Technica - 1970

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	1970 The European Gear Wheels In 1970, while the Samsonite gears were still being marketed in the US, Lego introduced the next generation of gear wheels in Europe. The first series included the 801 Gears, Motor and Bricks, as well as several smaller sets.
		1970 IT Lego catalog: 43K
European gear wheels:	In many ways the European gear wheels were a refined version of the Samsonite gears. The gear was still essentially a plate with studs on top and tubes on the bottom and the teeth were virtually the same. The real difference was how the gears were attached -not be the traditional stud and tube coupling- but by a cross axle.
The cross axle:	In the late 60's Lego was working on an easy way to allow children, with their limited dexterity, to attach an element, such as a wheel, to an axle without tools. Their solution was the cross axle. The original Danish patent application was filed Feb 3, 1969.
		US patent 3,638,352: 31K
	The patent showed an axle, shaped like an "X" in cross section with evenly spaced grooves and an element such as a wheel or gear with a cross hole containing a small annular spring. The gear would fit over the cross axle and the spring would engage the groove, holding the element in place. In production the cross axles had no grooves; they simply held the element in place by friction. The European gears, however, still had the small annular spring in the center of the cross hole. In addition to the cross axles there were also 2x4 bricks with holes to act as bearings and small connectors that would attach the axles to the tubes underneath normal bricks and later, in 1972, a universal joint. This system allowed much greater flexibility in construction than the Samsonite gears and served as the prototype for the Technic elements.
		1974 EU Lego catalog: 71K
	The initial series of sets were replaced by the 810 series in 1974. The new sets used all of the previous elements and introduced a new bushing and tread links. This series included instructions for models such as cars, tractors, windmills and cranes - subjects that would be repeated often in the Technic line. The gear wheel sets were discontinued in 1976, however some of these elements, particularly the 9t gear, the bushing, and the cross axles appeared later in the Hobby Set series (1975-1977) and the classic 780 Road Construction Set.
Example sets:	800 Gears, Motor and Bricks (1970) 801 Gears and Bricks (1970) 802 Gears only (1970) 803 'Gears, Universal Joints and Sturdy Tyres' (1972) 810 Big Working Model Set with Gears and Heavy Tyres (1974) 811 Models engrenages avec chenilles (1974) 812 Supplementary set of Gears and Connectors (1974) 813 Working Model Set with Caterpillar Tracks (1974) 814 'Special Elements for a Tractor' (1975) 780 Road Construction Set (1975) 392 Formula 1 (1975) 393 Norton Motorcycle (1976) 394 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle (1976)
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