K'NEX Pieces

Here are part counts for some of the K'NEX sets. Following the table are general comments on K'NEX pieces.



K'NEX Set
K'NEX PieceDescription Big Ball FactoryGiantExplorerLauncher Solar Super 10Motor Pack
White Connector 60 65 35 6 7 -
Blue Connector 168 60 43 10 14 -
Yellow Connector 191 80 52 13 14 -
Orange Tabbed Connector 39 - 6 - - -
Purple Connector 331 100 51 12 8 -
Green Connector 29 110 50 15 10 -
Red Connector 236 65 42 12 16 -
Light Grey Connector 24 15 12 6 12 -
Orange Connector 114 75 22 8 16 -
Dark Grey Connector 184 225 59 17 10 -
Tan Wheel-Axle Connector 16 20 22 12 15 24
Orange Chain Clip 2 - 4 2 2 -
Rotational Connector - - - - 2 -
Green Rod 256 250 133 32 36 -
White Rod 332 250 125 29 21 -
Blue Rod 587 250 111 20 23 -
Yellow Rod 406 120 74 12 19 -
Red Rod 23 60 48 4 12 -
Tan Rod 2 - 4 - - 4
Yellow Notched Rod - - 4 - - -
Grey (Flexible) Rod 22 20 16 4 5 -
Black (Rigid) Rod 1 4 4 1 - -
Small Wheel - 8 4 4 2 -
Large Wheel - 16 8 4 - 2
Small Tire - 8 4 4 - -
Medium Tire - 6 5 2 - -
Large Tire - 10 8 2 - -
Red Gear 6 - 3 1 1 4
Yellow Gear - - 2 1 - -
Blue Gear - - 5 2 2 4
Grey Gear - - 2 1 - -
Chain Link 132 - 40 2 2 -
Ball 4 - 1 - - -
Axle Spacer - - - 36 18 -
Hinge - - - 2 - -
Yellow Spoked Wheel - - - 4 2 -
Electric Motor & Gear - - - - - Yes
Power Pack - - - - - -
Solar Cell & Motor - - - - Yes -

Total 3165 1817 999 280 273 39

Naturally, some K'NEX designs are going to require parts in different proportions than what is provided in the prepackaged kits. Fortunately, several different K'NEX parts may be exchanged with each other without impacting the structural integrity or function of your design. For example, a blue connector may be used in place of a white one as long as seven or fewer rod connections are made to it. Similarly, the tabbed (orange) and untabbed (yellow) versions of the 5-rod connector are often interchangeable. In the K'NEX design books, the tabbed version seems to be used exclusively for attaching tubular flexible track. We found this track to be unruly at best, and it often requires trimming to a specific design. Consequently, we avoided its use whenever possible; for example, we created an interesting modification of the Big Ball Factory that avoided tubing altogether.

The numerous dark-grey single-rod connectors can be used as washers or spacers on axles by either clipping them on securely or merely slipping their circular ends over the rod. As well as securing a gear or a wheel to an axle, the tan connector can be used as an axle endcap, producing less of a protrusion than the dark-grey connector.

We found no functional difference between the like-sized red, tan and notched yellow rods, other than the built-in connector lock feature of the yellow one (which perhaps avoids the use of extra dark-grey connectors). As stated in the K'NEX instruction books, the grey rod is much more flexible than the similarly-sized black rod. However, the grey rods are usually more numerous in kits than the black ones, so we often had to use grey rods when the more-rigid black ones might have been preferable.

On occasion, a wheel/tire combination can be used horizontally to provide a cushion or shock absorber for moving components. The large red and yellow gears can often be used interchangeably, but the yellow gear's extending teeth provide much more reliable gearbox operation in a design involving perpendicular axles. The small blue gear has an axle-locking capability similar to the larger sizes, but the small grey gear does not, and so is more suitable for decorative uses.

As mentioned in some of the K'NEX instruction books, the two-piece red/yellow ball is essentially fused together once it has been assembled. We found that a ball could be disassembled by a sharp impact, but if you want to create designs using the open hemispherical ball halves, it would be a good idea to keep a disassembled ball in reserve.

K'NEX Industries maintains very high quality control on the production of K'NEX plastic pieces - one reason the various parts fit together so well. Production run numbers are sometimes marked in unobtrusive areas of the individual pieces.

Some of the later K'NEX kits, such as the Launcher series, include a few new parts that make some mechanical designs easier. These parts include a light-blue axle spacer, matched blue/green pairs of hinged connectors (think of an orange connector that can bend in the middle), and a large yellow spoked wheel/gear. These new pieces should provide a capability for improved K'NEX designs, particularly in areas where pivots and hinges are needed. However, if you don't have these new pieces, you can still create a fully-functional and very flexible hinge with a single chain piece, an orange chain clip and a straight orange connector.

The new Solar series contains a small electric motor powered by a separate solar cell. Provided with a long cord, the solar cell can be positioned on a stand a good distance away from the mechanical design containing the motor. We found the solar-powered motor to perform best on designs having lighter moving parts or low torque requirements. More heavy-duty creations would probably function better with the AC electric motor.

The new kits, Cosmic Invaders and Blazing Bikes, provide people-shaped figures that can be rigidly positioned using ball-and-socket joints in new K'NEX pieces.

Here are all the possible lengths using 20-mm orange connector(s) with three or fewer rods:

Length (mm)RodsSequence
171Green
331White
541Blue
702Green White
861Yellow
912Green Blue
1072White Blue
1232Green Yellow
1291Red
1392White Yellow
1443Green White Blue
1602Blue Yellow
1662Green Red
1763Green White Yellow
1822White Red
1921Grey
1973Green Blue Yellow
2032Blue Red
2133White Blue Yellow
2193Green White Red
2292Green Grey
2352Yellow Red
2403Green Blue Red
2452White Grey
2563White Blue Red
2662Blue Grey
2723Green Yellow Red
2782Red Red
2823Green White Grey
2883White Yellow Red
2982Yellow Grey
3033Green Blue Grey
3093Blue Yellow Red
3153Green Red Red
3193White Blue Grey
3313White Red Red
3353Green Yellow Grey
3412Red Grey
3513White Yellow Grey
3523Blue Red Red
3723Blue Yellow Grey
3783Green Red Grey
3843Yellow Red Red
3943White Red Grey
4042Grey Grey
4153Blue Red Grey
4273Red Red Red
4413Green Grey Grey
4473Yellow Red Grey
4573White Grey Grey
4783Blue Grey Grey
4903Red Red Grey
5103Yellow Grey Grey
5533Red Grey Grey
6163Grey Grey Grey

2-Piece Sequence 3-Piece Sequence

Copyright © 1999 Balmoral Software. Portions copyright © 1999 K'NEX Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution is expressly prohibited without prior written consent.