3D Hubs
3D Hubs Grant 2018 - product design
Underwater jetpack, the winning project of the product design category of 3D Hubs Student Grant 2018.
3D Hubs has announced the winners in the product design, engineering and architecture categories for the second 3D Hubs Student Grant.
The winning projects included an underwater jetpack, a medical training platform made up of a robotic head, and a physical model concept of a new public swimming pool. There were applicants from more than 50 countries using a range of different 3D printing processes, printing in various materials and designing with several different software packages.
Loughborough University saw five of its students in the top ten product design projects, with Archie O’Brien’s underwater jetpack winning the top prize of the most contested category – nearly half of all applicants entered a product design project. O’Brien’s underwater jetpack functional prototype was predominantly made using PLA material, including the internal components, and designed using SolidWorks. It can be used for life guarding and under water exploration.
3D Hubs
Training Platform for Transoral Robotic Surgery
Training Platform for Transoral Robotic Surgery, the winning project of the engineering category of 3D Hubs Student Grant competition.
In the engineering category, the University of California’s Rory Geoghegan and Dr. Mendelsohn won the grant for their transoral robotic surgery training platform. Robotic surgery has the ability to remove tumours from deep inside the mouth, but currently there is no platform to adequately train the necessary skills for surgeons. Geoghegan and Mendelsohn’s platform consists of a human head model, FDM 3D printed in PLA, with an anatomically accurate aerodigestive tract and a synthetic tumour. It also boasts force sensors underneath structures which are often damaged. 3D printing represents the most cost effective way of replacing these parts as and when they do break.
Hochschule Koblenz used an FDM printer to produce more than 25 pieces which were assembled to represent a new public swimming pool design concept. Thanks to the use of 3D printing, Boschert and Boldt were able to transform the digital design into a physical model, something they would not have been able to do with traditional modelling.
3D Hubs
3D Hubs Grant 2018 - architecture
3D printed public swimming pool design concept, the winning project of the architecture category of 3D Hubs Student Grant 2018.
Each winning individual or team will receive a grant of $1,000 which they can either use to cover the costs of the project they entered, or put it towards their next one. For the second consecutive year, Loughborough University had the most entries, with Pratt Institute second and Politecnico di Milano third. Solidworks (28.0%) and Rhino (20.7%) were the most used 3D software, while PLA (45.9%) and ABS (21.0%) were the most prevalent materials.
“After the success of last year, it was great to see more refreshing and new ideas being submitted,” commented Filemon Schoffer, CMO, 3D Hubs. “Our goal is to give students affordable access to all manufacturing technologies so their ideas don’t have to be restrictive. The 3D Hubs Student Grant is always a great way to showcase the talented people we have using the platform who will be pushing the industry forward.”
