Weekend Contest #12: Create Your Own Lego-compatible Add-on

(Image: Lego Ring by MulderandSkully)

I was browsing the list of Lego-compatible add-ons on Shapeways earlier this week and couldn't believe my eyes - the list DOESN'T END! Check out cool examples like Triangle Lego, the Lego Barrette Clip, the little Electric Guitar or this Lego Arduino Brick.

It really got my ideas going, and I'm wondering if it will for you, too. What can you think up that will connect with your Lego?

To get started, grab a Lego Brick .STL file from Thingyverse, or download the über-awesome Free Universal Construction kit.

How to Enter

Design anything that will fit on a Lego brick or character. Post your work here on the forum, and add a picture! Deadline is Monday evening, midnight.

What's the prize?

$25 to use towards your creation, or any other Shapeways purchase.

That's all?

Certainly. Have fun! I'm off to play with my Lego now.

Here's my entry, you know this makes sense, it's the most revolutionary thing to happen since sliced Lego bread ;P

There are two designs both have the opening turning in. One design is the same dimensions as the existing hands but turned and the other has closed hands with a 0.25mm gap. Because they are printed in white and black flexible you can put anything in with a thickness of 0.25 to 1.50mm as you can see in the picture with the penny, Ipad and sign.


Customized mini-figure hands by Dot San, on Flickr


Customized 3D printed hands for Minifigures by Dot San, on Flickr

Available here https://shpws.me/nwn3

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/dotsan


Fingers crossed or as close as they can get in this case?

Cheers.
Vijay

Hi!

Some days ago my little son asked me about a lego calbe car - so, here it is!

Doors, wheels and suspension part are movable.
It is designed for Frosted Detail Plastic.

I suppose i will have to do a valley and mountain station, too



Anja
____________________
Anjas_3D@web.de

WoW that lego calbe car could be a lot of fun

A Lego keyring will make you look super-stylish, and jingle less.

I made these cufflinks not too long ago, even got a recent order for them.

I have updated my Russian series for custom Lego compatible hats recently:



So what can be quickly added for this weekend?

A Cosack shako is missing (rough prototype since it normally costs 2 passes) ...




... resulting now in this:


Woody64

As I reed this I Loved this Weekend Contest!

So I take this as a cause to create some new stuff for the Minifig Divers section in my Shop.

Here's my entry: A Set of Professional Dive Equipment:


Used by "Technical divers", like Cave or Wrack divers.


A wing type buoyancy control device with double tanks, a Dive Scooter and special Fins.

I still thing about how to add regulators, or leave them away.

This reminds me of our old friend Opresco

My Combat-Vehicle.

Shame I missed this one

Anyhow, Bart, your first linked model is in breach of the LEGO Play Fair guidelines - no policing or anything, but for a product to be called LEGO it must be made by or endorsed by The Lego Group.

And, for those interested in LEGO compatible items, go have a hunt for LDraw, a 3D modelling package tailored for building models from a library of LEGO parts. The parts come in a .dat format, the .dat files can be converted to use in whatever software as needed, be warned though the parts are pretty basic construction and will have faceting similar to or worse than Anigroove's post.

Happy building

Paul

Hi, it's a hot topic 'intellectual Property' and the Maker movement. https://www.brickarms.com/ does very well with producing complimentary objects for mini figs. I think it would be a good idea for Shapeways to have a forum thread dedicated to the legal issues regards 3D printing, it may help companies to develop their IP polices?
Cheers
Vijay

P.S Who's won?

There are several topics concerning jurisprudence and LEGO®.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mega_Brands
Most of the Lego brick patents have expired.

All sides dealing with LEGO topics always place the disclaimer (take a look on the article below)
http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/legal-notice/fair-play/

There's a 3rd legal component which you always should have in mind: Several companies also have rights on their designs like Walt Disney, Lukas Films, ....
In many cases there's a contract between Lego and these companies to promote a new LEGO line based on these film items. And they can also protect their designs forcing 3rd parties to not use them ....

The LDD library contains brick designs for making construction plans. The majority of these elements are not waterthight.

Hey folks,

thanks for participating! There are some seriously cool entries here this week! After some intense debating with Mitchell, we have picked wedge's Diver set as the winner. Congrats The $25 gift voucher is coming your way.

@woody64, dotsan, stop4stuff - thanks for your input! I'm going to discuss with Natalia, who is focusing on the legal side of 3D printing, and see how we can formalize this on Shapeways. It's important for everyone (including us) to know how to properly work with these brands, and this info is very useful. Thanks!

Bart

Whoo Hoo well done Wedge, spend it wisely.
V

THX!
But I am also a fan of that calbe car and the hands

will be spended in testprints for cool new Products .
I hope, I get some of the new stuff ready soon, so I can order this week .
So I can make it public in some weeks.
Stay Tuned, ill show than in "It Arived"

Quite possibly, but I'm pretty sure that they still have the rights to their own name which appears once on each of the knock-off brick's studs, in a direct copy of the real thing.

It doesn't matter about patents, TLG realised themselves a very long time ago that patenting every single element would be a surefire way to financial suicide (iirc the current element catalogue runs to over 30,000 different designs, a lot of which are still in production).

The information about LEGO IP rights is already linked to in this thread - no 'quite possibly' about it.

@wedge I liked the cable car too, but after seeing your previous vignette, you have a theme going, stick with it & congrats!

@Bart, Ana was good at understanding and acting on these things, I don't care so much these days becasue action is slow or never happens, but a simple dictionary of known tradenames that is checked against a model title is all that's needed. Hiding behind the DMCA is no excuse

Paul

@Wedge, congrats! : )

Hi guys,

First off, AWESOME entries this week! I think this is my favorite contest so far.

To address some IP issues

We have posted quite a lot about it over the years, here's a quick helpful summary for those of you new, or interested, here's a few explanatory blog posts:

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/639-It-Will-Be-Awesom e-if-They-Dont-Screw-it-Up-3D-Printing,-Intellectual-Propert y,-and-the-Fight-Over-the-Next-Great-Disruptive-Technology.h tml

and the great, recent, follow up:

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/1897-Public-Knowledge] https://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/1897-Public-Knowledge s-New-White-Paper-So,-What-is-the-Deal-with-Copyright-and-3D -Printing.html

and a good discussion about creative commons and how we can self-organize

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/1202-for-some-designe rs...-protection-may-be-better-achieved-through-instant-prot otyping-and-continuous-product-change-rather-than-intellectu al-property-law.html

There have also been a few forum threads about it, the most recent and more informative is this one:

https://www.shapeways.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&goto=6146 3&&srch=copyright#msg_61463

More specifically, the LEGO issue is a good one, and the ring that Bart linked to should indeed be labelled differently, perhaps to say "Ring shaped like lego brick" to comply with LEGO's proper use terms, as defined on their site (thanks for the link Paul!)

Proper Use of the LEGO Trademark on a Web Site
If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".Also, the trademark should appear in the same typeface as the surrounding text and should not be isolated or set apart from the surrounding text. In other words, the trademarks should not be emphasized or highlighted. Finally, the LEGO trademark should always appear with a ® symbol each time it is used.

All that said, it is up to individual users on Shapeways to do this, not Shapeways staff. it is not a matter of hiding behind the DMCA, as the DMCA does not cover trademarks, only copyright. Additionally, under the DMCA, to actively police our users is neither feasible nor expected of Shapeways, as defined here.

Hope that clears it up a bit!

Natalia