E-Book Review: LEGO Engineering Fundamentals

E-Book Review: LEGO Engineering Fundamentals
Author: Jorge Moreno Barrios | 171 pages, $19.99
Available on Apple Books

LEGO Engineering books are few and far between, with the most well-know beong from the family of idea books by Isogawa Yoshihito published by No Starch Press. LEGO Engineering Fundamentals, by Jorge Moreno Barrios is another book that should be in a reference shelf, or in this case, a tablet or even a smart phone.

LEGO Engineering Fundamentals is an e-book that is outstanding because it takes advantage of its medium. As an e-book, it has the ability to provide information differently than a printed hardcopy book. Movement and 3-dimensional images can be projected and manipulated on a table screen or computer screen. In the e-book, these are used to demonstrate the use of TECHNIC elements in LEGO sets to replicate mechanical actions and functions. This is done by making graphics that “work.” Gears mesh and shock absorbers flex on an axle. These show in a clear and engaging way how these mechanisms work, and how to make them.

Some graphics are set up so when rotated, text information spins into place, showing things like measurements and math formulas as well as parts of a machine. With this approach, the book become a visual reference for building and figuring out things like gear ratios.

LEGO Engineering Fundamentals also has a visual library of TECHNIC parts with their LEGO part numbers. This will be very useful for builders wanting to buy a part from an online vendor such as Bricklink, as you can search the part by number quickly and easily. As with the other graphic files, the parts can be rotated to show whatever angle desired.

With all of the demos and information, LEGO Engineering Fundamentals is a great resource for TECHNIC builders just starting and also FIRST LEGO League teams. Put on a team tablet, the e-book would be an easy way to find parts and mechanical models to use. The mathematical information would be good to note in a team’s Engineering Notebook. There are no instructions in the book, but the diagrams should give more than enough information to build.

You can get the LEGO Engineering Fundamentais book on Apple Books. 

If you want a free sample of the book, you can go here.