3D Printing Challenge Encourages Student Designers to Pursue STEM

Stratasys has announced the winners of their 12th annual Extreme Redesign 3D printing challenge, which asks students across a range of different education levels for the best new product design or best redesign of an existing engineering solution in several different categories.

The contest is open to high school and college or university students around the world, and gives them an opportunity to show their creativity and technical savviness to a panel of professionals from the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry. 

Designs need to be mechanically sound, realistic and achievable whether working to improve on existing designs or creating an entirely new product.

Competitions such as this have become more common as a way to encourage students in high school to engage in STEM and pursue these fields through university and into their future careers.

Prizes for this contest include scholarships awarded to the winning students, with their supervising instructors receiving a limited time demo 3D printer for use in their classrooms.

First place:

Ryerson University students Aris Peci and Remi Carreiro

In an effort to make a less bulky and universally designed smartphone camera lens, the team from Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada have designed the Hypershot.

In the project description, the “HyperShot’s goal is to reduce the amount of hardware and time required to use additional lenses on your smartphone and to make that system universal to suit more devices.”

Second place:

SketcHold

Ryerson University students Alborz Razavitousi and Arman Ghafouri-Azar

Another strong team from Ryerson University designed the SketcHold, an “ergonomic 3D-printed sketching tool that is designed to provide maximum control and comfort while sketching.”

Portability and adjustability are key in the design, which can not only hold your sketchbook or palette securely, but store your drawing implements while on the go.  Check out their project video below:

First place:

Modular Hexagonal Extension;

Etobicoke Collegiate Institute student Li Cheng Yu

Li Cheng Yu is working to design a better outlet extension, by eschewing the traditional bulky extension bar.

“This is the inspiration for the design of the modular hexagonal extension, an extension device that contains a high number of outlets while keeping its size slim and compact. It is meant to be a versatile outlet extension that is customizable and portable,” Yu described.

Second place:

Drill Press C.N.C. Attachment,

Benilde-St.Margaret’s student Joseph Busch

While Computer Controlled (CNC) mills are expensive and complex, Joseph Busch has designed a kit that can turn a standard drill press into a CNC milling machine, in an effort to provide high-schools with better manufacturing capabilities.

According to Busch, “This will allow more students to work with computer-aided design and computer aided manufacturing, which are essential skills for any student who wants to become an engineer.”

Winner: Intelligent Waterbots, Jason Fontaine; San Jacinto College

The San Jacinto College Artificial Intelligence Technology Lab and Aerospace Academy at NASA pursue research in underwater robotics. 

The team designed a containment chamber to house their intelligent technology at a considerably reduced cost.

As the team described their project, “the decrease in cost will allow more students within the region to be involved in the summer camps and college research while the resulting increase in student involvement will allow the minority serving region to engage in a meaningful way with NASA and the local industry.”

Winner: 3D Printed Braille Keyboard Alphabet, ITESM Puebla student Marco Magaña

It’s easy to believe that a blind or visually impaired individual would have difficulty learning to type on a traditional keyboard. Current braille alphabetical keyboards exist, but often are either prohibitively expensive, or make use of cheaply made stickers that only adhere to keys temporarily.

To make the process of learning to type easier for these individuals, Marco Magaña has designed 3D-printed braille key pads that are thin, durable and cost effective to produce.

“The development of this project started because we wanted to make a better and cheaper way for blind people to type on their computers,” he said in the project’s description.

Read more about these projects and previous year’s winners at the Stratasys Extreme Redesign Challenge website.