So, you got your Lego Mindstorms NXT a few weeks ago and have had all sorts of fun building Spike, Alpha Rex, and the Tribot. You've even built a few things on your own. But now you've got a great idea for a new project, perhaps a robotic squirrel, or maybe a giant catapult. Only one problem, you don't have enough Legos to complete your project. What do you do? Well you've got a few options, if you're like me you'll spend a few minutes cursing having given away all your old Legos from when you were a kid, and then start looking at places to buy new ones from. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately depending on your perspective) there are a slew of places to get both new and used Legos, but how to choose where? Well in this article I'll go into all the various places I've found to buy Legos from, as well as some of the pro's and con's of each. Read on to get all the juicy tidbits.
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Where to get Legos
December 19th, 2006NXT Drawings Part 2
November 1st, 2006
Some folks ahve been asking for drawings for the rest of the NXT parts, so I put together a few more drawings. I'll problay make up drawings for the rest of the pieces later this week. I tried to only put the relevant dimensions on, with measurements in inches and millimeters. If there are some more parts that folks want or more dimensions added to the drawings feel free to send me an e-mail. Here are the four more, plus the orginal three.:
As a disclaimer, I take no responsibility for the dimensions of the parts, however the ones I checked seemed fairly accurate.
Technic Pin’s
October 31st, 2006
The Mindstorms NXT set comes with a variety of different connector pins, nine to be exact. In the new “studless” building method introduced in by the NXT, the pins are a vital component of every model you will build. Folks that are experienced with the set already know what each is used for, and are experts on their benefits and weakness. However people that are just getting into Legos or are haven’t used Technic sets frequently, may be confused as to what the differences are between the various connectors. This article will give a brief description of the pins, and what they are used for, and should be useful for new folks looking to understand a bit more how to build their own models.
NXT Parts Drawings
October 29th, 2006
There was a request over at the NXTStep to have drawings put up with the dimensions and angles of the various NXT bits. Since Carnegie Mellon was nice enough to give out some solid models of the various pieces I figured I'd spend a few minutes and put up some dimensioned drawings. I tried to only put the relevant dimensions on, with measurements in inches and millimeters. If there are some more parts that folks want or more dimensions added to the drawings feel free to send me an e-mail. Here are the three I've made up so far:
I'll add more as they are requested. As a disclaimer, I take no responsibility for the dimensions of the parts, however the ones I checked seemed fairly accurate.
Organization
October 19th, 2006
When I first got my NXT set, I jsut kept everything in a blue lego tub I had lying around and that worked decently well. However after a week or so I realized that I was spending a ridiculous amount of time searching for various pieces I needed. Since I don't particualrly enjoy searching for pieces I decided I needed a better solution. I headed over to the local Home Depot and found a spiffy organizer from Black and Decker that is meant to hold screws and nails and such. It was a good size and had all sorts of adjustabale componets, and it was cheap. So I snagged it and after spending an hour or so sorting out the pieces and putting them in thier little compartments I found that it was much easier to keep things organized, as well as beign able to find the piece I need instantly. I mostly only have the stock NXT kit in here, with a few extra axles, gears and beams that I've gotten as well. The entire organizer can be seen in the gallery
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