Fischertechnik facts for kids
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| Type | Construction set |
|---|---|
| Inventor(s) | Artur Fischer |
| Company | fischertechnik GmbH |
| Country | Germany |
| Availability | 1966–present |
| Slogan | Building blocks for life |
Fischertechnik is a popular brand of construction toy from Germany. It was created by Artur Fischer and is made by fischertechnik GmbH in a town called Waldachtal. Many fans like to call it "FT" for short.
Fischertechnik is often used in schools to teach kids about how simple machines work. You can learn about motors, gears, and all sorts of moving parts. The company even makes special computer parts that help teach about automation (making things work by themselves) and robotics (building and programming robots).
Contents
How Fischertechnik Started
Fischertechnik began with a company in Germany that made fasteners, like screws and anchors. In 1964, they gave out the first Fischertechnik sets as a special Christmas gift to engineers and important customers. People loved these gifts so much that by Christmas 1965, the company started selling the building sets in stores in Germany!
One of the main goals was to help young people get excited about technology and science. By the early 1970s, you could even find Fischertechnik sets in fancy toy stores in the United States, like FAO Schwarz.
The Special Building Blocks
The main pieces of Fischertechnik are unique blocks made from tough nylon. They have a special channel-and-groove design. The basic blocks come in two sizes: 15×15×15 millimeters and 15×15×30 millimeters.
Each block has a peg on one side that fits perfectly into a channel on any of the other five sides of another block. This means you can connect them very tightly and build almost any shape you can imagine! You can also add red plates to cover the outside of your models and make them look finished.
Cool Parts and Electronics
When Fischertechnik first started, the blocks were mostly gray, and the extra parts like wheels were red. But soon, they added electric motors, power sources, and gears. These parts let you make your models move!
Later, they added more building pieces, like long struts, in special "statics" sets. These parts helped builders create realistic-looking bridges and tall cranes. Some Fischertechnik girders are even made of real aluminum!
To help teach about how these models work, some sets included measuring tools. This allowed people to calculate and test things like angles and forces.
Smart Electronic Parts
Fischertechnik sets became even more advanced with electrical and electronic parts. They added tiny switches, magnetic sensors, and light sensors (photocells). These parts could tell where things were and send signals to motors.
In the late 1970s, they introduced electronic logic modules. These are like tiny brains that let your models make simple decisions. For example, they could use "AND" or "OR" logic to decide if a motor should turn on. They even added pneumatic parts, which use air pressure to make things like grippers open and close.
By the late 1980s, more advanced computer modules were added. These allowed you to program a sequence of movements for your models.
Fischertechnik for Younger Builders
As other toy brands, like Lego, started making more advanced kits (like Lego Mindstorms), Fischertechnik also tried to create simpler, more "fun" building kits for younger kids. These newer parts were made from more colorful plastics, and they developed small sets for building simple models like cars.
However, Fischertechnik sets were often more expensive than Lego, and they didn't have as many parts that looked like everyday objects. Because of this, Fischertechnik is still mostly known as a product for schools, engineers, and serious hobbyists, rather than a general toy for everyone. It's also not as easy to find in regular toy stores as Lego products.
Building Smart Robots!
By 2006, Fischertechnik offered amazing sets for controlling robots. These sets came with special software called "Robo-pro," on-board computer controllers with memory, and even remote controls that used infrared or radio signals. You could also get pneumatic parts to make robots grab things.
With these sets, you could build robots that could follow lines on the floor, sense obstacles and change direction, pick up and move objects, and even act like real-life machines such as vending machines, elevators, or traffic lights! In 2010, Fischertechnik released the ROBO TX Explorer kit, which included a color sensor, allowing robots to "see" colors. You can learn more about it on their website: fischertechnik TXT Explorer.
Different Sets Over Time
Fischertechnik has made many different sets over the years, and they've even changed the names of some existing sets multiple times. There have been several different "lines" of these sets, often called "A," "B," "C," "D," and "E" by fans. While the parts in these lines were slightly different, they were always compatible, meaning you could mix and match them!
For example, the "A" line often had black-and-white pictures on the boxes. The "C" line introduced black plastic gears (before that, they were all red). The "D" line brought in yellow plastic "statics" parts, which used to be gray.
More recently, Fischertechnik has started making specialized kits for building specific models, like boats, airplanes, bridges, or cranes. This is a bit different from their older style of making general sets where you could build hundreds of different models. They also continue to produce advanced robotic sets with battery packs, remote controls, and programmable control boards.
See also
- Lego Technic
- NORBIT
