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In lugnet.technic, Robert Seifert writes:
>
> Well, I have similar experience, and my opinion is it's because of age.
> My oldest parts did the same and I didn't do anything wrong to them (I mean
> things like lot of load, stress or anything) All I did was I built a model
> and than I left it several years on shelf. I think ABS becomes more crispy
> through years as "softener" (or how to call the stuff that makes plastic
> elastic) very slowly disappears (I am not a chemist so I don't know if ABS,
> but things made from PVC do have this problem). Axle joiners are under
> constatnt stress even when put on axles (you can see how they become
> slightly deformed when you put them on) so once they just break. But it's
> just a hypothese as I didn't made any tests (LEGO bricks are just too
> expensive here.. )
> Does anybody have different experience? (e.g. 20 years old parts in
> excellent condition and so on? )
>
> bye rob
A question for all: Is 5 years too old??? My first lego was bought ending
1997 and I stopped buying in 1999, when no good sets were arriving to
Colombia... and because they are too expensive here too.
I never leave a model more than 2 months "on shelf"... but maybe I don't
dismantle it totally, so there can be an axle joiner that has been on an
axle for months. Is it too much stress using the axle joiners for building a
front suspension system, including the steering?
And yes, the fissures in my axle joiners are not so vissible until they're
put on axles. 3 of my axle joiners (2 of them are on the photo) have a full
fissure... I mean, the fissure goes from one side of the joiner to the
other... or in other words, the axle joiner is broken, but still receives axles.
Thanks a lot.
Luis Miguel
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In lugnet.technic, Manfred Moolhuysen writes:
> This is not a new problem. There are several parts that used to crack
> relatively easy. Among these are the ones shown on your picture:
>
> Technic Axle Joiner Perpendicular
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/6536.gif
>
> Technic Connector Toggle Joint Toothed
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/4273.gif
>
> Also prone to this problem used to be the following parts:
>
> Technic Axle Pin
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/3749.gif
> The lips of the pin give way, so it doesn't hold well inside a technic hole
> anymore. Especially with the older type, recognizable by having small
> grooves across two of four ribs at the 'axle'-end.
>
> Technic Bush
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/3713.gif
> crack in line with the slot
>
> Technic Bush 1/2 Type I
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/4265a.gif
> crack in line with one of the four 'arms' of the axlehole
>
> Technic Connector
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/3651.gif
> crack in line with the slot (similar to Technic Connector Toggle Joint Toothed)
>
> Brick 1 x 1 with Headlight
> http://img.lugnet.com/ld/4070.gif
> crack in middle of lip on lower-frontside (especially with yellow ones,
> quiously) This doesn't make the headlight bricks unusable, but reduces the
> 'clinging' power to approximately 66%-50%
>
> In my opinion this is not caused by extreme stress, since I'm realy carefull
> with my models. I believe that a long periode of aging is not the reason
> also, because I remember that the cracks appeared within 2 years of me
> buying the models using such parts and they where kept out of direct sunlight.
>
> I think that these parts where under-dimensioned initially, and I have the
> impression that later molds of these parts and later released parts seem to
> be a lot more resistant (more material or other plastic recipe) Some parts,
> for instance Technic Bush 1/2, even have been redesigned into a realy
> different version.
>
> I advise you to collect all your broken parts and phone the consumer service
> of The LEGO Company and ask for possible replacements. I've heard that it's
> helpfull if you provide the set number and page number in the instuction
> booklet, for easy and positive indentification of the part.
>
> With friendly greetings, M. Moolhuysen.
Thanks a lot, M. Moolhuysen
There`s something curious: the cracks that appeared in my Technic Bush #3713
are not in line but perpendicular to the slot. My fear is that all of those
cracked pieces would be unusable (If so, I wouldn't be able to build all the
stuff I want to build)
I will check all my pieces to see if there are more cracked/broken parts...
but there's a little problem:
Does TLG Consumer Service have a phone number or something like that in
Colombia??? (that's why I also posted this message to lugnet.loc.co
(Colombian newsgroup) and lugnet.lego.direct)
Thanks a lot.
Luis Miguel
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In lugnet.technic, Luis Miguel Hernández writes:
> Hi all
>
> I was building the sports car I announced some time ago (If you don´t
> remember, check http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=8218 )when I saw some
> perpendicular axle joiners were splitting.
> Check it yourselves:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=278993
> (WARNING: file too heavy, 115KB... a less detailed version is at
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=28892 )
>
> You see 1 toggle joint toothed (all of my six are in the same condition) and
> 3 axle joiners: the 2 of the left, along other one, are the ones in the
> worst condition;the other one is an average one... but all of my
> perpendicular axle joiners are cracked in some way.... and worst of all: all
> in the same place!
> (disclaimer: what you saw isn't any kind of part of the car... it was only
> for putting those parts in my scanner. All of these images were made putting
> the lego in my scanner)
>
> This problem made me remove all axle joiners (I'm afraid someday one of them
> would break) and stop building until problem is fixed. This problem is also
> present in one of my 30.4x14 VR wheels.
>
> But how? Is it any way of stopping and/or correcting that problem? Or at
> least, avoiding it?
>
> Also... Some axles, specially axles 6 and 8, are bent (some of them up to 5
> degrees or more). Check it yourselves:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=28892
> (if you want a hi-res image, try this:
> http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=279024
> WARNING: file too heavy... 100KB)
>
> The pictures speak for themselves. And almost the same questions:
> Is it possible to straighten those pieces? or at least avoiding further
> bendings in these and other axles? Does the rubber bands have something to
> do with them?
>
> Maybe I'm expecting too much... or I'm the only unlucky one with those
> problems....
>
> Thanks a lot
>
> Luis Miguel
After looking at the pix, I wonder how much heat stress has been applied? If
your work space were very warm, or you left the assembly in the sun, or
something like that.... I have been working with the Technic pieces since
their inception and have had many splits, but never in a string like your
picture shows. My guess is that the axle has expanded.
Hope this aids, Wayne
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Ok
I have been thinking "what did I do wrong?" and I think the biggest efforts
my axle joiners have been doing were when I used them for trying to make a
working front suspension with no specialized parts (consider the steering
link as specialized, because I only have one of them)
One atempt was using this suspension setting (it's not mine, it's taken from
lego ergo sum):
http://www.math.uio.no/~fredrigl/technic/beach-buggy/suspension-large.gif
but I put both axle joiners in the same axle. Is that too much stress?
Also, I have tried using other settings that are here:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=26415
The files are Front_Suspension and Front_Suspension2 (both in .ldr and .jpg)
and here appears the same question...Is it too much stress for the axle joiners?
Thanks a lot
Luis
PS: Which is the best way of adding some kind of a steering link to any
front suspension when you don't have that piece? In other words, how to
build a steering link?
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> A question for all: Is 5 years too old??? My first lego was bought ending
> 1997 and I stopped buying in 1999, when no good sets were arriving to
> Colombia... and because they are too expensive here too.
Some of my Technic LEGO is about 20 years and still good to go, colors fading
and scratch marks but still highly usable.
> Is it too much stress using the axle joiners for building a
> front suspension system, including the steering?
Depends on how it's done. If it cracks; Yes :)
Considering your axles are also bent indicates too much stress.
> And yes, the fissures in my axle joiners are not so vissible until they're
> put on axles. 3 of my axle joiners (2 of them are on the photo) have a full
> fissure... I mean, the fissure goes from one side of the joiner to the
> other... or in other words, the axle joiner is broken, but still receives axles.
I have to this date never broken a axle joiner like you. Some gears, a lot of
4273 Technic Connector Toggle Joint Toothed and 3651 Technic Connector's and a
whole lot of 3713 Technic Bushes.
Best regards,
/Tobbe
http://www.lotek.nu
(remove SPAM when e-mailing)
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