SOLENOID ENGINE

The Most Beautiful Way To See Energy  

ESSENTIALS KIT

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$149

Engine Build Kit 

1 Pair of Nautilus and Oval Gears plus Geneva Mechanism

PRE-ORDER

DELUXE KIT

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$199

Engine Build Kit 

5 Pairs of all Essentials Kit gears plus Direction-Changing & Square Gears

PRE-ORDER

The World’s First LEGO-COMPATIBLE
SOLENOID ENGINE

Our Solenoid Engine features nearly 400 pieces including rare and unique components like a brass flywheel, nautilus and oval gears. After 15 years of waiting for the big brands to make a fully functional Solenoid Engine kit we decided to do it ourselves thanks to the power of Vsauce and The Curiosity Box. 

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16 UNIQUE COMPONENTS

We meticulously crafted unique gear designs and connectors to build an engine that shows how electrical energy is converted to motion in a nearly 400 piece building kit.  

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WATCH CHEMICAL ENERGY BECOME MOTION

BRASS FLYWHEEL

This heavy and compact flywheel uses brass which is denser than tin or stainless steel and looks beautiful. It is very efficient because all mass is located near the rim.

NAUTILUS GEARS

Inspired by the shell of the ancient mollusc, this odd-shaped gear follows the logarithmic spiral. If you rotate the driver gear at a constant speed, the driven gear will speed up and slow down during its rotation.

GENEVA MECHANISM

The standard geneva mechanism has only one pin, but ours has two. It translates a continuous rotation movement into intermittent rotary motion and has a variety of applications like banknote counting machines.

DIRECTION-CHANGING GEARS

These mesmerizing direction-changing gears allow for a change in the direction and speed of your driven gear. It’s the strange lovechild of a planetary gearbox and teeth-uncompleted gears.

OVAL GEARS

Although elliptical gears are used often in the printing industry, these unique oval gears are ideal for a flowmeter to measure and control liquid flow in pipelines. 

SQUARE GEARS

Featuring four 90° angles, square gears have utility in industrial machines that need to produce eight periods of speed increase or decrease per revolution.

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site

FAQ

When will the kits be delivered?

We plan to deliver in 2025 (we had hoped to deliver sooner but our research and development took longer than we expected–we are doing everything possible to expedite the process.)

What age is this kit recommended for?

Recomended for ages 13+

How many pieces come in each set? 

The Essential Kit contains 395 pieces  (not counting the included spare parts)
The Deluxe Kit contains 439 pieces (not counting the included spare parts) 

What type of plastic is used in the kits?

The plastic compontents are made with ABS plastic that is used by most major brick building brands. 

Will there be spare parts available?

Your kit will include spare parts (additional pieces not included in overall part count)

Why doesn't my discount work?

The ILOVEYOUMICHAEL discount was restricted to the first 500 people to redeem it.

Why doesn't my Curiosity Box subscriber discount work?

Thanks for supporting another one of our innovations!

If you are an existing subscriber, you need to checkout using the same email that you used to create your subscription. 

If you are a new subscriber, you must complete your purchase of a subscription plan first. After checkout you can purchase one of the engine kits using the same email and the discount will apply. 

With any questions, please email support@curiositybox.com

Is this the most efficient engine? 

There is a chance that it's quite the opposite! We estimate its energy conversion efficiency not to exceed 20%, which is about one third of what is standard for regular electric motors. This solenoid engine is about beauty and simplicity. 

Is this associated with LEGO®?

The parts are compatible with similar brick items and the LEGO® Group of companies does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site.

Can it work in reverse mode as a generator?

Being a reversible machine, you can generate pulses of electricity with it if there is something at your disposal to spin the crankshaft.

Is it powerful enough to damage my constructor parts?

The torque and power of this motor is enough to run beautiful demonstrations but not enough to damage any plastic parts.

Can I use the coils for anything other than this solenoid engine?

We hope you will! The coils can be used for simple builds like a crane with an electromagnet or for a Kibble balance. Here is the link with the instructions and a list of parts for the Kibble balance.

Can I use the flywheel for anything other than a solenoid engine?

Good question! This part can be used in any project where you need to save and store rotational energy!


For any additional questions, please email support@curiositybox.com