LEGO® Pulley Set

Description

Saving effort with wheels and rope

A pulley is among the oldest machines there is: with several wheels and a rope, you can lift a load that would be hard to move directly. That is exactly what this set aimed to show in lessons. Hang the wheels yourself and you feel the difference between a fixed and a movable pulley, and you can compare loads. It is closer to an experiment kit than a display model, and that is the point of it.

Black, light grey, red and yellow

The main colours are black, light grey, red and yellow, a typical Technic mix from the mid-nineties. Black appears in connectors and wheels, light grey in beams and axles, while red and yellow add accents. There are only 29 different part types among the 78 pieces, so many parts come in multiples. That suits builds with several identical wheels and struts, and it keeps the whole set easy to survey. Sorting the parts before you start takes only a minute, which suits a classroom well.

Build it, test it, change it

You build a frame, hang the wheels and pull the string. Even a small change, such as adding one more wheel, noticeably alters the effort needed. That invites measuring and comparing, even with weights from around the house. There are no figures, so the load is whatever happens to be to hand. For beginners it is a calm, manageable task that needs no motor and no complicated instructions. Older children and adults can also use it to see why cranes and lifts rely on ropes and several wheels.

Parts list and reuse

On this page you can see every wheel, axle and strut of the set in the parts list. That helps if you want to check a second-hand copy for completeness or buy individual parts to replace missing ones. The “What can I build?” tool also finds models that your existing Technic parts could make. Pulleys and axles are useful in many cranes and lifts, so the list is worth a look for later projects too.

FAQ

How many parts are in the Pulley Set?

It has 78 parts in 29 part types. No minifigures are included.

What can it demonstrate?

You can try out how pulleys and rope change the force needed to lift something, which was its purpose in the Dacta range.

Where can I see all the parts?

The complete parts list is further down this page.