kbricks construction system

thingiverse

### Vision of a Fully 3D Printable Construction System As 3D printing technology continues to advance, I believe the time is ripe for a toy construction system designed specifically for 3D printing. Such a system would address some of the common challenges I've encountered with commercial construction systems. Many of you may recall situations where important bricks were missing, preventing you from completing your project. Even when you could finish it, the models tended to fall apart easily. ### Models That Don't Fall Apart I'm excited to introduce **kbricks**, a fully 3D-printable, open-source construction system that eliminates these problems. With kbricks, you'll never run out of parts since you can print missing ones yourself. Thanks to stable connections, your models will remain intact even when given to children. I've already built a tractor, forklift, racing car, tipper truck, figure, and other models, which I plan to publish on Thingiverse once the documentation is complete. All required parts are available here, and new ones will be added as needed. This video demonstrates how to get started with kbricks. Explore more kbricks models on YouTube and Instagram. ### Stable Connections Thanks to Orthogonal Connectors The fundamental kbricks part is a 24mm cube featuring two orthogonal notches on each surface. Slide connectors enable these notches to connect plates or cubes, resulting in a stable connection between the parts. There are also beams, pegs, wheels, axles, steerings, and icing parts that add visual appeal. Gears are made possible by Joerg Janssen's remarkable Gears Library for OpenSCAD. This video showcases the strength of kbricks connectors printed in PLA at 0.15mm layer height. ### Assembling Kbricks Models Models are assembled using slide connectors and pegs. A hex key can be helpful when inserting slide connectors. ### Disassembling Kbricks Models To disassemble a kbricks model, simply pull out the slide connectors with needle-nosed pliers or push them out with a hex key. Pegs can be pushed out with an axle. ### Parts Needed for the Quad Shown in the Video * 1 x [cube_basic.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381259) (silver, detect thin walls) * 2 x [cube_2hole.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381260) (silver, detect thin walls) * 1 x [cube_l.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381255) (yellow, detect thin walls) * 1 x [prism_60deg.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381256) (silver) * 2 x [plate_peg.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381278) (silver) * 4 x [spoke_wheel3.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381356) (yellow) * 1 x [steering_wheel.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381350) (yellow, support on build plate only) * 6 x [connector_long.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381263) (silver, brim) * 12 x [connector_short.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381264) (silver, brim) * 4 x [peg.stl](https://www.thingiverse.com/download:6381265) (silver, brim) All files and OpenSCAD sources are tracked on GitHub.