Swanson School of Engineering

Today, we were given the unique opportunity to visit a Lego factory! During our visit, we walked around the plant and learned about the different phases of the production process. We started with molding and processing, and then moved on to packing and packaging. Each step involved highly precise machines as well as human verification to ensure that the production line operated smoothly. The thing I was most surprised about is how the machines verify that the correct lego bricks are in the packaging for a certain set. We were told that the machines check the weight of the bag to check this, which to me is incredible because individual lego parts in general weigh so little that these weight scales have to be really precise and sensitive. I remember in Pittsburgh, I once had a chance to visit Aerotech, which is a company that builds precision machines. There, I learned how incredibly complicated it is to build these machines because as you increase precision, you also increase cost and complexity at the same time. Overall, I really enjoyed our visit to Lego and now I have a newfound appreciation for the toys I grew up playing with.