K'Nex pieces

When the first K'Nex Box was released in the U.S. market in 1993, there were roughly 20 different K'Nex Pieces. Since then new varieties of pieces have been added regularly. Now they are difficult to number. This page, though incomplete, lists as many of those pieces as possible.

Contents

Types of Connections

There are three primary ways in which a rod may be joined to a connector:

Special pieces, commonly called 3D connectors, connect differently.

  • This locking system allows two 3D connectors to be directly attached and kept in place.
  • The locking system is the basis for all 3D creations

Rods

Standard Rods

The rods come in many sizes. Standard rods, from smallest to largest:

Also note that rods can be combined with connectors to take the place of longer rods. For example:

Color Inches Metric Notes
Green ¾" 1.700000000 cm Used only to connect two connectors end to end.
White 1.5" 3.253300859 cm
Blue 2¼" 5.450000000 cm
Yellow 3⅜" 8.556601718 cm
Red 5⅛" 12.95000000 cm Also comes in Tan, which is a much stiffer version.
Gray 7½" 19.16320344 cm The longest of the Rods
Black 7½" 19.16320344 cm Made of carbon; a stronger version of the Gray Rod

Flexi-rods

These flexible rods allows for shapes and curves that would otherwise be impossible. Flexi-rods come in four sizes. The following table lists them from smallest to largest:

Color Equivalent Rod
Dark Purple White
Sky Blue or Dark Purple Blue
Bright or Normal Orange Yellow
Lime green, Dull or Neon Yellow, Light or Dark Purple Gray

Light Up Rods

Light Up Rods (used in the Light Ups 30 Model Building Set) come in two sizes:

Color Length Equivalent Standard Rod
Yellow Light Up Rod 5⅛in Length comparable to the red rod
Blue Light Up Rod 7½ Length comparable to the gray rod

List of Connectors

Other pieces

  • Thin, short rings that can slide onto a rod in order to separate other parts that are slipped or clipped onto the rod. They rotate smoothly and slide freely, and they will slip off the ends of rods if not fastened in on either side by other parts.
  • There are two varieties of spacers:
  • Light blue spacers fill half of the width of a connector piece on a rod.
  • Longer, gray spacers fill up the same length of a rod as three light blue spacers, equivalent to one and a half widths of a connector piece.
  • These pieces slide over a rod through a hole in their center and (with the exception of some small gears) may be stabilized by a tan lock.
  • Spacers can be used to keep gears in place relative to the ends their rods, while still enabling free rotation.
  • They all possess teeth along their rims, allowing gears to transfer rotary motion between each other.
  • Gears can be used to transfer rotary motion through other gears to rods parallel to their own, at 90° angles, or at 45° angles if positioned properly.
  • Four distinct sizes:
  • Yellow (alternate color: black)
  • These are the largest gears, with 82 teeth
  • Large yellow gears are three spacers in width
  • Green (same size as yellow)
  • More typs to connect gears to it
  • Red (alternate colors: yellow, metallic gray)
  • These are medium-sized gears, and have 34 teeth.
  • The yellow and metallic gray gears have larger teeth which allow for 90 degree angles to be made
  • These gears are four spacers wide.
  • Blue (Alternate colors: Gold, dark gray)
  • These are the smallest gears, having 14 teeth.
  • Small gears are four spacers wide.
  • They can be placed on rods to stabilize rotion of larger gears on rods parallel to their own.
  • A large gear spinning a small gear, where both are locked to their rods, will result in a significantly faster rotation speed for the small gear, but requires large amounts of force. In an intricate mechanical design, this poses the risk of gear teeth slipping, or possibly breaking off, due to the plastic's inability to remain sturdy under immense force.
  • Black and light gray variations connect to the very tips of rod heads, but are used for stabilization rather than gearing. Can also be used as wheels.
  • White worm gear
  • This gear only works with the electric motor which can be bought from K'Nex or found in numerous older sets
Flat right triangular or square pieces with rod ends sticking out of the corners
Holes on panels (except smallest triangles) can fit rods
Four triangular sizes and four square sizes
Not color-coded, and they come in many different colors such as red, blue, orange, yellow, silver, green, black
  • These pieces have one slot a rod may be connected into, but no hole
  • A protrusion is used to lock into gears, connectors, or wheels to prevent them from spinning on a rod. This feature enables rods to be used as gear axles to transfer rotary motion to wheels or other gears fastened onto the rod using another tan lock.
  • Alternate colors: bronze, metallic blue (no protrusion)
  • This is actually two pieces: A blue piece and a black (or green) piece
  • Both pieces are similar to the gray connectors, but the hole and the area around it is half the width
  • One slot on each for a total of two
  • Can be interlocked to form a hinge which can produce angles from 45 to 315 degrees
  • Most motors will not function properly when made to rotate highly complex or heavy mechanical K'Nex systems.
  • Battery pack (2 pieces) - most common
  • Comes in an older, square version, an old version with an extended cord, and a new version with rounded sides
  • Uses a spring inside to power vehicles or rotating pieces without batteries
  • Remote control
  • Most commonly seen in Cyber K'Nex, but also found in an old robot set
  • Utilizes a remote to control multiple motors for complex movements
  • Electric Motors
  • These motors use an adapter to plug into the wall
  • Quieter and more torque than a battery pack
  • Battery pack (1 piece)
  • This is K'Nex's newest motor
  • These motors are high in torque and can be found in new sets like Storm Mountain, Shark Run, and Loopin' Lizard
  • Solar Motor
  • Three sets contained this motor; Solar Super 10 (25401), Solar Deluxe 20 (29403) and acrobatic robots set (number unknown).
  • Utilizes sunlight and is sent to a unique motor which drives lightweight vehicles
  • Special track pieces called track connectors are used for the construction of the newer roller coasters.
  • These pieces have two extended slots, one recessed slot, a hole, one 1/4" tab and two 1/2" tabs.
  • These pieces come in 4 colors (neon green, neon yellow, black and blue)
  • These pieces are normally placed on two flexi-rods via the extended slots, and two rails of tubing are added on the 1/2" tabs. Occasionally, a rail of tubing may be added to the 1/4" slot or a flexi-rod may be added to the recessed slot to increase track stability.
  • Tubing is a long, flexible piece of plastic.
  • It currently comes in purple, red, light red, blue, and yellow colors
  • Boosters
  • Found in Rippin' Rocket Roller Coaster and the new K'nex Lava Launch Coaster
  • Propels the car forward via two black, rotating wheels
  • A variant can be found on the Pirate Ship Park which only has one rotating fin
  • Trains
  • The train from the Screamin' Serpent had a front car, a middle car, and a back car (All were orange)
  • If one buys more middle cars, they may be added to create a longer train.
  • Rippin' Rocket cars were lightweight and designed for boosters
  • Could not be joined to make a train
  • Storm Mountain car was the same as the Screamin' Serpent front car, but it was blue
  • Shark Run car was made to look like a surfer riding a wave
  • Could not be joined to make a train
  • Pulleys come in a large and small size
  • Tires come in three standard sizes, as well as multiple other sizes for special wheels
  • Wider wheels have been produced for racier-looking cars, but are not common in today's sets.

The company also offers a variant brand, Kid K'Nex, which is made of a softer injection-molded plastic and is twice the scale of the original K'Nex. It is intended for children ages 3 to 5. Kid K'Nex is incompatible with K'Nex. (Because of the small parts, both K'Nex and Kid K'Nex are not recommended for children under age 3).

Two newer variants are Micro K'Nex, which are (as the name implies) smaller than standard K'Nex, and K'Nex Bricks, which provide building blocks similar to Lego brand blocks [4]. Unlike Kid K'Nex, both Micro K'Nex and K'Nex Bricks have adapter pieces to let them interconnect to standard K'Nex pieces. Micro K'Nex are in different colors from standard K'Nex, generally much more subdued than the bright primary colors used for standard K'Nex.

K'Nex Industries also manufactures and distributes Lincoln Logs under license from Hasbro, Inc.

The largest K'Nex set available is the Grandfather Clock with over 9,000 parts, replacing the 6 Foot Ferris Wheel at approximately 8,550 parts. The Ferris Wheel's competitor was the Big Ball Factory (3,165 parts.) Another use for these toys points to Instructables.com which puts the toys to uses like guns powered by rubber bands and grenades that explode.

See also

References

http://www.knexusergroup.org.uk/acatalog/about-us.html

www.knex.com

External links

http://www.knex.com http://www.sscoasters.net http://www.knexforum.com/