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I'm pretty sure that's they're main advantage over other toy block companies now that their patent has expired. (It might have more info in the article but I do

I'm pretty sure that's they're main advantage over other toy block companies now that their patent has expired. (It might have more info in the article but I don't know because the paywall.)

dec0dedab0de 7y ago
As a parent whos been buying various blocks over the last decade I think the main advantage lego has is the level of quality. When the characters we wanted were with other companies I would maybe buy a few but they never stuck together quite right, or would break too easily. So I wouldnt buy more, or if i did it was just the character and not the set.
- jrcii 7y ago
  Lego has an extremely low manufacturing tolerance which makes it very expensive to produce, but also is responsible for the quality you see. Most people wouldn’t assume such precision manufacturing goes into something that’s sold as a toy.
- foobarian 7y ago
  Absolutely. We have a bunch of Megabloks mixed in with our Legos and I can separate them even without looking. The difference in tolerances is pretty interesting.
  - braythwayt 7y ago
    I seem to recall a post on the front page of HN discussing the incredible tolerances they achieve, at an almost unthinkable scale. You can buy Lego blocks anywhere in the world, and they click perfectly with Lego blocks purchased anywhere else in the world, and purchased at just about any time in the past or present.
    - vidarh 7y ago
      I think one of the best illustrations is the connecting pins [1], as the link shows people don't even always realize why they specifically distinguish them. But the black one has a fraction of a mm indentation that produces extra friction, and so makes structures connected with it more rigid, but they still fit in all the same holes. Apart from the tolerances that also illustrates what their competitors rarely get right - Lego tends to opt for pieces that are generic enough to be reusable in as many contexts as possible where a lot of the competitors have sets full of pieces that are unmistakably one specific thing. That lets them not worry so much about the tolerances - if it works in that one context reliably, then it's fine. But the downside is it makes the sets even less flexible. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/4uv5tl/why_does_lego_produce_both_the_black_and_grey/ https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/4uv5tl/why_does_lego_...

I'm pretty sure that's they're main advantage over other toy block companies now that their patent has expired. (It might have more info in the article but I don't know because the paywall.)

dec0dedab0de 7y ago

As a parent whos been buying various blocks over the last decade I think the main advantage lego has is the level of quality. When the characters we wanted were with other companies I would maybe buy a few but they never stuck together quite right, or would break too easily. So I wouldnt buy more, or if i did it was just the character and not the set.

jrcii 7y ago
Lego has an extremely low manufacturing tolerance which makes it very expensive to produce, but also is responsible for the quality you see. Most people wouldn’t assume such precision manufacturing goes into something that’s sold as a toy.
foobarian 7y ago
Absolutely. We have a bunch of Megabloks mixed in with our Legos and I can separate them even without looking. The difference in tolerances is pretty interesting.
- braythwayt 7y ago
  I seem to recall a post on the front page of HN discussing the incredible tolerances they achieve, at an almost unthinkable scale. You can buy Lego blocks anywhere in the world, and they click perfectly with Lego blocks purchased anywhere else in the world, and purchased at just about any time in the past or present.
  - vidarh 7y ago
    I think one of the best illustrations is the connecting pins [1], as the link shows people don't even always realize why they specifically distinguish them. But the black one has a fraction of a mm indentation that produces extra friction, and so makes structures connected with it more rigid, but they still fit in all the same holes. Apart from the tolerances that also illustrates what their competitors rarely get right - Lego tends to opt for pieces that are generic enough to be reusable in as many contexts as possible where a lot of the competitors have sets full of pieces that are unmistakably one specific thing. That lets them not worry so much about the tolerances - if it works in that one context reliably, then it's fine. But the downside is it makes the sets even less flexible. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/4uv5tl/why_does_lego_produce_both_the_black_and_grey/ https://www.reddit.com/r/lego/comments/4uv5tl/why_does_lego_...