Building QUANTITY with quality
Over 600 billion Lego pieces are scattered throughout the world. That is nearly 90 bricks per person. Stacked on top of one another, that many bricks would reach to the moon and back 7 times. How are these bricks made in such quantities? More importantly, how is quality maintained so that any two bricks from anywhere in the world will fit perfectly together? The Lego artifact is driving worldwide manufacturing practices to where both quantity and quality can be achieved.
Written by Andrew Terajewicz
From Ducks to Bricks
The story begins with a duck. This duck was not made of shiny plastic, but rather, it was made of wood. While the Lego brand name was introduced in 1934, it wasn't until 1949 that the first plastic Lego brick was made. In the years leading up to this culminating event, Lego was simply an abbreviation of the Danish words, "legt godt", meaning "play well". In 1934, there was no such thing as the shiny plastic brick. In fact, the company only had 7 employees at this point (Mortensen, 2012).
Then, in 1947, the company took a dramatic shift that would forever establish its place in history. A British machine tool salesman approached the group and pitched to them technology that would allow for the manufacturing of plastic toys. By using newly formulated plastics that were becoming available, he promised Lego that their new plastic toys would be the toys of the future. They would be durable toys that every child would want, and that every parent would buy. Sold on this prospect, The Lego Group purchased one of these extraordinarily expensive machines. From there, they found a plastic supplier in England and then began to design their new plastic pieces, the Automatic Binding Bricks, or, what we know of today as Legos (Hughes, 2009).
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Initially, sales were low. However, coincidentally when Lego changed their branding from "Automatic Binding Bricks" to "Legos" in 1953, their sales began to steadily rise. The growth in sales allowed Lego to be more creative and adventurous in their design. Soon, the complexity of their pieces began to increase and soon corner bricks, windows, and doors were being sold in sets. However, as their place in the market solidified, there was a need for Lego to develop a manufacturing process which would allow them to continue expanding, thereby establishing themselves as the dominate name in children's toys.
Scaling up
87,000
The number of Lego bricks that can be produced per minute as of 2012.
The number of Lego bricks that can be produced per minute as of 2012.
Originally, Lego bricks were finished by hand. In 1952, Lego only had one injection molding machine that was used to make 12-16 bricks at a time. Workers would need to manually feed the raw plastic pellets into the machine and then manually cut the excess plastic from the bricks. The Lego Group was growing and their product was capturing a larger audience every day. Therefore there was a need to scale up the manufacturing process, and scale up they did. Over the years this process increased in efficiency and size. In 2006 the Lego company could produce 27,000 bricks per minute, and today it has expanded its capabilities to produce over 87,000 finished bricks per minute (Torrone, 2006). The pictures below show the first brick producing machine made by Lego as well some of their first bricks.
While much has changed, Lego still employs the same overall process to manufacture these bricks: injection molding. The video below briefly summarizes the injection molding process in Legos.
Although still utilizing the injection molding method, Lego has made many improvements to this process. The most notable change is in its automation. Initially the raw plastic pellets were fed into the machine by hand. Now, enormous vats store the material and automatically feed the material via a rotating screwdrive into the injection molding machine. In addition to automation, the number of Lego making factories has simply grown in size to help increase the output of their parts. The picture, taken at Lego Headquarters in Billund, Denmark, gives a glimpse as to the sheer quantity of machines Lego runs to keep up with the current demand.
Not only has the Lego Group increased the quantity of their tools, but they have also redesigned the molds so that they can operate more efficiently. Lego achieved this by modifying the gate and runner system, which allows plastic to flow between the molded parts. Originally workers would need to manually remove the runner system, adding to the cycle time of each part. However, with the improved molds, the runner system is automatically removed from the Lego brick, allowing for a one step injection mold process resulting in a clean finished piece. The two mold haves shown below capture this important improvement.
Ultimately, Lego's advancements in manufacturing have allowed them to meet the enormous demand for this product. Yet, scaling up in production is ineffective if quality is lacking.
Striving for perection
18
The number of defects per million Lego bricks manufactured.
The number of defects per million Lego bricks manufactured.
While Lego has scaled up their manufacturing processes, they have also refined their molds so that any two bricks from any where in the world would always snap perfectly together. The same change that Lego made to their mold to remove the gate and runner system not only increases production, but also improves the quality and consistency of the bricks. At the end of the manufacturing process, Lego only has 18 defects per million opportunities (DPMO) (Pisani, 2006). The fundamental factor behind this astonishingly low number is in the time and resources spent for each mold. Lego brick molds use the strongest steels and are made of the highest quality with the tightest of tolerances. The tolerances on the Lego bricks are +/-.004 inches. That means that the difference between brick sizes is never more than the thickness of a human hair! The photograph below shows the current iteration of the same 2x4 brick mold we have been following.
With this incredible precision, Lego pays a price. Each one of these molds can cost well over $200,000 (Wood, 2013). But, they also have a lifetime of 15 million cycles, resulting in 120 million bricks. If each of these bricks sold for just 5 cents, then the mold would produce $5,000,000 worth of Lego bricks in its lifetime. It is clear that the investment Lego makes in the tools for their injection molding process pays off in the long run. The Lego Company values the enormous up front investment, understanding that this price will pay off in not only quantity, but quality as well.
The Manufacturing road ahead
11%
Increase in consumer sales in 2013
Increase in consumer sales in 2013
Lego's sales grew in the double digits last year, an astonishing feat for companies in today's economy. To keep up with this number, the Lego Company must continue to scale up its manufacturing methods while retaining quality. As we have seen, Lego has constantly iterated its molds to accomplish both of these tasks. The easiest way to accomplish this is not by redesigning molds, but by simply creating more Lego factories. And this strategy is exactly what The Lego Group is currently pursuing. Just this past May, Lego opened a brand new Lego factory in Nyíregyháza, Hungary where it will be employing 1,500 workers. This factory will house nearly 700 new molding machines to help meet the projected demands of the upcoming decade (Trangbæk, 2014). It would not be a surprise if Lego already has plans of constructing new factories to support future growth.
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Conclusion
As the demand for this eleventh artifact grows, The Lego Group has had to design and implement numerous improvements to their manufacturing processes. The steady increase in sales has forced Lego to take risks in order to increase production. They have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new manufacturing facilities, and they continue to invest time and resources in enhancing their mold designs (Trangbæk, 2014). Yet even while producing such a staggering quantity of parts each year, Lego still strives to maintain quality. With 45.7 billion bricks produced in 2012 alone and DPMO's lower than some medical device companies, it is clear that Lego has accomplished both of these feats. The manufacturing practices that Lego follows are a direct descendant of this eleventh artifact. These practices serve as a model not only for toy companies, but for all large scale injection molding companies around the world.
The Lego Company is not toying around. It is here to stay, and will continue to be a lasting artifact of the 21st century.
Works Cited
Hückelheim, A. (2009, October 11). Lego Injection Molds. Retrieved December 4, 2014, from Wikimedia Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LegoSpritzguss1.JPG
Hughes, J. (2009). Wooden Duck. Hughes Press. Retrieved from http://brickfetish.com/toys/duck.html
Mike. (2008, November 21). Museum: Lego Idea House. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from Lego Mindstorms: http://lego.brandls.info/ww/m10/m10museum17.jpg
Mortensen, T. F. (2012, January 09). LEGO History Timeline. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from LEGO: http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/lego-group/the_lego_history
Pisani, J. (2006, November 29). The Making of a LEGO. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from Bloomberg Businessweek: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-11-29/the-making-of-a-legobusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
Terdiman, D. (2011, June 15). How Lego makes its bricks (photos). Retrieved December 6, 2014, from C|NET: http://www.cnet.com/pictures/how-lego-makes-its-bricks-photos/11/
Torrone, P. (2006, November 26th). The Making of a LEGO Brick. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from Makezine: http://makezine.com/2006/11/29/the-making-of-a-lego-bric/
Trangbæk, R. R. (2014, March 25). New LEGO Factory opens in Nyíregyháza. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from The Lego Group: http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/news-room/2014/march/nyiregyhaza-lego-factory-opening
Wood, R. (2013, February 19). Retired Lego Mold Discussion on Reddit. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from Wired: http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2013/02/retired-lego-mold-reddit/
Hughes, J. (2009). Wooden Duck. Hughes Press. Retrieved from http://brickfetish.com/toys/duck.html
Mike. (2008, November 21). Museum: Lego Idea House. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from Lego Mindstorms: http://lego.brandls.info/ww/m10/m10museum17.jpg
Mortensen, T. F. (2012, January 09). LEGO History Timeline. Retrieved December 12, 2014, from LEGO: http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/lego-group/the_lego_history
Pisani, J. (2006, November 29). The Making of a LEGO. Retrieved December 6, 2014, from Bloomberg Businessweek: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2006-11-29/the-making-of-a-legobusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
Terdiman, D. (2011, June 15). How Lego makes its bricks (photos). Retrieved December 6, 2014, from C|NET: http://www.cnet.com/pictures/how-lego-makes-its-bricks-photos/11/
Torrone, P. (2006, November 26th). The Making of a LEGO Brick. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from Makezine: http://makezine.com/2006/11/29/the-making-of-a-lego-bric/
Trangbæk, R. R. (2014, March 25). New LEGO Factory opens in Nyíregyháza. Retrieved December 8, 2014, from The Lego Group: http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/news-room/2014/march/nyiregyhaza-lego-factory-opening
Wood, R. (2013, February 19). Retired Lego Mold Discussion on Reddit. Retrieved December 7, 2014, from Wired: http://archive.wired.com/geekdad/2013/02/retired-lego-mold-reddit/