K'NEX

K'NEX is a brand name of a toy construction system designed and produced by K'NEX Industries, Inc. of Hatfield, PA. The toy consists of interconnecting plastic rods and connectors. It improved upon, and was inspired by, an earlier construction toy made of colored wooden dowels and connecting nodes called Tinkertoys. It is a construction toy in the same genre as LEGO and Meccano, although it uses rods, not bricks or metal strips. K'NEX has not introduced sets containing brand constructions (as LEGO does with Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), but often bases its sets around popular fads (such as mech warriors and RC cars).

K'NEX connectors and rods are colour coded: K'NEX rods come in a range of lengths, each length being a distinct color. When the additional length of connections is taken into account, the ratio between successive lengths of rods is 1:√2. This makes the construction of right-angle isosceles triangles simple, and these triangles provide the structural strength in models. Most types of K'NEX rods are rigid, but there are flexible versions of some of the longer rods. K'NEX connectors connect rods at angles which are multiples of 45 degrees.

Panels are available to provide solidity to models. Other parts available include foam darts, cones and domes, wheels, and small figures which can be attached.

The addition of battery and solar-powered motors, together with gears of various types and sizes, cranks and pulleys, allows K'NEX models to be motorised.

The company also offers a variant brand, Kid K'NEX, which is made of a softer injection-molded plastic and is twice the scale of the original K'NEX. It is intended for children ages 3 to 5. Kid K'NEX is incompatible with K'NEX. (Because of the small parts, both K'NEX and Kid K'NEX are not recommended for children under age 3).

K'NEX Industries also manufactures and distributes Lincoln Logs under license from Hasbro, Inc.

External links

• Official K'NEX website