New NXT/PF/Education products in 2010

[Holodoc]

There are going to be new technic/PF modules next year, all belonging to the LEGO education program.

According to this blog and the BS-folder here and here, we are going to get some really nice and advanced features for our electric assortment:

The sets are called "9688 Renewable Energy Add-on Set" an "2009688 Activity Pack for Renewable Energy Add-on Set"

The sets contain the following:

I'm definitely looking forward to the solar cell although I fear it's going to hurt my wallet.

I'm not sure about the energy display and the energy storage as I can't find the perfect idea to use it. Well, after all it's LEGO education so the primary target is going to be schools, not the user at home.

Same counts for the new motor. Where is the exact niche to put this motor in? 4x6 studs wide and 3 studs high. We have similar motors already. I don't know how to rate the torque and the rotations/minute. Is it faster/slower with more/less power than what we have?

At least there seems to be one solution for the latter three devices:

...whatever it does exactly...

For more informations read the booklet in this link.

[Conchas]

There are going to be new technic/PF modules next year, all belonging to the LEGO education program

Please realize, none of these new items at the LEGO Education catalog, got branded with the tag "Power Functions", unlike the former ones also in the same page.

IMO this happens, these shouldn't have much application (if any) in the Technic line of products.

[Holodoc]

Please realize, none of these new items at the LEGO Education catalog, got branded with the tag "Power Functions", unlike the former ones also in the same page.

IMO this happens, these shouldn't have much application (if any) in the Technic line of products.

That may be the case, but they still fit to the current PF elements, don't they?

[CopMike]

Nice find Doc !

Please realize, none of these new items at the LEGO Education catalog, got branded with the tag "Power Functions", unlike the former ones also in the same page.

IMO this happens, these shouldn't have much application (if any) in the Technic line of products.

I don´t really get your angle here - care to eleborate?

That may be the case, but they still fit to the current PF elements, don't they?

They really should!

[Jetro]

They will fit PF all-right, but it remains to be seen if they are any use for a Technic MOC or just good classroom tools.

[CP5670]

I can think of a few uses for that E motor, especially related to Zblj's CVT design discussed on TechnicBricks recently. The other things don't seem to be much more than novelties though, especially since they will probably be quite expensive.

On the other hand, the pneumatic pressure gauge falls into the same category, but I've found that to be a lot of fun to play around with.

Edited December 5, 2009 by CP5670

[Darth Legolas]

If my PF experiment this winter goes well, I'm gonna buy these up in a snap!

Edit: Especially the E-motor!

Edited December 5, 2009 by Darth Legolas

[Milan]

E motor is great due to its base of 4x6 studs!

It will be much easier to mount it into the studfull chassis, instead of 3 wide M motors!

[The Green Brick Giant]

I have a feeling that the solar cell will cost as much as a Mindstorm set.

[lightningtiger]

On the solar panel front I just did the math and the pf-motor must run on the smell of a leaky battery.

5volt x 4mA = 20mW !

5volt x 20mA = 100mW !

Now I'm no electrical engineer just a humble tv tech, but 20mW is not enough power to even get the motor to turn on it's own.

The greater the mechanical load, more current is required to increase the streigth of the magnetic field inside the motor so it can still turn the rotor.

You would have too connect up a few of these in parallel to get the current supply up to a level that torque is uneffected as much by loading on the motor.

Also what schools have got the money to buy heaps of these new sets, besides that if thats a wind turbine should it not be a generator to prove wind power is an alternative energy source. Feeding current to the motor is the direct opposite of what is trying to be taught.

[Freddie]

I don't know how to rate the torque and the rotations/minute. Is it faster/slower with more/less power than what we have?

It is considerably faster than what we have now, at an equal expense of torque. The M-motor does approx 350 rpm at full power, and muster 10 N-cm of torque, the XL does some 160 rpm and wrenches out an axle-breaking torque of 40 N-cm. That's what I can remember from the top of my head, that is.

Anyway, that would position this motor as the high-speed option of the motors, and while meant as an educational tool (doubling as a generator, for example) looks to be far easier to implement in non-technic creations, not only because of its stud-based design, but also because it doesn't need to be solidly fixed to a frame to keep the torque under control.

[Grimmy]

They look neat and remind me of the old Radio Shack solar motor kits. The Radio Shack ones only power a fan so it has virtually no load.

Like some have mentioned, knowing Lego, this is going to cost a serious large wad of cash! Poor kids. What parent is going to buy these Mindstorm kits for a kid, very rare. I don't understand why Lego Mindstorm is what it costs. You can get real sensors and micro controller boards for less and with waaaay more memory. The NXT Intelligent Brick here is $145 and one of the reviews says it only has 60KB of memory, I don't understand how this can be possible in these times of technology. It takes 6 AA batteries and doesn't include the rechargeable. I can't make sense of these prices.

A while ago I went on a little mission to find out why Legos are so expensive and I did figure out why the regular ones are and in a way, they aren't expensive when you know what goes into making them and how many pieces each set is. But I still cannot understand why Mindstorm costs so much. One may be better off just buying micro controller kits and sensors from the internet as they have many now but you won't get studs on them. Maybe you can glue or bolt on a Lego plate lol.

Also, why did Lego go IR with Power Functions rather then RF??

[Brickthus]

We'd need quite a few solar panels to do any more than turn a plant!

A bit disappointing that the power output is no more than the previous one, though it's a bit easier to use in multiple to make 9V.

Still don't want to chase it with a 60W light bulb!!!

The E-motor might be better for a propeller than the M-motor because it has the speed already, but the lower torque means we might need a few E-motors with 24-tooth gears between them to power a decent prop (imagining the wind turbine as the prop, perhaps with twice as many blades). I used four 9V 2838 4000rpm motors, pulling a total of 1.3A, to power a 2-rotor prop arrangement. It needed a bench power supply!

Four M-motors powered a larger contra-rotating arrangement from a 9V train controller, but a lot slower. Choose the motor for the speed and add more of them for the torque!

Perhaps the blades are the best aerodynamic propeller blade yet. A bit thin at the root though.

The 150mAh battery is OK for education but not much for powering a motor.

The 2100mAh NXT battery is good, but it might be at the expense of voltage.

If it's the same physical size as the previous one, it might be 7.4V rather than the full 9V (11.1V with diode drops), so maybe the NXT motors would go slower. That would be a shame but we'll have to test it to see what the NXT port output voltage is.

I'm glad the new battery uses the new transformer as I have the transformer for the train battery already!

These sets might be worth a buy or 2.

BTW for any rotational shaft/motor/etc... Power = Torque x Speed

Mark

[CP5670]

Like some have mentioned, knowing Lego, this is going to cost a serious large wad of cash! Poor kids. What parent is going to buy these Mindstorm kits for a kid, very rare. I don't understand why Lego Mindstorm is what it costs. You can get real sensors and micro controller boards for less and with waaaay more memory. The NXT Intelligent Brick here is $145 and one of the reviews says it only has 60KB of memory, I don't understand how this can be possible in these times of technology. It takes 6 AA batteries and doesn't include the rechargeable. I can't make sense of these prices.

I have wondered about this too. Most of the Lego electric parts have always been extremely expensive. I think the worst example of this was the 9V train speed regulator, which is essentially a variable resistor with only one output and lacking even a power switch, but it was always $45. It's a good thing you used to be able to get them for under $10 on ebay and BL.

Actually, the standard PF parts (motors, switch, lights, etc.) are priced a lot cheaper than most of the corresponding 9V ones were. Although they do have a lower quality feel in some ways than the 9V stuff, particularly in terms of the plastic used.

The 2100mAh NXT battery is good, but it might be at the expense of voltage.

If it's the same physical size as the previous one, it might be 7.4V rather than the full 9V (11.1V with diode drops), so maybe the NXT motors would go slower. That would be a shame but we'll have to test it to see what the NXT port output voltage is.

I'm glad the new battery uses the new transformer as I have the transformer for the train battery already!

Does the existing NXT battery output the full 9V? I wonder if there is any cost-effective way (without using an NXT) to hook it up to PF elements.

[Siegfried]

Looks interesting; especially the new motor. But as much as I'd love it; I doubt the solar panel would be a good buy... ...and since it seems to be sold in one set it looks like I'll never get this.