Excursion to the production designers «Lego»

• Excursion to the production designers "Lego"

Today we will go to the city of Billund in Denmark to visit the factory that produces the world-famous designer LEGO. Look inside the production process, and monitor the progress of the processing and packaging of well-known designer.

These building blocks are front of the headquarters of the company Lego Group in Billund.

The company came into being in 1932. Its founder was the Dane Ole Kirk Christiansen, who was the foreman of the team of Carpenters and Joiners. In 1947, the company expanded production and began producing plastic toys. Since its emergence in 1949, the LEGO elements in all its variants are compatible with each other. For example, elements created in 1958, is still connected with the elements, issued in 2010, despite drastic changes in the design and shape of the elements over the years.

All parts LEGO designers are made according to a certain standard with a high degree of accuracy, which allows to connect them without considerable effort. In addition, after the connection parts must be fastened securely to each other. To ensure these conditions, the designer items are made with a precision of 2 micrometers.

Since 1991, the beginning of the era of computer video games, Lego 11 years the company has incurred losses, improve the situation only with the release of new robotic kits.

The process of creating Lego bricks is really not so complicated. Design elements production consists of pouring molten plastic into a mold and placing it under the press. The form is cooled, opened - and in the hands of you have finished the designer Lego brick. Then follows a second, more complicated part of the process - processing, addition art details such as suits, ties, etc...

It is receiving in the Lego headquarters. Note on the ceiling and chairs - it seems that they are made of bricks designer.

All of Lego are made of the same plastic based on acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene. He comes to Lego directly from suppliers and then is stored in giant silos. Usually it is either red or transparent, and paint for concrete fragments added to the molding machine. This container filled with liquid plastic based on acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene, with the addition of the individual dyes.

This molding machine. At first very hot plastic is poured into the form on the right side. He then distributed through small channels, and falls into the pressing area through very small incisions. When cold water is poured into the molding machine, it contributes to the cooling of the plastic, and the mold is opened, allowing the bricks to fall freely onto the conveyor belt.

Currently, there are about 7 thousand. Active forms that are used in the manufacture of Lego. Overall, however, at the disposal of the company is more than 9 thousand. Such forms, many of which are waiting in the wings on the shelves, as this, for example. The average form is worth about 72 thousand dollars, the cost of the most complicated and expensive -. 360 thousand dollars..

You can see how the plastic is poured into the molding area of ​​the molding machine.

In this picture we see two of the ellipsoid, which has just been in a mold. A few seconds later, they fall onto a conveyor belt.

In this photo form for the manufacture of parts of the ellipsoidal shape with the top photo.

Artworks bricks and other elements can then be used in different ways. These blue Circuits can be used as heads for tiny figures and as a decoration for the other elements.

Thousands of purple bricks Lego, who a few minutes ago were under pressure.

This is one of the twelve forming modules arranged in Billund. Each module or special production room, located to the working of molding machines 64, divided into two blocks 32 in each machine.

The robotic arm, removes the waste from the smelting process and the manufacture of parts of the molding machine. Plastic will be re-sent to be melted down and it will be used at a very short time.

Shopping for the production of waste.

Lego Production at the factory is practically no waste, as plastics are used. However, some of the waste generated during production still goes in the trash.

The pipes through which the plastic granules are fed to the molding machine. The noise, which in this case is formed, resembles the noise that would be caused billions of grains of rice, moving on plastic pipes.

The molding machines are used for four weeks, and then they are taken out and spend a full thorough cleaning. In the photo we see an employee of the company for this procedure.

At this point, the production figures for them to attach the arms, legs, heads and other parts, and additional elements.

The robot arm casts figure.

You can see how the machine churns out the figures on the face and shirt.

This display shows the weight of the bag Lego small fragments known as pre-packaging. The weight should be between 94 9 and 95, 7 grams. The weight of this pre-packaging is 94, 94 grams, so that it passes by. However, as the display, five bags were too light, and one was too heavy.

Preliminary packaging Lego pieces on the line, after which they are weighed.

That the packing department, most of the details are in the bag, which fall into the container automatically. But some packages are too large, and they have to shake the hand, so that the details were distributed evenly and packages have become more flat and thin.

Hundreds of carton blanks from which make boxes for Lego sets on "Star Wars."

This machine controls the height of the boxes, so that they can be tightly closed and the fragments do not fall out during transportation.

Boxes with sets of Lego on "Star Wars" on the line.

This machine automatically closes the box and seals them.

Boxes with Lego sets on "Star Wars" fully packed and ready for shipment.

This machine takes two ready boxes with Noboru "Star Wars" and place them in boxes in groups of six.

A worker picks up two boxes, accidentally fell off the assembly line.

In each of these boxes, six boxes of Lego sets on "Star Wars."

Now, these boxes will go to the Czech Republic, where the fall in the official distributor Lego Center, a warehouse factory in Kladno, which incidentally produces 35-40% (more than one million pieces) of all the company's products. There is a giant robotic warehouse, one of the largest in Europe, which produces Ordering and distribution of products at points of sale worldwide.