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I’ve had a number of people ask me about a perceived quality issue lately: If
you take a number of plates and create two or more large stacks, they tend to be
differing heights. For example, Ben has posted some photos here:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=793687
I mentioned that this is a “perceived” quality issue because on the surface it
seems to be an obvious quality issue, but in reality, there is nothing out of
place. I have checked with our Quality Assurance department for some details and
they have passed along some info.
When you build, the height difference will often be aligned as the elements
typically will vary in element height from one end to another. In order to get
the maximum deviation all the plates have to turn the same way and they have to
be from the same tool. This is not likely.
The height measure on our plates is 3.2 +/-0, 1 mm. With a height difference up
to 0.2 mm per plate it will be approx. 4.0 mm. If you build 20 plates above each
other. On the photo the difference is under 2.0 mm.
Consider that in the official LEGO models, the LEGO designers never use more
than three plates in a stack. As a model is built, the elements will equal out
and create a solid model regardless of these very very minor tolerance changes
(+/- 0.1 mm), creating a very stable model.
The tolerances used today are the same as years past.
Hope this helps clear this up. Please know (and remember) that LEGO has always
been, and will always be about quality. We have a great team in the Quality
group, manufacturing, and Design that works hard to ensure the best parts are
being created.
Sometimes there are mistakes or problems, but as you all know, those times are
rare. And unwelcomed... thus the desire by the entire company to ensure they
never happen.
Jake
---
Jake McKee
Community Liaison
LEGO Community Development
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Message has 6 Replies:
 | | Re: Quality issue - update
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| (...) When I check sets and brick I've bought in the last 12 months, I perceived several quality issues I never noticed in the years before. Not only Bens and Juergens plates, but also breaking bricks, bricks with "wrong" grip (Studs too small, (...) (20 years ago, 30-Jun-04, to lugnet.lego, lugnet.color, lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Quality issue - update
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| Jake, I have no problem with the quality. From time to time there will always be parts that are not perfect. Take for example the 1 dot color parts. Sometimes a part has the bottom broken or cracked. While other times they don't. It happens. We are (...) (20 years ago, 30-Jun-04, to lugnet.lego, lugnet.color, lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Quality issue - update
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| (...) Well, perception is everything. It is a quality issue for people who build with Lego; it is not a quality issue for the Lego Company's Quality Assurance department. (...) I perceive this as a problem for a company making parts that supposedly (...) (20 years ago, 30-Jun-04, to lugnet.lego, lugnet.color, lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Quality issue - update
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| Thanks for the tip about stacking plate tolerances, Jake. A related effect occurs with some 1x2 bricks (first obvious to me with sand red). The crack between bricks in a wall depends on which way the 1x2 are pointing. One end of each brick is a (...) (20 years ago, 1-Jul-04, to lugnet.lego, lugnet.color, lugnet.general, FTX)
| | | Re: Quality issue - update
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| (...) For storage I stack my 2x3 plates with 3 studs along one edge overlapping. There is a 3mm difference in height between two stacks of 38 2x3 plates. This is within the tolerance you quoted of 3.2mm +/-0.1mm, since 3mm/38 = 0.0789mm per plate. I (...) (20 years ago, 3-Jul-04, to lugnet.lego, lugnet.color, lugnet.general, FTX)
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