nerdsforprez Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 I apologize if this has foung the forum before, I searched for "minds-i" and although a billion posts came up none that I could find had anything to do with what I am about to post. ANyways, I found this site and was astounded with the similarity of this company's product with TLG. How are they getting away with this? Has anyone on the forum any experience with these products? Good? Bad? Are they an alternative to Technic and PF? http://mindsirobotics.com/ Quote
NXT45 Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Wow I never thought someone would do this. It seems like a pretty silly thing to do. Do you think there is any copyright or patent issues? Quote
Nazgarot Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Well... there might not bemany copyright infringements... The only thing that is dangerously like Lego is the "liftarms". The pins are different and seem to have a much stronger lock, though they seem more limited, and the whole system doesn't seem to compete towards the same customers. This system seems to be angled more towards the RC and robotics marked. However their international patents are still pending... So who knows. I like the system though, as Lego isn't really suited for RC applications. I've used Lego to make prototypes, but always have to build the final model of Aluminium and available parts. This might solve that problem... -ED- Quote
Saberwing40k Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 The Minds-i system is actually not very much like Lego, and there would be no actual copyright infringement, as this would be more of a patent issue, and most Lego parts have had their design patent expire. From what I've heard, from a couple of reviews in a robotics magazine I subscribe to, the system works very well, but it obviously is not directed at people who are fans of Lego. It would be kind of cool if Minds-i were a competitor of Technic, but it's not. Although, there are several pieces Minds-i makes that I wish had Lego equivalents, like leaf springs, or some of these parts: I see a connector that would make perpendicular connections much stronger, a wishbone piece, and a liftarm with holes going in two different directions. Although, when it comes to making suspension A-arms, the primary problem is that we don't have a small piece with a ball socket. Quote
Saberwing40k Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Are they compatible with Lego? I have no idea, I think the pegs are not, due to them having those notches, and I think the holes are also larger. I was just thinking about this, if I were to get a set of Minds-i leaf springs, how much slack in the system there would be, and if the holes are even big enough. Edit: I've found another thread on these forums about this stuff, from when it first came out: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=51895 Edited January 13, 2015 by Saberwing40k Quote
Milan Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) These are all metal? No way that this 6x6 truck could fly over dirt like that if it all were plastic. At least diffs, axles and gears are metal. At the end they did broke two liftarms, so it may be plastic. Edited January 13, 2015 by Milan Quote
DrJB Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 While I see the 'resemblance' with Lego, I do not see any patent violations. There are many 'industrial'/modular systems where one can remotely draw some analogy to Lego, and it's a 'weak' case to just go after liftarms. After all, the bore is not smooth (look closely), the pitch (distance between holes) might be different, and the connectors are VERY different from anything Lego. Just my opinion of course. Quote
Saberwing40k Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 i did some difficult maths, and figured out that Minds-I components are about 1.25 times larger than Lego pieces, so I probably could use those leaf springs with Lego parts. I think this would be good to know. Quote
TheItalianBrick Posted January 16, 2015 Posted January 16, 2015 The don't appela to me, One can say "oh those beams looks similar" but the final resault of the models it's just far away from Lego models, and aswell far away from any RC scale model...it's weird cos it's in the middle. I can either stick to "white" or "black"......but "grey" it's no my world. Quote
DamonMM2000 Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 Huh, that's pretty interesting. Never seen this until now. All I'm gonna say is that their parts are pretty expensive compared to LEGO Technic pieces. I just wish LEGO would come out with hobby grade motors like the ones in Minds-i. Quote
nerdsforprez Posted August 19, 2015 Author Posted August 19, 2015 Sorry to bump this thread... but after doing some research and even contacting the company I still don't have an answer if they are compatible with LEGO. I know they are bigger (their 15 L liftarm equivalent is 6 inches, so Saberwing's calculations are more or less correct.... but that doesn't really address the question if their screw adaptations can potentially work with LEGO. Indeed the holes in their liftarm equivalents are larger so with the screw adaptations there is potential. Those that have seen my work know that I enjoy trying to push the limits of what LEGO can do. Integrating LEGO with stronger elements and or RC components is fun. If this is something that could work, I think the versatility of the product would increase, and the strength and available applications of LEGO would as well. Personally I love the versatility of LEGO, but how much more cool would it be if one could use actuators, motors, etc. and other products that are stronger in their models? Think of an AROCS that could actually lift something. An 8070 that actually has some guts to it...etc. Anyone ever buy this Minds-i stuff that could comment regarding its compatibility with LEGO? I would like to buy a package, but if it is not compatible at all i won't waste my money.... Quote
roland Posted August 19, 2015 Posted August 19, 2015 There is also the somewhat similar VEX system (http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexiq) Actually when you think about it the modern technic Lego is somewhat like plastic Meccano . Quote
nerdsforprez Posted August 19, 2015 Author Posted August 19, 2015 Still not answering my question. Here is the exact response from the owner of Minds-i..... which still leaves me somewhat confused. Trevor, We have parts that we call screw adapters that allow you to bolt on anything that you can fit a 4-40 screw through (see attached picture). The attached pic is below, which I think is a little confusing. His response says that anything a 4-40 screw will fit through will work, therefore, LEGO should be compatible with Minds-i (4-40 screws can fit into liftarm holes) . But in the pic, you will notice that the circular notched parts that fit into the holes of the Minds-i liftarms need also to fit. So, you can imagine a hole that although can fit a 4-40 screw into, but not the notched circular parts, will actually NOT work, contrary to what the owner mentions. This is what worries me. I am not sure if the notched circles (that hold the screws, below they are drk gray and white) will fit into LEGO liftarms....b/c I don't know the diameter of these. Quote
MaxSupercars Posted August 19, 2015 Posted August 19, 2015 OMG !!! I like it very much! But the price !!! I would buy some basic kit for chassis and body would I make from Lego... It's very interesting! Thanx for sharing! Max... Quote
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