Technabob » factory

Brickit Builds a Mini LEGO-Sorting Factory

Conner Flynn — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:00:33 +0000

If you have built large creations with LEGO before, you know that keeping your bricks sorted is essential to keeping things in order. Otherwise it will drive you crazy looking for one specific part in a large bin. You need them sorted and ready to use. Brickit’s LEGO creation will automatically sort your bricks for you.

They built it as a demonstration of Dynaway’s real-world manufacturing systems. The miniature can organize bricks by size and color and works just like the ones used in factories that sort things of different shapes and sizes, except this one is powered by LEGO Mindstorms NXT.

The mini sorting plant boasts 7 NXT Intelligence Bricks, 28 motors and 22 sensors. It will sort any 2×4 or 1×2 block that it comes into contact with. After it sorts your bricks, a bot comes along to retrieve the full palette and move it, replacing it with an empty palette. It’s hypnotizing to watch this thing in action.

With the real LEGO factory featured on a recent episode of Ultimate Factories, it’s only appropriate that someone would build their own mini LEGO-powered factory.

[via Make: via Geek]

LEGO Factory to Be on National Geographic’s Ultimate Factories

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:00:50 +0000

If you read the site much, you know we get all giddy when we run across things that are made from LEGO. Spaceships, cars, decorations, anything with LEGO as the building material will get our attention. My recent favorite was that giant rocket. I also like to watch Discovery Channel and other geeky channels like that. Some of my favorite shows are the ones where they take you into a factory to see how the things we take for granted are made.

Keep an eye out this weekend on the National Geographic channel because the LEGO factory in Billund, Denmark is going to be featured. If you have ever wanted to know how the bricks of awesome are made, this is the show for you. Hopefully, they’ll also show how LEGO comes up with the designs for the stuff they package.

I bet the job of the guys and gals that come up with new kits is a highly coveted position. Check out a clip from the episode here to see what the show will be like. This should be a really cool episode. And set your DVRs for Saturday, January 21 at 8pm Eastern.

(P.S. If you happen to live in Europe, it looks they already ran this on the show Megafactories, and you can check it out on YouTube now.)

[via Brothers-Brick]

A Devastating Story: Industrial Robot Nearly Kills Swedish Factory Worker

Lambert Varias — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:30:21 +0000

More pants-wetting robo-news here at technabob: A defective robot “generally used to lift heavy rocks” attacked and nearly killed a Swedish factory worker that was actually trying to repair the machine. According to The Local, the unnamed worker thought that he had cut off the machine’s power supply so he “approached the robot with no sense of trepidation.”

Unfortunately, the robot suddenly sprang into action and grabbed the man’s head. Let this be the 4th law of Robotics: Always approach a robot with a sense of trepidation.

Shia LeBouf The man managed to free himself from the robots’ grasp, but not before it broke four of his ribs. Public prosecutor Leif Johansson fined the company 25,000 kronor ($3,000 USD) for its “inadequate safety procedures”, but also acknowledged that the worker is partly to blame for what happened. Prosecutor Johansson is obviously a robot, as he did not fine or even reprimand the machine.

[via BB Gadgets]

Lightpipe is a Pipe-Shaped Light

Karen M. — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:35:49 +0000

The Lightpipe is a supercool light that looks like an industrial pipe.

I love how they’ve photographed it next to “real” pipes, but on the flip side it makes it a bit difficult to imagine what it might look like, say, in one’s own living room. I mean, this would be a lot easier to work with if I was like Jennifer Beals in Flashdance and went home after my welding job every day to unwind by dancing around in my grungy converted factory floor apartment, you know what I’m saying? But I digress. The detailing on this light is terrific and adds to the overall pipey realism.

You can buy one for €395 (Appx. $612 USD) from DaWanda. Finding an industrial warehouse in which to showcase this unusual light will be completely up to you, though.