MakerBot and GE FirstBuild are teaming up on a brand new Thingiverse challenge.
The GE FirstBuild Thingiverse Icebox Challenge is designed to get makers to create solutions that can be placed inside of a home refrigerator. From purely 3D printed pieces to battery-operated electromechanical devices, FirstBuild's engineers are on the lookout for the most innovative designs to feature on Thingiverse and in Makerbot stores.
They have already printed some ideas themselves including a 3D printed pizza box holder, customizable to the size of the box and the refrigerator shelves, and a motorized 3D printed wine cooler.
Contestants should submit their designs to the FirstBuild site and are encouraged to upload them to Thingiverse along with the tag #IceboxChallenge.
As well as having their work featured, entrants could be in with the chance of winning a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer of a MakerBot Replicator 2X Experimental 3D Printer. Other prizes include a MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D Printer and MakerBot Filament.
"We see the FirstBuild Thingiverse Icebox Challenge as a way to empower our customers to design accessories for their home appliances that fit their own lifestyle best," noted Natarajan Venkatakrishnan, director of GE FirstBuild. "To be able to open up our innovation process to the public and have them tell us what accessories they would like in their refrigerators is pretty exciting."
The FirstBuild Thingiverse Icebox Challenge runs until 23rd November. Entrants will be judged by online community voting and judge testing and winners will be announced on 15th December.