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Best 3D Printed Fixture / Tool Design Competition- Student Division

Create the most innovative, impactful and practical additively manufactured jig, fixture, manufacturing aid or tool design.
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Summary

Overview

Your goal in this challenge is to create the most innovative, impactful and practical additively manufactured jig, fixture, manufacturing aid or tool design.

The Challenge:
Design the most innovative, impactful and practical additively manufactured jig, fixture, manufacturing aid or tool design. Highlight why additive manufacturing is the superior or only method of fabrication for your design. Explain the application of your design and the challenges or problems it solves. Tell us about how you utilized nTopology software in your design process. Lastly, explain which Stratasys FDM material you would choose to fabricate this and why.

Academic Competition
To learn more about the Stratasys FDM Fixture Generator from nTopology and how to use it please visit
www.ntopology.com/stratasys. There you will find all the information about what exactly it does and how to use it.

To obtain your free one-year academic license of nTopology* please complete the trial request form here:
https://ntop.typeform.com/to/hOe8knR0

*Please
note that you must be requesting from your .edu email address to receive your non-commercial, academic license of nTopology.

If you are among the top ten finalists, you will be eligible for some amazing prizes such as:

 We’ll print your design for you using the new FDM F770- in your preferred material. Or, the Stratasys FDM material and platform model of your choosing.
 A valuable voucher for printing services from Stratasys Direct Manufacturing
 nTopology
 Recognition and promotion in popular publications
 A free 1-year GrabCAD Shop license for up to 25 users

We ask you to provide your native CAD file and your STL file. If you have a CMB or .Print file, that’s even better!

Entries will be accepted from May 3rd, 2021 through June 14th. Winners will be announced on, or about June 28th.


Guidelines

Rules

ENTERING THE COMPETITION:
If you think an entry may infringe on existing copyrighted materials, please email .

By entering the Challenge you:

1) Accept the official GrabCAD Challenges Terms & Conditions.
2) Agree to be bound by the decisions of the judges (Jury).
3) Warrant that you are eligible to participate.
4) Warrant that the submission is your original work. Warrant, to the best of your knowledge, your work is not, and has not been in production or otherwise previously published or exhibited.
5) Warrant neither the work nor its use infringes the intellectual property rights (whether a patent, utility model, functional design right, aesthetic design right, trademark, copyright or any other intellectual property right) of any other person.
6) Warrant participation shall not constitute employment, assignment or offer of employment or assignment.
7) Are not entitled to any compensation or reimbursement for any costs.
8) Agree the Sponsor and GrabCAD have the right to promote all entries.

SUBMITTING AN ENTRY
Only entries uploaded to GrabCAD through the "Submit entry" button on this Challenge page will be considered an entry. Only public entries are eligible. We encourage teams to use GrabCAD Workbench for developing their entries. Entries are automatically given the tag "StratasysToolDesign2021Student" when uploading to GrabCAD. Please do not edit or delete this tag. Only entries with valid tag will participate in the Challenge.

AWARDING THE WINNERS

The sum of the Awards is the total gross amount of the reward. The awarded participant is solely liable for the payment of all taxes, duties, and other similar measures if imposed on the reward pursuant to the legislation of the country of his/her residence, domicile, citizenship, workplace, or any other criterion of similar nature. Only 1 award per person. Prizes may not be transferred or exchanged. All winners will be contacted by the GrabCAD staff to get their contact information and any other information needed to get the prize to them. Payment of cash awards is made through PayPal. All team awards will be transferred to the member who entered the Challenge. Vouchers will be provided in the form of Stratasys Direct Manufacturing promo codes.

We will release the finalists before the announcement of the winners to give the Community an opportunity to share their favorites in the comments, discuss concerns, and allow time for any testing or analysis by the Jury. The Jury will take the feedback into consideration when picking the winners.

Winning designs will be chosen based on the Rules and Requirements schedule.

Schedule
This Challenge ends on June 14th 2021 (23:59 EST.) Finalists and Winners will be announced on, or about June 28th, 2021.

Requirements

JUDGING CRITERIA:
1. Is this design unique and creative? (test with internet searches)
2. Is the design engineered for Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)?
3. What practical purpose does the fixture or tool serve?
4. What challenge or problem does the fixture or tool serve?
5. Why is additive manufacturing the best or only means of fabricating this fixture or tool?
6. Best use of nTopology software and Stratasys FDM 3d printing- any platform and material

Important Message
This category is open to students at a post-secondary school. Entrants under the age of 18 must have their entries submitted by a parent or guardian over the age of 18. You may enter this challenge individually, or as a design team. All team members must be enrolled as a student in an educational institution or online program during the semester/term in which they contribute to the design. The Challenge is not open to any persons employed, past or present, as a professional in 3D printing.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
1. To be fabricated in one, continuous build (with the need to be produced in multiple segments joined together via post-processing), the design can’t exceed 36 x 24 x 36”. However, you are free to exceed these dimensions; knowing that if you win, the free part that you receive from Stratasys will be fabricated in multiple segments that are bonded together.

2. Eligible materials and printer platforms: Any Stratasys FDM Polymer/ Any Stratasys FDM printer

3. Files must be 3d printable – watertight 3d volumes, no open surfaces

4. Wall thickness and feature size shall not fall below 0.02” inch

5. Layer height or tip size specification

WHAT IS REQUIRED?
1. Your native CAD file and your STL file. If you have a CMB or .Print file, that’s even better!

2. A 2-3 paragraph (500-750 words) narrative that includes all the following:

a. Your company name and industry
b. Your title and job responsibilities
c. What is the application? Is this a common application at your company?
d. What were the challenges you faced and what were your goals?
e. Could this have been produced via some other manufacturing technology?
f. If yes, how and what are the advantages to using additive mfg instead?
g. If no, why not (geometric challenges? Weight?)
h. Did you use the nToplogy in your design process? If yes, how did it help you?
i. What printers do you have access to at your company?
j. What is the next printer your company is considering? How soon?

3. Several supporting images including pictures of the tool in operation (if applicable)

4. What is your preferred material, color and Stratasys FDM system platform/model?

5. Impact Statement (see details below)

6. Acceptance of the design competition official Terms & Conditions specified below

**IMPACT STATEMENT**
To be selected as a finalist, you must: provide a written, quantifiable explanation of how your additively produced tool is projected to, or actually did, positively impact your workflow, product and business. Some examples would be, but are not limited to: 1) % cost reduction or actual cost savings 2) Lead time reduction in days or weeks 3) Manufacturing throughput enhancements in % change or actual time 4) Product development time reduction- in days/weeks.

For example, you might say something like, “We are confident that this fixture will reduce our assembly time for product X by one hour. It will reduce labor cost and will save our company thousands of dollars per week. Due to the geometry of the tool, additive manufacturing is the only way to produce it cost effectively.”

If you already printed your tool and implemented it into your workflow, we are asking you to provide the specifics in writing (statistics/actual results and benefits).

These are the minimum requirements, however, the more information you supply, the better! For example, images, renderings, videos and screenshots of the design and application are encouraged! To win, you must also comply with the aforementioned technical design specifications provided above.

NTOPOLOGY DOWNLOAD AND BEST PRACTICES:
www.stratasys.com/ntopology.

https://ntopology.com/blog/2020/11/08/ntopology-and-stratasys-collaborate-to-automate-the-design-of-manufacturing-aids-for-the-factory-floor/

Prizes

Multiple-See Details

First Place

$1300 SDM Voucher
Free FDM printed model of submitted design- any FDM platform-any FDM material
A highlight in the Stratasys newsletter, website and social channels
Free 1-year subscription to GrabCAD Shop-25 users
GrabCAD newsletter and blog promotion on community challenge page
nTopology placeholder
1-year nTop EDU license,
$300visa gift card, nTop swag

Second Place

$1000 SDM Voucher
Free FDM printed model of submitted design- any FDM platform-any FDM material
A highlight in the Stratasys newsletter, website and social channels
Free 1-year subscription to GrabCAD Shop-25 users
GrabCAD newsletter and blog promotion on community challenge page
nTopology placeholder
1 year nTop EDU license,
$200 visa gift card,
nTop swag

Third Place

$700 SDM Voucher
Free FDM printed model of submitted design- any FDM platform-any FDM material
Free 770 printed model of submitted design
A highlight in the Stratasys newsletter, website and social channels
Free 1-year subscription to GrabCAD Shop-25 users
GrabCAD newsletter and blog promotion on community challenge page
nTopology placeholder
1 year nTop EDU license,
$100 visa gift card,
nTop swag

Finalists 4th-10th place

A highlight in the Stratasys newsletter, website and social channels
GrabCAD newsletter and blog promotion on community challenge page

Timeline
Forum
Teams3
FAQ