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Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

thewave.engineer

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Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#301

Post by ssl-3 »

kroolik wrote: post #217
cruffle_duffle wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorting Lego is such a pain in the ass. I have like a huge stash from when I was a kid. Back then we just had it all in a few tubs and dug to find a part. But somehow now I feel I must sort them… but the “right way” is ill defined and kind of sucks the joy out of playing (especially disassembling) And there is no “right way” that I’ve even found. Sort by color and now the little pieces fall to the bottom and are hard…

Build with what pieces you can find, rather than plan the perfect structure ahead. Improvising keeps the creativity going! Wheres fun if sorting legos sucks all the Joy from it

> Build with what pieces you can find, rather than plan the perfect structure ahead. Improvising keeps the creativity going!

That's a valid perspective. It can be a lot of fun to dig through the bricks and build freely, letting things take shape.

But it's also valid to have a design phase, where designs are crafted (perhaps even very precisely) and to enjoy that part -- perhaps even using some manner of LEGO-oriented CAD. (Or SolidWorks; I won't judge.)

And then: It's OK to find pleasure in following a plan to build a tangible thing in reality. This concept is strongly reinforced by the fact that LEGO sets come with instructions that are organized into simple steps.

One of the joys of LEGO is that it's very inclusively all fine.

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#302

Post by abustamam »

Viliam1234 wrote: post #299
pibaker wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a prevalent view of economy that insists businesses sell their products at the minimum price they can still make a profit at (but not lower or you are dumping.) A Marxist view of economy, if I must. Whenever I meet one of these people, I ask if they are willing to negotiate a wage reduction with his HR. My logic is simple. If you think it is wrong for a business to sell a product at the maximum price they ca…

> There is a prevalent view of economy that insists businesses sell their products at the minimum price they can still make a profit at [...] A Marxist view of economy, if I must. That's actually how competition is supposed to work in capitalism . If you sell your products at much higher than the minimum price, someone else can make a profit by selling slightly cheaper and taking over your market share.

That's contingent on the competition offering a similar experience and quality, at a smaller price point. As a parent comment pointed out, no LEGO knockoff has been able to provide the same experience as LEGO.

I think what the commenter is getting at is that it's not even about competition. People get mad when companies charge more than is necessary to make what they deem a reasonable profit.

Of course, as you mention, in capitalism, a competitor is free to go in and undercut the leading brand, but they have to be able to sell why they're better AND cheaper.

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#303

Post by abustamam »

mcphage wrote: post #250
sixo wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Prices are constrained by demand moreso than by cost of production. Lego pieces are expensive because they can be, they still sell, and this is largely due to the quality. As long as the quality moat persists, they can charge as much as people will pay, and--good for them! That you personally would prefer lower prices does not mean they "should" be lower. Those lower costs of production, to Lego company, "should" mea…

> As long as the quality moat persists The risk Lego faces is that they don't actually have a quality moat any longer. You can get non-lego sets with no stickers, plenty of prints, LED lighting, at a cheaper price, and with the exact same piece quality. I purchased this set: https://www.lumibricks.com/collections/steampunk-world/produ... over Christmas, and I paid $105 because it was on sale. The pieces were indistin…

Not disagreeing with you, but at least when I hear "lego knockoff" I think of the shitty ones, because I've never seen a Lego knockoff that wasn't shitty.

Lumibricks seems like a promising brand, but I've never heard of them, possibly because they don't spend as much on marketing as lego. And if they did spend more in order to compete with Lego, they might need to increase price!

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#304

Post by abustamam »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #209
autoexec wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For most people anything that has only kept up with inflation over the last 50 years is more expense today than it was 50 years ago because wages have stagnated while prices have soared.

No, that's not the case. For instance, the median household income in the United States in 1976 was $12,686. That's $72,857.55 today based on inflation (Google/Census Bureau Data + online inflation calculator). However, Google's AI overview says " As of early 2026, the median household income in the United States is estimated to be approximately $84,000. " So the the median household income in the US today is about $…

I'd be curious to know if in '76, most households were dual income or single. My intuition is that many families could afford to have a parent stay at home with the kids back then.

Additionally, let's not ignore the fact that housing appears to have gotten more expensive disproportionately to income rising. And if two parents are working they often have to pay $1000+ for daycare

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#305

Post by s1artibartfast »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #209
autoexec wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For most people anything that has only kept up with inflation over the last 50 years is more expense today than it was 50 years ago because wages have stagnated while prices have soared.

No, that's not the case. For instance, the median household income in the United States in 1976 was $12,686. That's $72,857.55 today based on inflation (Google/Census Bureau Data + online inflation calculator). However, Google's AI overview says " As of early 2026, the median household income in the United States is estimated to be approximately $84,000. " So the the median household income in the US today is about $…

The key terms in this discussion are disposable income and discretionary income.

Housing share if income has outpaced inflation, as have many other categories.

You can simultaneously make more and have less if your income doubles but rent goes from 25% to 50%

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#306

Post by dewarrn1 »

scatbot wrote: post #12

Lego is one of those companies that is simultaneously amazing and kind of sucks. On one hand the core product is incredible. The tolerances on the bricks are micrometer-level precision and the fact that pieces from the 70s snap perfectly into ones made today is mind blowing. On the other hand, a lot what the company does today just sucks. Set prices are outrageous. Printed bricks get replaced with stickers and many s…

If you're not interested in the new sets, the core product is readily available. Moreover, enjoy the fact that you can get that bucket of bricks for cheap partly because the expensive shiny high-margin SKUs provide a subsidy.

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#307

Post by mrsvanwinkle »

jjk166 wrote: post #277
Zanfa wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having grown up playing with LEGOs, I can still distinctly remember the feeling of sore fingers pulling tiny pieces apart after a long session. It wasn't until a few years ago I learned there's an official brick separator tool [1]. Would've changed my life as a kid. [1] https://www.lego.com/en-us/service/help-topics/article/lego-...

> It wasn't until a few years ago I learned there's an official brick separator tool You mean a little brother?

Okay this lit up my life for the day

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#308

Post by mytailorisrich »

abustamam wrote: post #304
mytailorisrich wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, that's not the case. For instance, the median household income in the United States in 1976 was $12,686. That's $72,857.55 today based on inflation (Google/Census Bureau Data + online inflation calculator). However, Google's AI overview says " As of early 2026, the median household income in the United States is estimated to be approximately $84,000. " So the the median household income in the US today is about $…

I'd be curious to know if in '76, most households were dual income or single. My intuition is that many families could afford to have a parent stay at home with the kids back then. Additionally, let's not ignore the fact that housing appears to have gotten more expensive disproportionately to income rising. And if two parents are working they often have to pay $1000+ for daycare

Most replies don't like my comment because it hurts the narrative that people want to believe even after I quoted hard data. Especially since the 70s in the US were rife with economic and social issues. Very interesting how the mind works.

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#309

Post by ziml77 »

bombcar wrote: post #180
rkangel wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the push towards smartphone-dependent toys feels weird I haven't seen this push? The new Lego Smart stuff is explicitly "screen free play". There is an app but it's just for firmware update and configuration and you can't even connect it unless the brick is on the charger.

Lego has been testing modern sets without instructions and instead tell you to download an app for your phone. The ones I know of are the Mario ones, but they apparently need a phone anyway to setup the little characters.

Which Mario ones are you thinking of? Because for the only ones I know of with electronic character, you just place them over special tiles they can read to select how they will react.

Re: Lego's 0.002mm specification and its implications for manufacturing (2025)

#310

Post by abustamam »

mytailorisrich wrote: post #308
abustamam wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be curious to know if in '76, most households were dual income or single. My intuition is that many families could afford to have a parent stay at home with the kids back then. Additionally, let's not ignore the fact that housing appears to have gotten more expensive disproportionately to income rising. And if two parents are working they often have to pay $1000+ for daycare

Most replies don't like my comment because it hurts the narrative that people want to believe even after I quoted hard data. Especially since the 70s in the US were rife with economic and social issues. Very interesting how the mind works.

I wouldn't say people didn't like your comment. You don't seem to have been downvoted as far as I can tell. You did cite hard data but multiple other commenters explained why the data you provided doesn't tell the whole story. Just because people disagree with you doesn't mean they don't like your comment. They're just trying to understand more.
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