Sunday, January 11, 2009

Opinion - Studless vs. Studded vs. Both 1

In past FLL builds I have been faced with a dilema- do I build this with bricks, beams, or both? Here is my take on the tirless battle:

Studless
  • Much sturdier structuers
  • More robotic look
  • Most colors match or go together
  • The NXT is built to work with them
  • Good flexibility
  • Can easily change direction without becoming structurally unsound
  • BUT you do not get the small intervals and becomes flimsy as the weigt increases

Studded

  • Intervals are smaller
  • Will never be "off" (not exactly in place)
  • LEGO look
  • Has more structure
  • Very good for large structures
  • BUT does not handle falls well

Both

  • Offers pros from both building styles
  • Allows sturdiness aswell as ability to use small intervalls (good for things such as ball casters)
  • BUT it doesn't look very good and the switch-over point will be very easy to break

Overall I think it depends on what you want to build. The TriBot, for example, would be very bad with bricks because it relies on the flexibility and light-weight structure of pegs, axles and beams. In my BCR (Ball Caster Robot) (I will release more on this soon) I need to use both so I can have a ball caster which prevents the ball from wobbling. But if you want to build a huge elevator you would use bricks because they would support the large weight better. So there you have it, and I'm sure I may have to come back to this in the future

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