LEGOs and gears

When I was homeschooled, one of the best classes I took was a LEGO mechanics class. I learned about gears and pulleys and stuff. My parents got me and my brother a special kind of LEGO kit containing beams, axles, wheels, pulleys, gears, a battery box and motors.

Before all this, I got a smaller birthday present for making LEGO contraptions. That was when my interest was sparked. Then for a later gift, I got a large LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit. This contained additional pieces, motors, sensors, and a programmable unit.

My parents also took me to MOSI classes for LEGO robotics, which was more like a free fun time to build anything from the provided LEGOs.

In high school, I did a science project on gear ratios and tested which were the fastest combinations in a car on different inclines. It got 2nd place.

Check out

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My LEGO videos for 2 of my crowning LEGO engineering achievements.

Yesterday, I was watching some YouTube videos that re-ignited my joy for LEGO mechanics.

This Japanese engineer made a fully-functional LEGO clock! One of his impressive feats was getting a prime number gear ratio of 1:11 with LEGO gears that only come with an even number of teeth. I didn’t understand how his gear box with a differential worked. So I went searching and found the below video:

I still don’t get it at an intuitive level, but the math works out. Gears and engineering is so cool!

Then, I came across LEGO Battlebots 🤯