Brio Compatible Builder Series: Beams

thingiverse

<h1>Brio Compatible Builder Series:</h1> <h1>Beams</h1><br> The marketing team is very clever. Our boys received a BRIO Builder ( 34591 ) Builder Motor Set as a shared Christmas gift. In this kit, you get just enough pieces to be fun for a few minutes, but not nearly enough pieces to really make fun stuff. This is where a few hundred dollars of "spare time equivalent" gets spent in CAD to make more pieces for the kiddos without the cognitive expense of having to go shopping (well .. given the current year, let's be honest .. I am NOT going to any stores for anything but essentials).<br> <br> The components of this kit are dimensionally based on the aforementioned BRIO builder kit and should be completely compatible. Included are some badly needed "upgrades" and customization. This will be a living project series as more components will be added as I dream them up. Be sure to search for: " Brio Compatible Builder Series " to discover the other components!<br> <br> Included are STL files for those who are not yet familiar with <a href="https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD/blob/master/README.md">FreeCAD</a><br> <hr> <h2><b>Beams</b><br></h2> beams come in the following hole counts: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 14, 16, 18, 20<br> <b>slotted beams start at 4 hole equivalents</b><br> <code>beam length = (# holes - 1) x 16mm + 30mm</code><br> eg. 4 holes = 78mm, 6 holes = 110mm<br> <ul> <li>normal beams have holes every 16mm</li> <li>slotted beams with holes at the ends and a slot spaced 16mm from each hole, running the intermediate length</li> </ul> <hr> <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4713666">The base project contains the FreeCAD file for modifications.</a><br> This project series includes the following component groups:<br> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4720680"><h3>Beams</h3></a></li> <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4720717"><h3>Drive Wheels and Pulleys</h3></a></li> <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4716050"><h3>Fasteners</h3></a></li> <li><a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4716054"><h3>Gears</h3></a></li> </ul><br> I am open to any suggestions as to how to improve the design work-flow in FreeCAD.<br> <br> <b>This design will be the foundation of a completely open source meccano type set. I am seeking collaborators for this project; if there is enough interest, I will draft up a set of "best practices" and establish some engineering criteria (i.e. standardized dimensions, etc).</b><br>