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Show off your skills and solve real design problems
BOXX Technologies, leading innovator of high performance workstation computers and rendering systems, challenges you to design a new enclosure for their CAD workstation.
Participants should consider the key components of a workstation and how those components relate to the design of an enclosure. To ensure design concepts adhere to the real-world requirements of a professional workstation, entries should be able to accommodate at minimum:
- Two full size GPU slots
- 12 USB ports
- Power switches
- Microphone and audio in/out jacks (amount of each is up to you)
- 550 W power supply
- Optical Drive (DVD, Blu-Ray)
Proportions and dimensions of the components above can be approximated. Internal components such as motherboards, CPU, memory etc. do not need to be represented in your model. BOXX is primarily interested in design concepts.
Please click HERE to see 360 degree 3D model of the current workstation design.
You must include:
- STEP or IGES file format
- Rendering
- Description explaining your design
You are encouraged to include:
- CAD file (any format)
Design requirements:
We will not set dimension requirements and will follow the external design when developing the internal structures. Minimum dimensions (current casing):
- height 14.6” (37.1 cm)
- width 6.85” (17.4 cm)
- depth 16.6” (42.2 cm)
Winning design should be:
- matching BOXX brand
- creative
- within the dimension limits
- suitable for a CAD workstation of tomorrow
- aesthetic
The competition is open to everyone. Multiple entries are acceptable. Team entries are welcome - prize will be transferred to team leader. Participants may only win one prize per Challenge.
Tag your entry with “workstation” when uploading to GrabCAD. If you submit through the "Submit entry" button, this should be added automatically. Only entries with valid tag will participate. Only entries uploaded to GrabCAD through the "Submit entry" button on this Challenge page will be considered an entry. Private entries are not eligible.
By entering this competition, you 1. Warrant that the work is your original work. 2. To the best of your knowledge, it is not, and has not been in production or otherwise previously published or exhibited. 3. Neither the work nor its use infringes the intellectual property rights (whether a patent, utility model, functional design right, aesthetic design right, trade mark, copyright or any other intellectual property right) of any other person.
______________________
If you think an entry may infringe on existing copyrighted materials, please email challenges@grabcad.com.
Applicants are not entitled to any compensation or reimbursement for any costs. The applicant’s participation shall not constitute employment, assignment or offer of employment or assignment.
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.
Only public entries will be considered. Any private submissions will be made public at the Challenge deadline.
We will release the finalists before the final announcement to give the Community an opportunity to "vote" for their favorites in the comments. The jury will take these into consideration when picking the final winner. This new addition is based on feedback from you!
Winning designs will be chosen based on the rules and requirements. This Challenge ends on April 10, 2014 (11:59pm UTC). Winners will be announced by May 10, 2014.
Void where prohibited.
3DBOXX 4150 XTREME workstation (value $3,610.00)
Limited edition LEGO brick BOXX workstation Kit collectible + BOXX and GrabCAD T-shirts
Limited edition LEGO brick BOXX renderPRO kit collectible + BOXX and GrabCAD T-shirts
BOXX and GrabCAD T-shirts
The jury is comprised of experts from BOXX Technologies and GrabCAD.
BOXX Technologies, Inc. manufactures computing systems for visual effects (VFX) design professionals and visualization applications. We design and build workstations and rendering systems for architecture and engineering, product design, VFX, film and television, game development, higher education, government and defense, science and medical and general business industries.
Please also take a look at BOXX Technologies profile on GrabCAD
Sara Sigel
Joe Pizzini
BOXX TechnologiesHave an awesome idea for this competition? Want to win cool prizes? Sign-up now to upload your entries.
If you don't receive the email within an hour (and you've checked your Spam folder), email us as confirmation@grabcad.com.
232 comments
Chester Lee Coloma about 10 years ago
Wow another great challenge!
Pratik about 10 years ago
Is there any limitation for desired shape. I mean it should be regular box type or any other shape with good asthetics is ok.
Piotr Zaborowski about 10 years ago
Do we need to use solid modelling or we are allowed to use surfaces as well? What material is required in this design?
Ioannis Skarlatakis about 10 years ago
@Chester... Indeed this must be a very promising Challenge! ;)
@Pratik... Considering the Logo of the company...
"BOX... ...THE PROFESSIONAL'S CHOICE"
I wouldn't go with a very exotic shape e.g. something like a Pyramid ;P...
I would recommend to be realistic enough without compromising the limits of your imagination!!! ;)
@Piotr... I believe that we are here to stretch any design technique we are able to use not the other way around. I cannot really think a reason (unless I missed something from the aforementioned info ) why not to use surface modelling!!! ;)
Regarding the material without being entirely sure Steel Sheetmetal & Plastic along with Aluminium can be the major materials however I would wait for a more formal & detailed response on that!
Negrievski Nenad about 10 years ago
Hi,
Do you have any design/style preferences? Maybe some examples of products you like? Or examples of products/forms/style you dislike?
Thanks
ronit pandya about 10 years ago
WoW!!!!! ..... lots of great minds are working here.....excited to see entries with a lot of creativity ;)...
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
Hi All,
To answer the initial questions:
- no limit on the shape, just keep in mind that the enclosure needs to house a motherboard, power supply, GPUs, CPUs, memory etc. Modeling internal components is not required but you may represent these components with basic geometric shapes if you wish.
- you may use any modeling method you wish.
- sheet metal, aluminum and plastics are acceptable materials
Thanks!
Rashiga Walallawita about 10 years ago
Hi
Can we use pci/e risers? to change the orientation of the GPU's?
What is the motherboard size? ATX / WA
aTX?
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
Wow, my dream computer company on GrabCAD with a challenge... If BOXX only knew how often I drool over their high-end PC's... simply the best available
I'm going all out on this challenge!
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
It is an ATX motherboard 12.0" x 9.6". Regarding the riser cards, you may incorporate that into your design if you wish. Thanks
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
another good one. Wow!
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
@BOXX Are there any other hard-value dimensional requirements aside from the motherboard? Any other dimensional design constraints? Thanks in advance!
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
No strict dimenions that you must adhere to (just try to keep proportions realistic). The current 3DBOXX 4150 XTREME dimensions are provided above as a guidline.
Matthieu Lemaître about 10 years ago
the 12 USBs is in total, or over the ones on the motherboard?
Matthieu Lemaître about 10 years ago
and i guess it also need 2 3.5" support as i see on the pic
Aqil Ghaffar about 10 years ago
i would like to ask about the internal structure.
1- Is it necessary to design whole internal frame like holders for components, fans and GPUs etc like chase of car.
2- only outer structre desired?
3- Do we have make a fully functional cpu case or just a rough design as mentioned in comments and details that we need design.................
Aqil Ghaffar about 10 years ago
can all of you elaborate "Only the external enclosure concept design is required"
why we are asing the dimenssions of internal components?
Aqil Ghaffar about 10 years ago
" BOXX is primarily interested in design concepts................"
Matthieu Lemaître about 10 years ago
can we propose a different layout than the one of this case so wa can change minimal dimensions? (well i think i'll do it anyway in addition to a new looking ^^)
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
@3DNag - feel free to explore other form factors as you see fit. Just keep in mind the components that need to go into a professional BOXX workstation.
@Aqi
1. No, designing a chassis and any other internal component is not necessary but you may wish to model basic structures for these items if you think it will help
2. Yes. We're only looking for design concepts of the external enclosure
We're looking foward to seeing all of your entries!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
What materials are possible, preferrences etc. sheet metal, aluminum, tin and or plastic.....?
Konrad Jakubiak about 10 years ago
@BOXX Technologies, how would you describe ideal design: super cool or smart proffesional?
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
@Konrad, smart professional is likely the best fit - but don't completely neglect the "cool" factor. Thanks!
Konrad Jakubiak about 10 years ago
@BOXX, all right and rather simple and minimalistic or the one, that you can't get past unnoticed:)
esmaeil about 10 years ago
It Seems a new complicated challenge but with no cash prize !!!
Master3D about 10 years ago
HA! ,Und das überrascht nicht,Das ist einfach!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Can someone give me the boxx logo as a sketch????.......thanks in advance.
Frederik Vollbrecht about 10 years ago
@Jonathan Which format would you preferv
Frederik Vollbrecht about 10 years ago
Files in dwg and dxf
https://grabcad.com/library/boxx-logo-outline-1
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
.slprt is best. Frederik, you da man! A+
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Frederik, save so much time and work for all of us, cheers man! )
Frederik Vollbrecht about 10 years ago
I created and added blocks for our SolidWorks-Users (as i know how hard it can be to add dxf/dwg files to swx)
I have also uploaded the logo text separatelv.
Have fun
Pratik about 10 years ago
@Frederik Vollbrecht thankx for the logo man
Romano Gaspari about 10 years ago
do U accept extreme design?
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
Hi All,
Thanks for all the submissions so far, we're seeing a lot of great ideas. Looking forward to seeing your concepts progress.
To clarify something on "extreme" design - the "XTREME" brand of BOXX workstations are overclocked. On the enclosure, we make this distinction with a black grill. Our standard workstations (non-overclocked) feature a silver front grill.
Feel free to incorporate a design feature that distinguishes between XTREME and standard workstations.
This is not a requirement.
Thanks!
qwertur about 10 years ago
Dear Challenge committee,
I would like to participate in the Challenge. I am planning to elaborate the enclosure design in terms of its internal structure and way of cooling. That is why I would to clarify some moments:
1. What is a prioritized way of cooling: water, air or combined?
2. What is desirable enclosure dimensions? Should design be oriented to a powerful and compact power station or to a non-compromise variant?
3. Performance. I.e. primitively, effectively, aesthetic or sophisticated variant with possibility to simplify it.
4. The dimensions of mother board to be used.
5. Can I regard a variant with four graphic cards?
Best regards
jamie about 10 years ago
I feel that the prizes for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places are a bit on the low side compared to the top prize. As im sure most of us arent really that into lego anymore. Just my thought
Konrad Jakubiak about 10 years ago
yea, 2nd place "winner" could feel very disappointed instead of happy
Pouriya about 10 years ago
I agree with jamie and Konrad
jamie about 10 years ago
Dont get me wrong - im grateful towards grabcad and Boxx for offering us the opportunity to design and engineer something for them. But at the end of the day even if i won the challenge, im sure boxx will make alot more money than me from my design and alot more than a $3000 workstation. So to offer a bit of lego for 2nd and 3rd placement, to good engineers and designers for quite a bit of work (even if you do enjoy it) is a bit poor.
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
+1 to Jamie, Konrad, Pouriya....
Jamie said it best, we're all really grateful for these opportunities but I find myself holding back on this particular challenge just because 1 large top prize makes the odds a little too sketchy to devote tons of time and energy into it. The 2nd-10th prizes seem out of whack also, too much of a jump between first and second etc.
Obviously, companies have a certain amount of resources they're able to expend but Jamie is right, with many of these challenges, we sort of get a raw deal in the end, MIND YOU, WE'RE ALL STILL SUPER GRATEFULL that we have anything at all) but at the end of the day, we also have to stick up for our craft. Because the company will potentially turn around and make a lot more profit off our designs then the expense it has to provide as a reward. Obviously smaller companies have more risk, more debt, more expenses, and it's understandable that the reward is smaller, but I think some of the larger companies could be putting up a lot more in terms of offerings.
The NEC challenge offered a very worthy pallet of prizes...
Also, I really like how with the Umbra challenge offered the opportunity for royalties and recognition. This is the sort of stuff I value as a guy who's trying to make a living off of my art and design work.
I'd like to see more cash prizes also...it's understandable that the company wants to promote it's product but a lot of people love the versatiliy of cash.
I guarantee, descent cash prizes will get even more people competiting in these contests.
but I understand that business comes in as it comes in and one can't be too fussy.
I just think BOXX could step it up a bit in terms of "compensation"
still greatful for all these opportunities though none the
less.
Jon-
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
my first design is taking forever to finish!!!...***argh!
Chanson Yang about 10 years ago
@qwertur A lot of your questions have been answered before/answered multiple times:
1. External design concepts, internal designs/components are not required
2. ATX board is really the only sizing requirement "We will not set dimension requirements"
3. See #1
4. ATX 12.0" x 9.6"
5. See #1
This is not a "design a, b, c to acheive x, y, z" this is a design exercise to see the conceptual work. There isn't even any guarantee that the design will be used, it's simply for Boxx's interest/inspiration. That being said, although the prizes are top heavy, it's pretty generous to offer any sort of prize for what's essentially an exercise that they could do in house.
Personally, I don't think it's bad to have a challenge for just the sake of a challenge (challenges are not competitions, they're not even supposed to have prizes); the whole point is to 'challenge' you to create.
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Yeah, I get the feeling most of the companies consider their offerings generous as it is, especially when they could do all this in house.
Chanson, how much was your Solid Works certification, where did you get it?
Great work.
Frederik Vollbrecht about 10 years ago
"Don't Agree, don't participate", that's how i handle with challenges.
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
Whoa! I used to own a BOXX machine years ago..what a brilliant piece of kit. I will try to find some time to submit... agree about 2nd place and below though...ouch!
Blake Fletcher about 10 years ago
If I was to barrow a cad model off this website(not a computer model) and used it to demonstrate a part of my computer design would that be considered breaking the challange rules? Please message me your response.
jamie about 10 years ago
Grabcad wanted the community to have a say and wanted us to be apart of the challenge process - if it wasnt for us there would be no challenges. And so far the majority that has commented after my comment, has agreed that the prizes are unfair. There will always be people that sit on the fence just incase it ruins their chances of winning but if we dont speak up then nothing will change. Boxx can afford to do better than this and yes they could do it in house but they are promoting their company here thats all - but it doesnt say alot about them when they offer the prizes they have. Im a fair person and i think my expertise warrent more than some lego on the off chance i might get 2nd or 3rd place after a fair few hours of my time. Lets face it this is pure luck that you will get placed as no one knows what boxx want.
Konrad Jakubiak about 10 years ago
Yes, why not try to negotiate:) By changing the prize structure (f.e. to 3 less expensive workstations) I personally would be more inclined to commit more time to it because of the 3 times bigger chance to win. And the more time commited to this challenge by people, means better quality results.
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
Lunch time here and my usual few minutes browsing grabcad :) Cant help but want to get involved, so many nice entries already! I need to learn to render... ;/
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
PS. Boxx..if your reading this, I could really do with a better PC, mine sux for rendering :P
David Pedersen about 10 years ago
I've tried to do something differents, with the renders of my BOXX Elegance Does it work? or is normal renders better? whould love hear some criticism :)
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
Clear to see you put a lot of effort into your renderings David, they look great. Keyshot ?
David Dearing about 10 years ago
Is this workstation designed to be on the floor or on a desk? The reason i ask is I would put teh USB ports on teh top front if it is on the floor, and bottom front if on a desk.
Vasiliu Doru about 10 years ago
I think for this challenge should not play with the programs they use.
We need to bring something new in the field.
All the best to all.
Kamyar about 10 years ago
The Power supply requirement is not necessary and it's insufficient. 550W is not going to be enough for someone who may elect to use two graphic cards. Most if not all common PS units follow the same geometric standards. Be it 300W or 1200W, the will be very close in dimensions.
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
wow, I you just made me aware of that, 550W?? yep that's way underpowered for this sort of rig.
Markus Mathes about 10 years ago
Why is this Workbench so expensive? And no Xeon?
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
Is there a boxx supplier in South Africa?
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
This morning...7am, Freezing in the UK !! I go outside to put some screen wash in my car...the old crappy Audi Engine gives me a wicked idea for a gaming Boxx!! Haha, I am on it!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
LMAO! @ Ultimaker. Gotta love when inspiration hits.
chris teddy manka about 10 years ago
just 4 fun :-)
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
“BOXX XTREME workstations are the fastest workstations on the market for CAD applications” – My Renders take up to one hour ( Best ) –--- on maximum it’s like my computer is dying!!! Because it’s so slow - I wonder what it must feel like having one of those BOXX towers? How fast does the renders take?If I try to make mesh on my computer – I can stand up make coffee and come back enjoy may coffee then the first linear pattern is done! Does anyone have a BOXX Tower – please share what it’s like?
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
@ Jonathan, haha why does our inspiration hit us at the most stupid of times, if only I could act on all these impulsive ideas lol
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Seriously, that's when a good sketch book comes in handy )
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Tons of awesome designs so far! keep it up guys! I love looking what people come up with!
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
I’m trying everything to win that BOXX!!! – it’s just all this talent on grabcad its wild – well done with all the entries!!!
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
Haha, I agree Ruan & Jonathan.. great to see what people come up with. As usual with designs, you can never please everybody :) If I do not win this boxx, I may have to buy one... my machine struggles ;/
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
Different shapes, sizes - there is more flavor in this competition then there is in food!! – muscle, insane, cute and extreme BOXX’s all around. I must say in the future when thinking of buying n Tower – the first thing that will pop up is BOXX!!!
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
HI can anyone kindly help me. For some reason my 6th Entry only shows on my profile, but not on the competition page?
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
I'll second that, my entry isn't showing up...
Pouriya about 10 years ago
@Jonathan and Ruan Pretorius
It is showing up but in page 5
https://grabcad.com/challenges/boxx-future-workstation-design-challenge/entries?page=5
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
+1 Pouriya! HAHAHAHAHA. Techs had too much to drink last night!
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
I've seen this happen before in another challenge, and it was quite a mess to find my entries I uploaded. When we upload a new model, we hope it's feed to the most recent on the challenge page, but instead it was/has been shuffled deep in all the other entrants.
This 'shuffling' really distorts the first impressions of new entries.
If it continues, I suggest we post a comment linking our model on this page, like what Pouriya did. I know it will clutter the comments, but I can see no other way to get that "first exposure" of our new models :)
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
Thank you so much @Pouriya - I've uploaded my 7th BOXX concept -really trying my best to win that BOXX : ) - but I must say the people on this challenge is so good!!! @Jonathan I see you have 4 models - must say they look excellent!!! Best of luck to all - @Tommy I really hope the jury goes back to see all the new entries - now to view entries you need to go back to the beginning.
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
aiming to have 6 or 7 by the time I'm done. Fun design challenge for me, not expecting to win.
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
BOXX Murky – Concept 8 – is uploaded – must say I’m proud of that BOXX : )
Altamiro Allebrandt Jr about 10 years ago
Yay, just uploaded my first project at all on GrabCAD :D I hope you guys enjoy my BOXX Camaleão
BOXX Technologies about 10 years ago
Wow! Thanks everyone for all of your entries. It is going to be very difficult to pick a winner with so many well thought out designs. There's still some time to submit or fine tune your models. Great work all!
Pouriya about 10 years ago
My internet connection is low speed and I could not upload a video at youtube or sth like that;I have uploaded a .rar version of my presentation video in blew link
please watch my video and if it is possible tell me your advises thanks all.
Manipulator
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
Choice is easy BOXX... winner is MEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... haha, Ok i`ll go back to mowing my grass :(
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
160 Entries : )
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
I'm following each and every model on this challenge and its just amazing all over the world designs - I love grabcad!
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
Right on Ruan! I love GrabCAD too, and not afraid to say it ;)
Great competition in this challenge, and a great reward!
Kenny Wilson about 10 years ago
It's awesome to see Boxx on here! I have a Boxx 4920 Xtreme I purchased about 4 or so years ago and it's been a very reliable workstation.
Boxx,
I noticed some of the design entires here are on the extreme gaming design where materials such as plastic is used to form such shapes and save cost. Given the build quality of my 4920X with it being primarily made of metal, should we be designing with such material and manufacturing processes in mind? Some of these entries would probably require an injection molded tooling cost in the $100k range :).
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
Some good points Kenny. However, the challenge states:
Winning design should be:
-matching BOXX brand
- creative
- within the dimension limits
- suitable for a CAD workstation of tomorrow
- aesthetic
At this phase of concept & design, I assume/think BOXX wants to see the dreams and ideas the community has offer, with most of the manufacturing bars lifted for creativities sake. In this case, function will follow form. Just my thoughts ;)
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Agreed with Tom. Exercise in form at this stage.
Here's some inspiration for everyone..
http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/24-cool-and-creative-custom-computers-that-think-outside-the-box?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_54893
Marios Pazaitis about 10 years ago
I think I'll agree with Kenny...
"The challenge is to redesign the enclosure for the 3DBOXX 4150 XTREME workstation" .
I think BOXX is targeting a specific group for customers, design and small business professionals. Being creative doesn't mean pimp the case out. Within the company's manufacturing capabilities I think we are to offer an aesthetic and unique design solution...
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
I have enjoyed working on my Boxx`s, even if they have no chance of winning. I have also enjoyed seeing everyone else`s progress, it`s a talented community. Boxx... cant we have one each please :)
Kenny Wilson about 10 years ago
Exactly Marlos. The target audience for a typical Boxx customer is a professional end user. Afterall these machines costs a lot of money and many professional environments would frown upon a "bedazzled" rubik's cube design. That's not to say there isn't a place for such designs and Alienware-esque line of thinking, I just don't think the professional work environment is such a place for that. That's why I have a Thermaltake Chaser MK-I for home/game use and a Boxx 4920X along with a Corsair 900D filled top to bottom with GPU's for office/work use. At home I don't care if it looks like it came from Tron. ;)
Yes Boxx is looking for inspirational designs but if you read between the lines of their challenge post and look at how the company presents itself in the professiaonal world, one would think a professional looking design is what they're ultimately after.
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
+1 Kenny + 1 Tom. All good points. That why you do multiple entries... one wild one for exploration in form, and one tame one.
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
@jonathan Yea man, you nailed it.
chris teddy manka about 10 years ago
i think that theses black boxes under the desk are very sad and a "nice to look at workstation" will induce creativity in some way and would make an office a better and a feel good place to work in - i have a very elegant Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Case for my pc.
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
BOXX REACTOR
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
@BOXX TECHNOLOGIES: thank you for givin us this opportunity...
a life changing oppurtinity for me atleast..
Pouriya about 10 years ago
I have uploaded new images for my model please see them and tell me your idea .
NOTICE:Please watch them in order Thanks all.
FinalOfBoxxWorkstationInEveryWhere
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
You are encouraged to include:
- CAD file (any format)? Can someone please-please-please explain this to me?
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
@ Ruan Pretorius: "You are encouraged to include:
- CAD file (any format)" :
As u know that there are different extensions for different softwares.. for example .prt is a creo or a proE file while sldprt is a solidworks file.. so here the hav not specified any particular format like IGES oR STEP.. We can add any kind of cadd extension files.. hope u got what i ment to say..
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
Basically they just want a design... not how it has been designed. or on which software it has been modeled..
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
@abhishek so if I understand correctly I've already added the step files I just need to add the sldprt file from solid works? So they need Step and sldprt from me? To be considered in this competition?
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
@Ruan Pretorius: that depends on u.. if u want to add the solidworks part file u can.. bt that is not mandatory..
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
Thank you so much @abhishek
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
@Ruan Pretorius: No problem bro.. by the way ur models are very nice... all of them look professional..good job
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
i was deleting few renderings from the project.. bt dnt know how my project got deleted.. i hav reuploaded it
checkout and please suggest for any changes to be made..
BOXX REACTOR
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
hello friends.. i hav added a new rendering of exploded assembly
plz check it out.. and suggest your views
BOXX REACTOR
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
200 Entries!!!
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
I've uploaded all 10 my Assembly models – just in time.
Angelo about 10 years ago
I had time to do an entry :) Im pretty happy with it!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Just finished uploading the model files for all my models......brings this one to a close for me. What a super fun exercise in design. Thanks Boxx and GC for the challenge. Now time to sit back and browse everyone's designs! No stress, no pressure ). Good luck to all!
Jon-
Neil Reed about 10 years ago
I kinda feel sorry for the Jury... I would like to see any of these on my desk...
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
Hey everybody, I just wanna say how challenging it was to design a BOXX enclosure. Each day logging into GrabCAD I saw amazing new entries, which propelled me to try harder over the course of three weeks. I'm sure this was the same for most of us; very tough & interesting competition indeed.
This was also my second favorite GrabCAD challenge of all time; spanning almost two years here on GC. Could be the challenge's awards, or the extreme talent of the entries. In every case, highly motivated to go for the win!!
BOXX might break a few designers hearts out there ;)
I wish the very best of luck to all!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
+1 Tom. "Boxx might break a few designers hearts out there"....lol so true. So utterly interested to see what their taste will be.
The worst that can happen is you come out of this with a few more models to add to your portfolio, some awesome experience and an awesome exercise in design conceptualization. Good luck to everyone!
David Pedersen about 10 years ago
There are some awesome concept in this challenge!
A little side note: i love when the deadline says: "1 day to submit design" and then the next day it says "about 24 hours to submit design" are there 48 hours in a day? :)
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
BOXX REACTOR
BOXX-Sensation
BOXX - Beyond Imagination (The Future Is Here)
All three models completed just in time..
Thankyou BOXX Tech. & GC for giving this opportunity...
Learned alot about designing because of this competition!!
All the best to all contestants..
Regards,
Abhishek Chowdhary.
Abhishek Choudhury about 10 years ago
how is the website still showing 17 hours??
well thanks for that otherwise i would hav been disqualified.. i am still uploading the IGES files :P
All blames to my slow network connection!!
Hevi about 10 years ago
@David - I will say it one more time :) For me there should be clock counter for every contest...
Hevi about 10 years ago
For everyone :) What BOXX is used for ;] http://vimeo.com/90509568
Nick Golodnoff about 10 years ago
Dear colleagues and friends!
The community has actively responded to my work
Ajour XTREME BOXX 4150 workstation .
I thank all who review, likes and personal letters supported me a kind word, criticism and suggestions.
During the project I had many friends, including among the contenders. I am grateful to GrabbCAD for the chance to open and friendly communication.
Of course, as each contender, I want to win. I wish all participants in this race to reach maximum results!
I thank the organizers for the opportunity to express myself in such an interesting job.
Pouriya about 10 years ago
I love all of the GC challenges because these are real: DESIGNING, ENGINEERING AND ADVENTURING .
Good Luck To Everyone
Sara Sigel about 10 years ago
I'm glad everyone is taking the time to check out the rest of the entries as we enter the final hours. Let your favorites know by clicking the 'heart' and give them a Like. If you haven't uploaded your design, now is the time!!!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Anyone know what kind of system it takes to run keyshot and be able to use Solid Works at the same time? My main system right now lags up when I'm trying to render scenes in KS and use CAD. It really really slows me down. Would I ever love to have a server farm, 5-10 dedicated computers for rendering LOL. electricity bill would probably go through the roof.
Tommy Mueller about 10 years ago
@Jon IMO, not happening on a small budget. Keyshot will take full use of every core and run them at 100%. If it were possible to scale back the CPU processing of the Keyshot rendering, and reserve the single core dedicated to SW, then you're in business. These software features don't exist as of yet, that I know of; spit-balling here.
Two+ machines: Slaves & a Master; render over the cloud
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
hmm seriously. Didn't know KS hogged that much. Ofcourse, I'm doing two machine deal but it would be nice to be able to just send some renders to background and then work on SW at the same time...on the same machine. It's a hassle always firing up the other machine, it's in another room. I was thinking though, you could build let's say 5 barebone pc's for super cheap, just good CPU's and "OK" graphics cards, stick them all in 1 room, possibly even in a custom case, have them connected to 1 monitor and use remote connect to connect to each. This way you'd have a super Cheap render farm, you could run KS on each and have 5 renders going on at once, so you'd be 5x faster. I think the only downside would be electricity issues. I don't think I'd have enough free sockets to run 5 machines. The circuitry in my house sucks.
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
I was also just thinking how this competition has basically flooded GC with awesome PC enclosure models.....so basically we should never be short of choices for using prop models in our future work. Seriously kick A$$.
David Pedersen about 10 years ago
I whould love if anyone could give me a little feedback on some of my entries,
here in the final hour?
BOXX Elegance
Floating BOXX
BOXX MPO
GRAB-BOXX
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
@ Dave, will do. Gimme few secs. Sorta too late though no?
Marios Pazaitis about 10 years ago
@Jonathan... Use a GPU rendering solution and take advantage of the maximus technology. Say in a 4 GPU system use the 3 GPUs for rendering and the free one to do your solidworks work at the same time. I use bunkspeed for that :)
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
awesome sauce, i'll research it thanks.
The Ultimaker about 10 years ago
Keyshot is CPU hungry not GPU. I don't push my system for renders but I have a duel core Xeon which runs keyshot and Creo at the same time pretty well.
Good luck with the competition everyone! Some really nice entries.
Josef about 10 years ago
@saranigel: How and when will the public voting be performed? Through clicking like/heart on different contributions?
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Josef, look at the description on the right, it shows the jury that will be judging the designs! They start off by narrowing it down, then they will look into the selections into more detail, then narrow it down to the finalists.Then they post the finalists and allow for feedback from the community, then the final winners are announced. From what I understand, popularity, likes, votes etc. might only be considered at the finalists stage during the feedback time period. Sometimes they'll skip directly to the winners also........
Sara Sigel about 10 years ago
Couldn't have said it better myself @Jonathan!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
*winks ;)
Josef about 10 years ago
Hello Jonathan. Yes I was aware of that the jury will be judging the design, only taking the voting in consideration, but my question was how the voting process would take action in practice; if it is liking models or writing comments, or downloading model etc, but I assume it is the first mentioned alternative. My concern was only that voting processes in challenges have been abused by users here at GC before, giving a false picture of popularity but hopefully that is fixed and prevented now.
Josef about 10 years ago
Anyhow, it was really fun challenge this time! =) Good luck everyone!
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Hey Joseff,
No, I hear you. Well, in the initially selection process, the number of likes, follows and comments doesn't hold much weight. But when the finalists are announced, they sit there for a week and it's up to the community to try to relay to the judges who they think is best, bit of a popularity contest, but it's still a judgement call on the judges part. Of-course at this stage there is controversy yes, because some people will solicit their friends for votes etc. I personally don't feel there is anything wrong with this as long as there isn't an exchange involved, ie, vote for me and I'll give you 3% of my prize etc.) And I think it's important to keep your e-mail as unbiased as possible. As far as I know it's not against any GC rules to solicit for votes come finalist time.
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
11 Concepts for this Challenge – Win or lose I’m still proud of myself
Finished 3DBOXX Concept by Ruan Pretorius
BOXX - CONCEPT 2 - Ruan Pretorius
BOXX Octane black
Finish - BOXX Move - Concept 4 - Ruan Pretorius
BOXX fade-able Black Concept 5
BOXX Quadrangle - concept 6
BOXX Pro-Mesh -concept 7
BOXX Murky – Concept 8 - Ruan P
BOXX V-EXTREME – Concept 9
BOXX 3D Extreme - concept 10
BOXX Completion - Concept 11
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
Ruan, you're a machine. You seemed to really like this challenge by the looks of it. I think the effort should be considered. I'd be surprised if you don't make it to finals but then again, quite a few awesome designs to choose from!
Ruan Pretorius about 10 years ago
Hey Jonathan, I loved this competition. I would never have done this on my own. Just putting my Cad Models out there – giving myself/yourself a change to win something, for me it’s very awesome.
It’s almost like compering your skills with the world but I can’t say that because there is so many flavor out there. All the models are good in their own way.
If you don’t have a line in the water the changes of catching something is 0%. The feeling of being In the finals makes you feel proud of yourself – “if you make the finals”. To be in the finals with all the entries – must mean you are good in what you do. I Feel like if you don’t make it try harder and harder someday it will pay off. Cad is what I do for a living just to compete in a challenge is fun – very fun.
Good Luck to you Jon - and to all – I know deep inside all of us we need ( not just want ) that BOXX Tower : )
Jonathan Brazeau about 10 years ago
A+@Ruan! Just look at it this, what ever happens, your models will be seen by many people and it's another great piece to add to your portfolio.
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
Finalists are announced!
https://grabcad.com/challenges/boxx-future-workstation-design-challenge/results
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Thanks to everyone who participated. We couldn't have asked for better workstation designs than the ones you all created! It was so tough selecting only a few from the outstanding field of entries. We believe these finalists are the best solutions based on the needs of the BOXX team. Which one is your favorite? Did we leave anything amazing off the list? Let us know in the comments!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Congrats to all finalists!!!!!!....i'll give my feedback later
Vasiliu Doru almost 10 years ago
Outstanding works.
Congratulations to all.
My favorites:
- SGCHL BOXX
- E-BOXX-ION
- BOXX Ultra Compact
Tommy Mueller almost 10 years ago
Big cheers for the finalists!
Wish ya'll the best in the final placement!!
ANOUAR BARODI almost 10 years ago
Congrats to all finalists !
The Ultimaker almost 10 years ago
Congrats to the finalists, best of luck with the winning design. I know which I would choose from the finalists.
Karco almost 10 years ago
congrats at all, guys ;)
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
Very very conservative choices, the usual black cube with slight variations of graphic patterns. I understand that leave the sowed is risky for a company, but it would take a bit of courage, so my vote goes to the models that deviate from the scheme;
primarily to:
BOXX MAXIMA WORKSTATION
very dynamic and innovative forms
and
Boxx XTRIM
as innovative while remaining in a certain geometric rigidity.
Congrats to the finalists.
Christiaan Sidell almost 10 years ago
My vote goes to my brother of course:
Devin Sidell with the Boxx Future Workstation Concept 1
Clix almost 10 years ago
i would buy this: BOXX MAXIMA WORKSTATION
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Conservative indeed.............as I was saying all along.
However,being that it was an exercise in aesthetics, I would have liked to see a few riskier and explorative choices.....I would have liked to have seen
Modular by Flaviano Crespi
BoXX Modular V2
Anything from Steve Hansil.....I thought all his work was excellent....
There are probably a few I've missed but anyway...
Of the finalist...my tops in order with reasoning...
BOXX Cubed
Love it, novel but not too much, screams boxxxxx of the future, give this guy first place please...
Xtrim
Boxx XTRIM
The lines work well, futuristic stealthy look but not over the top.
Elegance
BOXX Elegance
Minimalist with a Boxx flavor, presentation is beyond good. Dave,A+ and how? :P
UltraCompact
BOXX Ultra Compact
Cool compact design, love the see through aspect and technical server look. Has a technical feel to it, always love that.
SGBoxx
SGCHL BOXX
Not a huge fan of this one, I think it still needs work, but an overall minimalist idea is there. Has an apple product feel to it, just needs some tweaking IMO.
Maxima
BOXX MAXIMA WORKSTATION
Seriously? the lines on this model just do not work at all.......there's some good aspects to it but overall the lines and surfaces are awkward.
BoxxTwoTone
BOXX | TWOTONE
Nice little design but looks like EVERY other low budget best buy tower out there (
FutureWorkstation Concept1
Boxx Future Workstation Concept 1
BoxxConcept3
boxx concept no3
Pouriya almost 10 years ago
Congratulation to winners.
I love this model:
BOXX MAXIMA WORKSTATION
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
except for a couple of desing that I dislike the altei find them banal and old, seem a slight variation of the one already in production. desing that are already you can see on the shelves of shops
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
Boxx maxima and cubes are the only two that have an innovative design
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
BoXX Big-X
was my choice for the winner
Abhishek Choudhury almost 10 years ago
+1 Alberto Baretta : Boxx maxima and cubes are only innovative
i would have also gone for Boxx APEX
Daniel Davidson almost 10 years ago
The goal for this challenge was to provide a design that matches the BOXX brand. My thought process was to evaluate what differentiates BOXX from their competition by asking a series of questions. Who is the customer? What is the market? What is the differentiator?
Who is the customer? The customer and user are often two different people in this type of market. At most mid-size to large companies the IT department typically chooses PC hardware with input from engineering or design. Most often this decision is based on economics of who can offer the best priced hardware and who offers the best performance. Unfortunately the best priced hardware tends to win due to large computer manufacturers offering discounts for volume purchases. The return on investment is there with BOXX based on performance, but often this discussion relies on an engineer to put together a justification to initiate a purchase from a new manufacturer.
What is the market? The market consists of creative design and engineering companies that make products. These products can vary from engineering services, film productions or tangible devices. The competition in this market is comprised of large computer manufacturers offering commercial grade workstation products.
What is the differentiator? BOXX is different in terms of performance. The market category they compete in has several heavyweight players, but none can claim the same speed. BOXX is not primarily attempting to sell one-off computers - ideally they would outfit entire departments with their workstations. What would sell to the consumer market wouldn't necessarily work in the commercial market.
With the customer, market segment and differentiation in mind, the design must have some essential traits:
1. (AESTHETICS) The visual appearance of the design must be inoffensive and appropriate in context. It shouldn't stand out strongly in a cubical or office environment. Cases that look like they are meant for gaming likely won't sell well to an IT department manager. Attempting significant differentiation in the visual look of the PC would likely alienate the customer. The machines should look good when placed in a row or in close proximity. Loud designs would attract attention. Design firms typically want to put their workspace on display for clients, and wouldn't want their computers to detract from the space they paid an architect to develop.
2. (COST) The external design must be relatively inexpensive to produce. The customer is using workstations as tools to create efficiently. When purchasing a workstation a reasonable question would be "would I pay more for this computer to have more visual flair?" Minimizing part count, including the number of auxiliary printed circuit boards would help reduce the overall cost. This consideration means that the IO (USB, audio) should be in close proximity and should be designed such that a single circuit board can hold all the connectors and a single cable can attach them back to the motherboard. The overall size and material usage of the product should also be considered and minimized. Tooling cost should also be based on return on investment, rather than aesthetics.
3. (USABILITY) The design of the enclosure should not hinder usability. Doors and covers are typically offensive to the user and are often broken and discarded. Large scale workstation manufacturers typically don't sacrifice usability for aesthetics. The location of the USB ports should be readily available and should face the front with the other IO. Connectors coming out the top and sides of a computer prevent the ports from being used if the computer is placed in a shelf or under a desk.
4. (FUNCTIONALITY) The differentiator of speed and performance comes at a price. Thermal power dissipation typically requires significant airflow. The appropriate design would offer venting that is equal to or in excess of the existing design or alternative means of cooling. Additional functionality must be justifiable. Would someone pay for more USB ports or upgraded features in the mid-range product? Is the standard feature set at a deficit to the competition? I didn't think so.
There are several creative, unique and well thought designs in this competition. The conclusion I came to was to shoot for inoffensive and appropriate. I am extremely grateful to have a design in the final round, but I'm more grateful for the thought exercise.
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
Daniel good speech, but the fact remains that the design chosen are very common to other production houses workstation. this is only my opinion and I do not want to offend anyone. congratulations to all
wasif almost 10 years ago
@ Daniel Davidson The benefit of the design is not to be with high price no, the good design give the products value because of the good design so what prevent to have a good shape with two vents at the two sides with good price I think it is better to have closed case without any opening at the sides I think it is better for out looking and the functionality ,many products can be sellable than other because of good outside design and many products cannot be sell and may be have a good hardware from inside also the contest is for design new shape
wasif almost 10 years ago
@ Alberto Beretta your opinion is right
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
Boxx Engine - A glimpse at the future.
another beautiful design that deserves to be in the top ten and this was
wasif almost 10 years ago
Workstation: BOXX the cage
Ajour XTREME BOXX 4150 workstation
Boxx Engine - A glimpse at the future.
BOXX Pro-Mesh -concept 7
Good design
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
Well done to those who made the finals! I’m really jealous : ) – Best of luck- I must say I’m pretty surprise, I was expecting more information regarding the finalist- My personal opinion not all of them belongs in the top designs! End this challenge on a high note – still a smile on my face, was still fun designing!
Abhishek Choudhury almost 10 years ago
BOXX BLACK deserves to be in finalists
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
Wait one more note : ) : I think most people wouldn't be upset if the finalist was really the ones that stood out!!
Vasiliu Doru almost 10 years ago
@ David Labbe - Challenge is FREE.
I think we have no right to comment on the choice made by the organizers.
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
I think we have a right : ) to leave a comment. We all were a part of the competition. It’s just like top 10 great designs?? If they would share more reasons way its great people would go back to the drawing board and also try it, design better, grow in the competition. Example, if there was 1000 entries and the top 10 made there BOXX color blue?? And the 990 people that didn’t make it made their BOXX color green?? What color would you choose for the next competition???? No the only thing we know regarding the finalist is GREAT LINES, GREAT, GOOD??? That is not ok I think? I’m not trying to fight or anything I’m just sharing my opinion regarding the competition. Sorry if I offended anyone that is not what this is about.
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
Sailing case
I think this design also deserved to be in the final
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
Well said https://grabcad.com/david.labbe, I agree 100%
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
Thanks everyone for adding your favorites! We will be giving more in-depth feedback when we announce the winners. I know it seems like a bit of a tease, but listing the finalists is a good way to get participants an update and share initial reactions while the jury continues their process. Stay tuned for more :)
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@Daniel.Davidson It was really interesting to see your design thinking and reasoning. Thanks for sharing.
@David.Labbe @Ruan.Pretorius Feedback is always helpful! I'm the Challenges organizer so you can just @me or email me. We're always tweaking the process. I 100% agree that constructive information from the jury motivates challengers and helps everyone improve. Debates over opinion or personally-directed comments aren't constructive, though - thanks for not including those.
Devin Sidell almost 10 years ago
Amazing challenge and I'm just happy that opportunities like this even exist in the first place. BOXX could have easily gone to another source for design/engineering concepts. Even if they already did, they still considered asking all of us here on GrabCad to pitch in to help create a great looking, well functioning and meaningful product. Each challenge presented is a gift to those who want to show the world who they are as an engineer/designer and have fun at the same time. Thanks so much and good luck to all that made it to the finals!
wasif almost 10 years ago
C pro
BOXX Pro-Mesh -concept 7
Workstation: BOXX the cage
Boxx Engine - A glimpse at the future.
Ajour XTREME BOXX 4150 workstation
BOXX Future Workstation
BoXX Modular V2
Exec - Boxx Design Challenge
BOXX | CLAMP UPDATED
https://grabcad.com/library/boxx-future-workstation-design-challenge-boxx-er-roller-ii-1
BOXX Compact
boxx concept no1
Boxx Workstation Concept by Steen Winther
Wo Station
AfterBurn
https://grabcad.com/library/brutal-minima-boxx-workstation-1
boxx concept no5
Station
GearBOXX by Tommy
Projects i like it
Abhishek Choudhury almost 10 years ago
Boxx Engine - A glimpse at the future. This one is the best
Looks professional And futuristic
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
Outside of selected work I point:
Sailing case
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
@Daniel Davidson,
great peroration "pro domo tua" :)
But is a matter of philosophy,
if a certain Apple had followed some of these ideas,
would never have re-called Steven Jobs,
would begin to produce usual black boxes,
and now would be dead,
or purchased.
Lenovo docet ..
Yves almost 10 years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KK2NAwULUA
and I quite agree with Daniel Davidson
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
hahaha! ibumari you nailed it man!
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
@ibumari, Aahah very funny!,
I will not go into the eternal diatribe pro against Apple,
although I have been to throw the stone in the pond,
but at Apple must be recognized the great marketing skills,
(just look at the turnovers),
and in any case no one says that Boxx should renounce its quality,
just put them in a best box, because in today's world image counts.
Clix almost 10 years ago
If the tech respect industry performance standards people will choose emotional...now we have octocore on phones....i assume that performance will not be an issue in the near future..you will have more then you need...boxx like all (most) uses hardware which you can buy and assemble for yourself without been qualified (i did this successfully)...and from my last experience even the heat is not such a problem anymore...
Only an advanced building process, emotion and the brand philosophy will make the difference:)...
Daniel Davidson almost 10 years ago
Being simple and inoffensive doesn't mean that the device must look unrefined. Apple actually does a great job at being simple and inoffensive, they just spend too much money to do so. Their penetration into the desktop and workstation market is poor in general. Last I checked Apple only had 7% of the PC market, where Windows based PC's have 91%. The success of Apple is largely due to innovative peripherals and entertainment devices (Ipods, Ipads, Iphones). REFERENCE: http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-continues-to-fail-7000016222/
Customers at some level look at what differentiates products in the market. Successful companies strategically invest in what differentiates them from their competition, rather than trying to be the absolute best at all things. The market can only have one best looking, best performance or best cost manufacturer. Manufacturers must strategically choose their unique feature and try not to be at a significant deficit to the others.
Performance will always be an issue and a strategic point. When it comes to phones and other devices, performance may become unnoticeable because the tasks are low intensity. With commercial workstations there is a monetary value associated with being able to complete a render or analysis faster.
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
another strong point from Daniel Davidson ladies and gentlemen! I was going to say myself that Apples makes their money from the iphone but Daniel also provided a reference. In my opinion the beauty of a workstation shines in its ability to do what it was designed for. At that is help you do your WORK faster with no hassle (noise, overheating) and be able to adjust to future project needs (upgrade), so you can focus purely on creativity and production.
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
I like the discussion on what makes a well-designed workstation for BOXX. How do you view the BOXX brand as an engineer or designer?
...
Let's keep the main stream versus niche / Apple versus Microsoft debate for another thread :P
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
in a world of 1 million +1 computer manufactures. Ya gotta stand out. Since PC components are standardized, there's nothing that Boxx can really call proprietary. I can order all the parts they use and build my own high end system. You need to have something that sets you apart from the rest. That's usually the case aesthetics. The casing will serve to brand it as well, so people that are less likely to be savy about DIY PC building get a sense that the machine is superior etc. So it's a small thing, but to me, it can make the difference.
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
I think BOXX has developed a clever and economic way of fabricating housings for their workstations. And my understanding is that this is done in-house using sheet metal designs with minimum tooling and this makes them very flexible.
Flexible so that they can adjust their casings in every new edition or in case a large order requires custom modification. And I assume this can be done very quickly too, because of the way they are manufactured, that don’t require mouldings or other time consuming manufacturing methods.
This I think is a recipe that’s works and sets them apart, because this way they can provide something customisable and competitively priced.
These are also the principles I adapted in my design proposal in order to create something flexible, compact, competitively priced and incorporating the brand’s aesthetics.
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
@ Daniel Davidson and Sara Sigel , one last word on the subject Apple then I stop.
We're talking about the case design, not operating systems.
Just in case the argument can be reversed: Apple maintains its market share despite not having the default Windows system, thanks due to its look.
What I can not digest is the term is "inoffensive", perhaps for the diminutive caliber that takes in Italian.
The idea that a series of computers of nice look lined up on workbenches can cause fainting from Stendhal syndrome among operators seems to me exaggerated , after three times they have seen the computers will have something else to think about, otherwise they should put blinders and gray suits.
However, I think in general the homologation depresses productivity, stimulate increased.
I do not think Boxx produce cluster computers, and as rightly said Clix and Jonathan assembly of components is within the reach of geeks , if Boxx does not differentiate the advantage tapers.
So we should ask : what kind of feature appreciate this people? which are the key words to be translated into an image ?
I would say: the brutal power, monstrous speed , an incredible force of nature ....and so on
almost a kind of transformer :)
The creative writers of the current fantasy films would know to do it very well.
Among other things, always amuses me to see in the movies the incredible performance of the computers that we have in a while.
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
+1 for flaviano
Alberto Beretta almost 10 years ago
a designer can like it or not, because not all tastes are the same, but a box of sheet metal remains and will always remain a box. I repeat that in my opinion there have been several projects that deserved to win that were not even considered
Jay almost 10 years ago
this should end the conversation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KK2NAwULUA
Ioannis Skarlatakis almost 10 years ago
+1 for Jay!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Jay, that video was previously posted.....sooooooooo good though. I never understood the Mac craze. From a business perspective it's genious. Make a fancy rounded case encapsulating "so so" hardware, and charge way extra for it to people who don't understand what makes a computer good )), things like expandability, hardware and peripheral integration, etc. etc.
anyway, enough Mac bashing :P
Flav, your last comment was on the nose...."Stendhal syndrome" HAHAHA. Had to look that one up. Too good my italian friend!
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
+1 for jay +5 for ibumari + 3 dor Daniel Davidson -2 for Flaviano - 1for Jonathan - 4 for abhishek - 2 for Alberto .... = 0 ..... its a tie!
Chester Lee Coloma almost 10 years ago
My favorites are:
boxx concept no3
- simple and don't have the "gimmicky" Xs
Boxx Future Workstation Concept 1
- unique and clean looking
Mart Berghs almost 10 years ago
Boxx-Sensitive workstation
My favorite, but not in the results.
Yves almost 10 years ago
Just to add a lit bit on the discussion and to answer to Sara Sigel's request.
Some members talked about some famous makers but this is very dangerous to reduce the success of a product to its shape or beauty or simplicity, etc. This is too subjective and dangerous. The most important is to understand the end user. Some users need an easy too use product because they are beginners or they don't want to read the manual. Some others want a sophisticated product because they are advanced users and feel unique to be able a use a product that only few can. So this is dangerous to think that all products should be simple.
This leads us to a very important point: the user's experience. For a workstations, of course the OS choice is very important but I won't develop this point.
About the enclosure, I believe that the beauty comes a posteriori.The user can appreciate the choice of materials and the smartness of gathering all the parts together. The clever way to assemble some parts or the surprising mechanism of a moving part, etc. I like when I wonder why this detail is designed like this and then while using the product this suddenly makes sense and I think : wow, that's smart!. I believe the beauty is the result of understanding the smartness of the solution.
On the long term, the experience is very important: a DVD drive that doesn't die after 11 month and 29 days, a cover that won't break because it's made out of metal and not out of plastic. (because I've already been disappointed by flamboyant products which turned to be crappy or by some brands named in the discussion before)
I agree with Daniel Davidson about the unobtrusiveness of a workstation in a professional environment. Following trends is risky but thinking of the product environment is essential. I like the idea that the workstation is a partner who stay in the shadow but I know it's here and that I can rely on it.
This is how I see the BOXX workstation. A durable station on which I can feel the smartness but in a subtil way. (and I don't talk about the service, hotline, shipping delay, email answers, etc - some important keys of the product experience).
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
where is the like button!!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
award for best presentation should go to David Pederson.....I also really liked his other design Box MPO.
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
Thanks to everyone who participated! We couldn't have asked for better workstation designs than the ones you all created. It was so tough selecting only a few from the outstanding field of entries for our finalists. Now, we looked at each one for design, creativity, branding and function to see who would be named winners. Well done GrabCADrs!
https://grabcad.com/challenges/boxx-future-workstation-design-challenge/results
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
always a shocker!!! big congratulations to the winners!!!!!!!!!!!!! and Boxx for choosing your favorite!
Let's put it this way, we have very different tastes.....
how did I get an honorable mention?.....awesome ) can I have at least a screw off of the BOXX4150 for that? :P
I kid. Good show!
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
Jonathan you were spot on about Pedersen!
Honestly I believed that BOXX wouldn't pick "Maxima" as their first, because for me this design is more for the gaming market. But I guess it was way to beautiful to be overlooked.
My bet was on "X TRIM" but I think they were right, he didn't work on the internal design...
Anyway that was a great challenge with really great entries.... any chance you ask Supermicro or Eizo for one... please?? :)
I would have loved to see these ones in the finalists:
Josef's
https://grabcad.com/library/boxx-world-generation-1
Flaviano's
BoXX Slick box
David Pedersen almost 10 years ago
Big congratz to the winner! :)
Dont get me wrong, i'm total exicted about my new lego toys :)
But...
I whould love to know how the 1st. place is matching BOXX brand?
And takes the win because of the internal design, dosent quite match the challenge desription. I think many whould made some another design considerations, if they knew the internal was just as important...
I can see this as a workstation at a F1 design manufacture, otherwise for me its a gaming pc. 271 entries and the winner is a gamer enclosure, far away from boxx brand, and the current 4150 enclosure! Sorry but the proffesional look i had at boxx just went down the drain.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
eh Mario,
Yeah, I think Flavs "Modular V2" should have at least made final ten. His Slick Boxx was a good form also. I liked Steve Hansil's work also.....
Let's put it this way, I have a whole page to write, but I'm going to have to hold my tongue on the first place choice because I think I'll get myself into trouble.
I'm sorry, but the lines on that case just don't work, the of the words I would use, among others, is "awkward"......
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
but again, this is the design world, tastes are different so I commend BOXX on making what I would call a "risky" decision.
Hopefully BOXX will relay their choice to their finance department so they can prepare the bankruptcy paperwork....*churp *cricket...*churp... heheh I joke, I joke! my apologies. just couldn't help it......
seriously though, congrats to everyone for the hard work!
I go now!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
and again, thanks for the opportunity! they really are awesome! Thanks for the honorable mention also! it means alot. Cheers!
Tommy Mueller almost 10 years ago
Yep, I definitely got this one all wrong; far too many hours working on designs for a CAD-style-BOXX-branded design. A workstation, not a gaming platform.
_
Would have been easier to create a "Gamer" style enclosure with organic curves; no edges, no squares, no boxes. There's already a flooded market of those type of cases though. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/
_
I'm sorry BOXX, the finalists don’t meet my expectations for the BOXX brand, but they're all awesome entries; in fact they're great!. But I won't spend 4G's on any of these cases as it strives too far away from a professional workstation aesthetic I've come to appreciate.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
*bump
David Pedersen almost 10 years ago
Love when the designers want to know more about the clients wishes, to bring the most suitable concepts to the table...
But i can be hard when the client give wrong informations...
"2. Yes. We're only looking for design concepts of the external enclosure"
"would have been a contender had the designer stopped there. Going the extra mile and representing the internal components in a well thought out manner made this entry the obvious winner."
My last 2 cents
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
stop complaining Pedersen, ya got third! now go play in the corner with your awesome lego computer!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
let me know when you connect to the lego-net, i'll send you an e-mail!
David Pedersen almost 10 years ago
Great link Tommy!
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Infinity_8800_Pro/
Factory overclocked by 20% at only 49$ more, plus it got a ssd, 8GB ram...
Buy a used quadro card, and you have a matchbox (for about 1000$ less)
David Pedersen almost 10 years ago
Haha Jonathan havent recived it yet :) But when i do... Oh yeah... Playtime!!!! (If i can figure out how to put the blocks together :)
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
DIY PC, save >1000$ dude!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Dave, don't forget to connect the LEGO-Drive, we can LEGO-skype later, once you have the LEGO-net connected )
Marios Pazaitis almost 10 years ago
David... I would have loved it if you had taken part in the NEC challenge.
https://grabcad.com/challenges/nec-display-solutions-design-challenge
You would have been furious!
David Pedersen almost 10 years ago
Didnt NEC knew which kind of brand they where either?
Yves almost 10 years ago
Thanks' all for the challenge and entries, congrats to Jozedwardo.Viva Mexico!
I wanted to write a long congratulation comment, but sorry I'm going back to my room to play with my lego bricks.
Krista Casal almost 10 years ago
Congratulations to all participants for working so hard on this challenge! Plus a tip of the hat to the winners of course. Wait I don't have a hat; how 'bout a handshake? :)
-
Remember when Tommy commented: "Boxx might break a few designers hearts out there".
Well, not from having to choose the best designs from great designs, but possibly from iterating they want something like A but choose Z.
-
My sentiment is similar to others being expressed...
This was one of the more 'Xtreme' challenges on GrabCAD and it would have been beneficial for more feedback to have been given throughout its course. The final results & reasoning do not seem to coincide with the unwavering impressions given of what was desired. For example, matching Boxx brand seemed to be pretty important. It was also stressed that externals were of primary interest over internals as long as they were realistically accounted for. It was stated "smart professional is likely the best fit." Oh alrighty, they do say "no limit on the shape" as well. Over all I feel individual preferences may have overrode the criteria. In the end I don't know who Boxx is.
-
Like Jonathon said: "Always a shocker!"
-
What I'd really like to express is my hope that future challenges will hold more engagement between the sponsor and the participants and that clarity of the goal is always present, even continually refined so everyone's on track. (I have to note that in this regard I think the Micro-Start challenge is, well, off to a great start.)
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Krista, well put, you're exercising great political tact with those comments....
________________________________________________________________
just general comment into the ether......
we've all had this discussion before with other challenges. Getting kinda old. You just have to realize that not all challenges and clients are the same, nor are they perfect, or run their process perfectly, that just doesn't exist.
Every client is different, their interpretations will be different. How they deal with their GC experience is up to them, we'd all prefer to know exactly what's on there minds, exactly how they interpret their criteria etc. but I mean, this is design, nothing is cut in stone, especially in this case,...no pun intended. Literally every case and every client is different. I was even hesitant to do this challenge just because I knew it was going to be so subjective in nature.
One thing though, I'd have to agree, the Micro-Start challenge guys seem like an awesome bunch of dudes. They've have done a really, really, really, really, really, really, nice job of preparing quality information, dealing with questions quickly and being involved. Just from reading Scott's replies, and seeing the website and information they setup to address the challenge, it shows a higher level of interest and involvement. He seems like a super nice guy(like me), willing to help, and get involved. So I hope people really enjoy that challenge.
You'll notice the corporate clients tend to be a little more "cold" ) and less involved. They need to go through their secretaries first.......... ............................I'm allowed one stereotype for the day, that was it :P
J-
Stefan Gales almost 10 years ago
Thanks GrabCAD and BOXX ! I am very proud of being the 10th Place Winner !
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
Jonathan - """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""how did I get an honorable mention?.....awesome ) can I have at least a screw off of the BOXX4150 for that?""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" that is just hilarious Jonathan, well done on that comment!!!! Thats really funny hahaha!!!!
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
Congratulations to all the Winners!!!
Ruan Pretorius almost 10 years ago
Hahaha Jonathan, I'm still Laughing!!!!!!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpe_sGnnP4
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
Now I see the final results, I must say that Boxx has adjusted the shot, a good choice for me! the reference to the brand Boxx is small, but it is not important, this innovative shape will become significant for the brand.
Congratulations to all the winners
Josef almost 10 years ago
Congratulations to all finalists! Good work everyone.
I have to say though, I was surprised by the results, and I share the thoughts from Marios, Mueller and Petersen in the above comments, that the winning entry does not match the Boxx-brand, because of the gaming computer design ,although it is a very beautiful and well made design, even impressing but just not according to the description for the competition. For next competition, please be more honest and clear in what the client really want, otherwise members waste time, get confused and become disappointed. Just my humble opinion. Irregardless I had a fun time participating.
Best Regards
David Pedersen over 9 years ago
Wonder when the t-shirt and lego will show up in the mailbox.........?
Yves over 9 years ago
David, my mail box is still empty too. It seems that you're much closer to the lego factory, So imagine how long it will take to rich Japan.
saiarjun over 9 years ago
Great
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