Friction of 1x4 hinge plate (part #19954/73983)

[JLiu15]

Hey guys, not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I have a question about the 1x4 hinge plate. So most of the ones I have in my collection have a good amount of friction that holds its position well. However, a new one I got from Bricks & Pieces has considerably less friction. It still has some friction, but the difference is noticeable when compared to the ones I have.

So I'm wondering, is the friction with this piece just hit or miss, or are newer ones having less friction?

[deraven]

This is far from scientific, but I grabbed by drawer full of them and took a look, and also looked at some from more recently purchases sets.  I would say the older ones are definitely stiffer than newer ones, but it's not a tremendous difference and I wouldn't say that the newer ones are "loose" just not as stiff.  There was also some natural variance- in the 20 or so I grabbed, 2 had VERY high friction, and one was much less than all the others (though again still not floppy or anything).

I guess I would say that if you need some to be much more stiff for your use, it might make sense to try Bricklink and pick up some older stock as there's a chance that those, on average, would have a bit more friction.

[JLiu15]

5 hours ago, deraven said:

This is far from scientific, but I grabbed by drawer full of them and took a look, and also looked at some from more recently purchases sets.  I would say the older ones are definitely stiffer than newer ones, but it's not a tremendous difference and I wouldn't say that the newer ones are "loose" just not as stiff.  There was also some natural variance- in the 20 or so I grabbed, 2 had VERY high friction, and one was much less than all the others (though again still not floppy or anything).

I guess I would say that if you need some to be much more stiff for your use, it might make sense to try Bricklink and pick up some older stock as there's a chance that those, on average, would have a bit more friction.

Interesting. I guess there might have been a design or material change in recent years that's made them less stiff. It's certainly not a major issue, but if it does become a problem, I guess I could always use my older ones.

[Faefrost]

Whenever Lego has to replace a commonly used mold, they will often make some subtle tweaks regarding things like friction or clutch power. It’s not anything they would announce as a change to the part, nor would they in any way differentiate the old parts from the new, outside of those concerned with mold testing. And it may not be universal with a new vs old point. Because many parts have more than one toolset. So they may have replaced one worn out mold at one factory while another factory is still using an older mold. (Not that the molds are factory specific. They move around based on need and where there is available factory time.) 

[Peppermint_M]

Another thing to consider is that plastic is a "living" product. So older plastic might be stiffer compared to new. Not so noticeable on standard brick, but a moving part is a different story.