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Pedro:
Your assumptions are absolutely correct. Most of Lego's plastic is a special
(top secret) version of Bayer Novodur. Lego also uses a version of Lustran and,
more recently, a version of Makrolon. If you spend enough time on the Bayer
site they have plenty of promotional mentions of being Lego's supplier. Note
that all of Lego's plastic is specially formulated for Lego.
In an older post I guessed that Legos version of Novodur was probably closest
to Novodur P2M-V:
http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=6920
BTW Bayer also sells the plastic colorant for most of Legos bricks in the form
of Macrolex.
I do think that in the last several years there have been formulation changes
although I dont have any specifics. I have also noticed the shininess and oily
feeling of new bricks
--Jim
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In lugnet.general, Jim Hughes writes:
> Pedro:
>
> Your assumptions are absolutely correct. Most of Lego's plastic is a special
> (top secret) version of Bayer Novodur. Lego also uses a version of Lustran and,
> more recently, a version of Makrolon. If you spend enough time on the Bayer
> site they have plenty of promotional mentions of being Lego's supplier. Note
> that all of Lego's plastic is specially formulated for Lego.
>
> In an older post I guessed that Legos version of Novodur was probably closest
> to Novodur P2M-V:
>
> http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=6920
Wow!
I remember that thread... shame on me for not checking further on past posts!
Great research, by the way. I would have taken longer to find out LEGO
references in Bayer's website, mainly because I were not *expecting* there
would be any... turns out they are proud of their role as suppliers - and
they have reasons for it, despite my concerns.
> BTW Bayer also sells the plastic colorant for most of Legos bricks in the form
> of Macrolex.
>
> I do think that in the last several years there have been formulation changes
> although I dont have any specifics. I have also noticed the shininess and oily
> feeling of new bricks
I can do with the oily look, what I can't handle that well is the loss of
clutch. If before a couple of assemblies would reach the ideal clutch, now
it takes ages to reach a stable assembly :-(
The worst of all is the decrease in "perfection" of bricks; it is only an
impression, and I consider it is caused by the bricks spending fewer time in
the moulds (resulting in tiny "lumps" on the lower edges of bricks, similar
to those that appear in very old glass windows). If plastic comes out of the
mold still hot, it will warp a little, right?
Anyway, why would LEGO want to change their plastic if the original ABS was
great? It couldn't be a matter of costs... instead, would this have anything
to do with legal requirements for toys?
Pedro
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