Idea

Lego Builder is an interactive 3D assembly diagram for a lego construction toy. Lego Builder was designed as a set of re-usable tools to create interactive assembly diagrams as an extension to existing Lego software. This example shows the tools being applied to a car model as well as two simpler models.

How to use:

Cick on the link below, keep in mind the presentation may take a moment to load.

Use the buttons on the control panel to progress through the steps.

If the presentation doesn't start, you may be experiencing plugin difficulties. For help check our Tech Support Page.>>

Click here to start:

Lego Builder

About:

Lego is another one of my many interests, for a variety of reasons. It is an ideal escape from the pressures of everyday life; it is an interesting example of limited vocabulary construction language that can be used to explore design ideas and demonstrate physical principals; and I am a 30 year old man with too much time and money on his hands.

In my travels across the net I discovered a CAD package called LDraw. The purpose of this software is to create construction diagrams for Lego models, although the output images are 2D the data being used by the program is in 3D.

I converted the data shockwave3D and wrote a behaviour that could be applied to an LDraw model to create interactive assembly instructions. Users can move through the steps both forward and back as well as view the steps in automatic mode.

The presentation above includes one actual model of a car and two simpler models that demonstrate the re-useability of the behaviour.

It is no stretch of the imagination to think of a system that would automatically convert LDraw data into interactive construction diagrams.