Balance is extremely important in construction, especially when building cranes. If a crane is not well balanced, it may easily fall due to its weight and cause serious damage. In this lesson, we explore how to properly balance a crane.
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- #2574
- 25 Jan 2026
Before we start balancing our crane, we will explain an important term. In today’s lesson, you will often come across the jib of the crane. The jib of the crane is a horizontal arm on the upper part of the crane where the hook or grabber of the crane is attached:
After you have constructed the crane, it will heavily lean to one side due to the weight of the arm at the end of the jib:
This might damage the motors, and the crane will most probably crash very quickly if you decide to use it. To avoid that, you should install a counterweight at the back side of the jib, just like in real cranes:
You can use other LEGO parts or tires as counterweights and attach them to the big grey frame. Choose the right amount of counterweights. If their number or weight is not enough, the crane might remain inclined.
If you attach too many, the crane will lean to the opposite side and will remain unstable:
The aim is to attach as many tires and LEGO parts as possible to make the jig of the crane horizontal:
Courses and lessons with this Tutorial
This Tutorial is used in the following courses and lessons
Level C2 - Cooperation - Robotics with LEGO SPIKE Prime
The sixth level of the Robotics with LEGO curriculum is designed for students in third or fourth grade.
For the first time, two different robots are required to solve a challenge. Students learn how to cooperate, agree on a shared plan, and divide their roles. They build a variety of robots, including a crane that loads a sorter. Students also use two sensors at the same time to locate their target and to check whether their partner robot is ready to complete its part of the challenge.
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Lesson 1 - Crane
Introduction
In this level, we will make robots that interact with each other. In the first three lessons, we will create a mini shipyard that unloads and sorts materials!
Have you been to a shipyard? What do you think can be transported by ship? What materials does your country mine?
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- 5
- 11
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