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Design BUZZ

A competition for product designers and engineers to design a tool for the urban beekeeper

Beekeeping seems to be undergoing a renaissance at the moment. Ever since the announcement of the Colony Collapse Disorder a few years back, urban dwellers have either been planting bee friendly flowers in their gardens or actually joining the beekeeping ranks themselves. Location doesn’t seem to be a problem, with hives being kept in small gardens and on roof terraces overlooking the city below.

In order to be a beekeeper there are a number of essential tools, apart form the beehive obviously, that need to be purchased. One well-known piece of equipment in the beekeeper’s toolkit is the smoker. Available in various sizes in stainless steel or copper, the basic premise is that you place lit fuel (whether it be smoke cartridges, hessian sacking or twigs) inside the smoker and then use the bellow to puff the smoke out through the nozzle. By directing the smoke towards the bees, it calms them down when the beekeeper comes to inspect the hive. The modern day smoker was created in around 1875 and since then the design hasn’t changed much. Is it time for a redesign? We think so.

There are a number of pitfalls to the current design of the smoker including how much and what type of fuel is appropriate to use. There is an issue in not only keeping the fuel alight but also adjusting the amount of smoke that comes out the nozzle and relying on the direction of the wind to push the smoke where you want it to go; difficulty in puffing smoke and picking up frames of honey at the same time and lastly, with most smokers, there is no place to safely leave them while inspecting the hive.

Requirements

  • Redesign a piece of beekeeping equipment (such as the smoker) or design a completely new tool to add to the beekeeper’s toolkit that is user friendly, sustainable, easy to manufacture and bee friendly.

  • Create a sketch, 3D CAD model or rendering of your concept with a brief description of how it works.

Download specification

Rules

  • This challenge is open to everyone

  • You can submit several designs

  • Tag your model with “Beekeepertool” to make it easier to find

  • Competition ends July 30, 2012, last time zone

Prizes

3D physical prototype of the design and NVIDIA graphics card

1st Prize

IPF (http://ipfl.co.uk/ ) will produce a 3D physical prototype of the winning design. The winner will also receive a NVIDIA Quadro 2000 by PNY (www.pny.eu): A mid-range professional graphics solution with 1GB of GDDR5 memory for fast processor complex models.

Runner up prize

NVIDIA Quadro 600 by PNY (www.pny.eu): An entry level professional graphics solution with 1GB of DDR3 memory.

Special mention prizes

A chance to have a stake in your very own beehive throughout he British Beekeepers Association's 'Adopt a Beehive' initiative

About the jury?

Judges include a panel of design professionals as well as experienced beekeepers.

The winning designs will be showcased on develop3d.com and in the September issue of DEVELOP3D magazine.

The British Beekeeping Association: http://www.bbka.org.uk/
3D Printing Specialists IPF: http://ipfl.co.uk/

About Develop 3D

DEVELOP3D is a print and digital resource which tracks the essential technologies used throughout the entire product development process.

With a globally respected editorial team with unparalleled industry experience, DEVELOP3D analyses and disseminates emerging technologies whilst engaging engineers and designers and assisting them in their increasingly complex software and hardware selection process.

42 comments

  • Tomas

    Tomas about 13 years ago

    Nice challenge! :)

    Tomas has uploaded 50 CAD models & has left 752 comments.
  • Ron

    Ron about 13 years ago

    Is it possible to have a list of tools that you think need to be innovated in the beekeeping industry?

    Ron has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Matt Stinson

    Matt Stinson about 13 years ago

    interesting challenge will hopefully be making a few entries

    Matt Stinson has uploaded 26 CAD models & has left 57 comments.
  • Amin Ghedmat

    Amin Ghedmat about 13 years ago

    Can you add dimensions to your sketch and can we use electronic parts to make it work more convenient?

    Amin Ghedmat has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 52 comments.
  • Matt Stinson

    Matt Stinson about 13 years ago

    do we have to sumbit a sketch with a CAD model or can we just upload the model?

    Matt Stinson has uploaded 26 CAD models & has left 57 comments.
  • CRAIG T

    CRAIG T about 13 years ago

    This comment was removed

    CRAIG T has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 6 comments.
  • Amin Ghedmat

    Amin Ghedmat about 13 years ago

    That's what i meant!
    Can we use electronic stuff(like "CRAIG T" noticed) or it should be all mechanical?

    Amin Ghedmat has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 52 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    This comment was removed

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    This comment was removed

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    @MStino

    We are accepting all formats that you'd like to send it in so a CAD model, hand drawn sketch, renderings are all fine. However, if you do win the challenge, your design will be made into a 3D prototype so you'll need to be able to provide us with a file that IPF can work with.

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Ron

    Ron about 13 years ago

    @Tanya Weaver, thanks for the help!

    Ron has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Ron

    Ron about 13 years ago

    @Tanya, if we had something in our design such as straps, would want us to give you exact dimensions on the lengths of the straps? Just want to double check on that.

    Ron has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    @Ron it's not vital to have the exact dimensions but a rough estimate would be good.

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Amin Ghedmat

    Amin Ghedmat about 13 years ago

    Thanks "Tanya" but i think it's too late!
    I almost completed my design...(It's all mechanical!)

    Amin Ghedmat has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 52 comments.
  • Thaynan Pereira de Faria

    Thaynan Pereira de Faria about 13 years ago

    Funny!

    Thaynan Pereira de Faria has uploaded 37 CAD models & has left 270 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    @amin202 That's cool. I look forward to seeing it.

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • girisha krishnappa

    girisha krishnappa about 13 years ago

    thanks Tanya for the inputs. Looking forward tobe part of the challenge.

    girisha krishnappa has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 4 comments.
  • Adam Pohl (POHL3D)

    Adam Pohl (POHL3D) about 13 years ago

    Yes, thanks Tanya your input is very helpful!

    Adam Pohl (POHL3D) has uploaded 102 CAD models & has left 1223 comments.
  • Adam Pohl (POHL3D)

    Adam Pohl (POHL3D) about 13 years ago

    Doing a little research, thought this could be useful: http://www.beekeepingstarterkit.com/equipment

    Adam Pohl (POHL3D) has uploaded 102 CAD models & has left 1223 comments.
  • Ron

    Ron about 13 years ago

    Does anyone know a rough estimate of the weight of all the tools combined?

    Ron has uploaded 5 CAD models & has left 12 comments.
  • Amin Ghedmat

    Amin Ghedmat about 13 years ago

    Ron...It's related to materials and dimensions you choose for you project.
    But i think it shouldn't be more than 1Kilogram(2.2lb, lbs).

    Amin Ghedmat has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 52 comments.
  • Jonathan Calvert

    Jonathan Calvert about 13 years ago

    Ive submitted my design moments ago for this competition but as I refresh the page I cannot see my design! Any suggestions.....

    Jonathan Calvert has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 3 comments.
  • Matt Stinson

    Matt Stinson about 13 years ago

    i would message someone at grabcad or possibly tanya weaver as she seems very involved in this challenge (so may be on jury or work with challenge company)

    Matt Stinson has uploaded 26 CAD models & has left 57 comments.
  • Jonathan Calvert

    Jonathan Calvert about 13 years ago

    Thankyou MStino. How do I contact Tanya Weaver?

    Jonathan Calvert has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 3 comments.
  • Jonathan Calvert

    Jonathan Calvert about 13 years ago

    No worries, ive recieved a message from GrabCAD regarding the problem
    Thanks for your help

    Jonathan Calvert has uploaded 1 CAD models & has left 3 comments.
  • Kaspar Kiis

    Kaspar Kiis about 13 years ago

    @Jonathan, your entry is on the list now.

    Kaspar Kiis has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 635 comments.
  • Kaspar Kiis

    Kaspar Kiis about 13 years ago

    Can everybody please make sure they have their designs listed in http://grabcad.com/challenges/design-buzz/entries Also please make sure the private entries are made public.

    Kaspar Kiis has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 635 comments.
  • Sufyan

    Sufyan about 13 years ago

    @Kaspar, My design is not listed.. How can I get it listed?

    Sufyan has uploaded 6 CAD models & has left 3 comments.
  • Kaspar Kiis

    Kaspar Kiis about 13 years ago

    @Muhd, It is listed now.

    Kaspar Kiis has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 635 comments.
  • Bozix

    Bozix about 13 years ago

    This comment was removed

    Bozix has uploaded 2 CAD models & has left 1 comments.
  • trey haney

    trey haney about 13 years ago

    How is the judging on this competition going?

    trey haney has uploaded 3 CAD models & has left 11 comments.
  • Drazen

    Drazen about 13 years ago

    I can't see that winner and runner up designs among all these entries... And I don't get what does swarm catcher has to do with bee smoker competition.

    Drazen has uploaded 27 CAD models & has left 162 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    @srecko4ever The brief was to design a piece of beekeeping equipment or design a completely new tool - it didn't specifically have to be a smoker. And although the competition appeared on GRABCAD's website, and we got many great entries from GRABCAD members, we also publicised the competition in our magazine (DEVELOP3D) and website so the winner and runner up are actually from readers of our magazine and were submitted to me directly.

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Drazen

    Drazen about 13 years ago

    I thought GC was the only one involved. Thank you for your quick answer. Cheers

    Drazen has uploaded 27 CAD models & has left 162 comments.
  • dano vinson

    dano vinson about 13 years ago

    The design brief didn't mention new tool design. All GC entries clearly saw only the request for a smoker. So, the design brief was meant to deceive or was poorly planned. Which is it?

    dano vinson has uploaded 46 CAD models & has left 80 comments.
  • Tanya Weaver

    Tanya Weaver about 13 years ago

    @dano vinson If you look at the 'Requirements' above, it clearly states a redesign or a new tool.

    Tanya Weaver has uploaded 0 CAD models & has left 7 comments.
  • Aleksandr

    Aleksandr about 13 years ago

    We see only one item submitted for the contest (Buzz smoker). Where did the rest (as they were Participants Grabcad)?

    Aleksandr has uploaded 295 CAD models & has left 1510 comments.
  • Aleksandr

    Aleksandr about 13 years ago

    Видно только одно изделие представленное на конкурсе (Buzz smoker). Откуда взялись остальные (как они стали учасниками Grabcad)?

    Aleksandr has uploaded 295 CAD models & has left 1510 comments.
  • dano vinson

    dano vinson about 13 years ago

    37 entries - all but 3 are smokers. Perhaps I am not the only one that read this wrong.

    dano vinson has uploaded 46 CAD models & has left 80 comments.
  • Amin Ghedmat

    Amin Ghedmat about 13 years ago

    Hope "Christopher.R" enjoys NVIDIA Quadro 2000...happy time friend :D

    Amin Ghedmat has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 52 comments.
  • Christopher Richard

    Christopher Richard about 13 years ago

    Thank you Amin ,I am more happy that I have got a place in the first challenge I participated.

    Christopher Richard has uploaded 18 CAD models & has left 130 comments.
  • Amin Ghedmat

    Amin Ghedmat about 13 years ago

    You deserved it body...Get ready for next challenges :)

    Amin Ghedmat has uploaded 12 CAD models & has left 52 comments.

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  • Deadline Passed
  • Total entries 25
    Private 1
  • Who’s in the jury?
  • Tanya Weaver
    Develop 3D

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Entries (25)

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