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Show off your skills and solve real design problems
This Challenge invites you to design a flying car. Yes, that's right, a flying car. Terrafugia, the flying car company, invites you to create a fresh face for their new TF-X™ vehicle.
More details on the website of TF-X™.
You must include:
- Rendering
- STEP or IGES file
You are encouraged to include:
- Native CAD file in any format
- More renderings
- Animation
- Description of your design
Design guidelines:
- Maintain the basic TF-X™ configuration (ducted rear fan and folding high wing with pivoting motor pods).
- Fit inside a 19’ x 8 ’x 7’ tall box (i.e. garage) when in “car mode.”
Winning design will be:
- Attractive
- Meet design guidelines
- Keep things simple
ENTERING THE COMPETITION
The Challenge is open to everyone except employees and families of GrabCAD and the Sponsor. Multiple entries are welcome. Team entries are welcome.
By entering the Challenge you:
1. Accept the official GrabCAD Challenges Terms & Conditions.
2. Agree to be bound by the decisions of the judges (Jury).
3. Warrant that you are eligible to participate.
4. Warrant that the submission is your original work.
5. Warrant, to the best of your knowledge, your work is not, and has not been in production or otherwise previously published or exhibited.
6. Warrant neither the work nor its use infringes the intellectual property rights (whether a patent, utility model, functional design right, aesthetic design right, trademark, copyright or any other intellectual property right) of any other person.
7. Warrant participation shall not constitute employment, assignment or offer of employment or assignment.
8. Are not entitled to any compensation or reimbursement for any costs.
9. Agree the Sponsor and GrabCAD have the right to promote all entries.
If you think an entry may infringe on existing copyrighted materials, please email challenges@grabcad.com
SUBMITTING AN ENTRY
Only entries uploaded to GrabCAD through the "Submit entry" button on this Challenge page will be considered an entry. Only public entries are eligible.
We encourage teams to use GrabCAD Workbench for developing their entries.
Entries are automatically given the tag "terrafugia" when uploading to GrabCAD. Please do not edit or delete this tag. Only entries with valid tag will participate in the Challenge.
AWARDING THE WINNERS
The sum of the Awards is the total gross amount of the reward. The awarded participant is solely liable for the payment of all taxes, duties and other similar measures if imposed on the reward pursuant to the legislation of the country of his/her residence, domicile, citizenship, workplace, or any other criterion of similar nature. Only 1 award per person.
All winners will be contacted by the GrabCAD staff to get their contact information and any other information needed to get the prize to them. Payment of cash awards is made through PayPal. All team awards will be transferred to the member who entered the Challenge.
We will release the finalists before the announcement of the winners to give the Community an opportunity to share their favorites in the comments, discuss concerns, and allow time for any testing or analysis by the Jury. The Jury will take the feedback into consideration when picking the winners.
Winning designs will be chosen based on the Rules and Requirements.
- This Challenge ends on June 23, 2014 (11:59pm UTC).
- Finalists will be announced by July 14, 2014.
- Winners will be announced by August 25, 2014.
Void where prohibited.
Awards for TOP 10 places.
$1,000 cash + GrabCAD multitool
$500 cash + GrabCAD multitool
$250 cash + GrabCAD multitool
$150 cash + GrabCAD multitool
$100 cash + GrabCAD multitool
GrabCAD multitool
The judging panel is comprised of industry leaders, experts, and innovators in a range of fields related to aerospace.
Terrafugia (ter-ra-FOO-gee-ah) intends to catalyze a revolution in personal mobility. Our vehicles bring a new level of safety, convenience, and freedom to personal transportation.
We have been dreaming about flying cars since the turn of the 20th century. The Transition® street-legal airplane is the first step on the road to the practical flying car. Terrafugia’s vision for the future is the TF-X™: a bold concept intended to lead the creation of a new industry and bring personal aviation into the mainstream. We’re starting with proven technology and our product roadmap is designed to make personal aviation progressively safer and more accessible to a broader segment of the population.
Terrafugia is derived from the Latin for “Escape the Earth”. We’re Driven to Fly.™
See more at: www.terrafugia.com
Sara Sigel
Carl Dietrich
Andrew Heafitz 
Vanessa Blakeley
Richard Gersh
Anna Dietrich
Alex MinHave 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.
140 comments
Farzin Raafat almost 10 years ago
IS THE FRONT HOLE(BETWEEN LIGHTS) FOR AIR FEEDING OF THE REAR FAN?
I MEANT,IS IT ESSENTIAL TO CONCLUDE IT IN THE DESIGNING?
Tommy Mueller almost 10 years ago
wow wow wow. Fantastic challenge!!
I can barely wait to get on Solidworks and start designing!!
Greg Thompson almost 10 years ago
Can some of the design restrictions be provided in a CAD model or dimensions be called out a little more accurately? or is this a loose concept development for a new identity of the vehicle.
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
Can you provide us with technical drawings (side, front, top...) of the aircraft? It's pretty hard to grasp the size of the current concept without those.
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Farzin: The front hole is for cooling (a radiator).
Greg and Veleckovik: Please proceed without a CAD model from Terrafugia. We have internal restrictions on sharing CAD info that is not for marketing purposes. Also, we don't want to overly restrict your creativity...
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
The key things we want to keep are the basics of the configuration: the simple wing fold. The pivot point of the motor pods also needs to be very close to the longitudinal CG of the vehicle for control purposes in transition from vertical to horizontal flight. The axis of the exhaust from the ducted fan should also be close to the longitudinal CG (same reason). You can estimate the longitudinal CG position from the location of the pivot point on the motor pods in the marketing pictures on our website. The relationship of the wing to the CG is also important to maintain -- although preliminary aero studies suggest it could move forward (from an aircraft perspective, it is a very low aspect ratio canard configuration -- significant body lift).
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Bottom line: don't mess too much with the underlying configuration as those changes could make the vehicle even more difficult to control, but make it look cooler!
Tommy Mueller almost 10 years ago
Great & quick feedback Carl. I prefer having no CAD file, so that works for me!
Having a baseline CAD configuration will only create a design paradigm hindering innovation for the future. Welcome to the fold. :)
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Thanks Tommy. I will try to get feedback to the group promptly, but my travel schedule gets busy at times. In general, we want to keep this challenge as open and loose as possible -- to encourage new design ideas. We look forward to seeing what the GrabCAD community can generate!
Chuma A almost 10 years ago
Wow, the possibilities.
Right now that's all I can say.
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
Hmm, ok then, no CAD files...
How many passengers is it supposed to have room for? A family (2 adults and 2 children)? 2 adults only?
Also, I'm guessing it should be as slippery as possible so sharp edges should be avoided. Am I right?
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Yes, two adults and two children. And yes, aerodynamics are a primary concern, so it is desirable to avoid very sharp leading edges -- the back side wants to be as sharp and pointy as possible (don't round the trailing edges). That said, the vehicle is going to be driven on the ground as well, so both Terrafugia's Transition(R) and TF-X™ concept design have "bumper nubs" so that you don't damage the trailing edge of critical flight control surfaces when you accidentally back into your fence/garage at 2mph. This utility is something designers may want to consider -- we will certainly factor in how practical the design may be in addition to how cool it looks.
Along those lines, you may want to consider standard automotive lighting (we have to). In the end, we want a design that is not only awesome to look at, but also practical to use...
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
Thank you for the fast and insightful reply, Carl.
One more thing-someone already asked if the radiator intake is necessary and the answer was yes, but does it have to be in the front of the aircraft or can we move it around a bit? I'm thinking somewhere after the cabin or maybe have two side-mounted ones?
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
I'm going to try to stay away from getting too specific about what you can do and what you probably shouldn't do because I don't want to limit your creativity more than we already have by specifying the basic configuration. Radiators can be positioned in different locations relatively easily. That said, there are good technical reasons to have "clean air" accessible particularly during a high power, low-speed climb out. Almost anything can be compensated for, however, via augmented forced air cooling. Bottom line: don't let the need for a radiator somewhere limit your creativity.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Obviously, no one is going to design a flying car in 35 days....they're looking for design inspiration, shapes, forms, etc....it's an exercise in design aesthetics, kind of like the Boxx challenge. If you can design a full plane through and through down to the nuts and bolts, in 30 days..... then you can take me for a ride in it, but I'm packing a parachute ).....:P
The Ultimaker almost 10 years ago
Its no wonder they are looking to grabcad for a re-design, man that thing is ugly haha. It`s like a flying puffer fish :P
Jack Matthews almost 10 years ago
Love the idea of this challenge I'm looking forward to seeing what people come up with! On a technical note though do you have any data for the weights and dims of the components like the prop blades, engines and all the parts that you want untouched or a basic cad model of them perhaps? Do you also have any specific airfoils that you are running with or again shall i just go mad with it?
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Jonathan, you are correct, we are looking for aesthetic ideas -- not nuts and bolts design. Jack, see the conversation above about CAD models. The short answer in your words is: "go mad with it." We don't want to overly constrain things at this point. That said, the closer your concept is to something that is also practical, the more likely it will be that parts of your design will carry forward.
A0I0A almost 10 years ago
Nice.. A flying car.. Have to participate in this challenge..
But, just wondering, has TFX considered the feasibility of a flying-convertible vehicle?
Jack Matthews almost 10 years ago
My guess is convertible flying cars would be sweet if there weren't so many damn birds to fly into face first at 200mph.
paultahar almost 10 years ago
is there any limitation for the engine?
Hari prasath almost 10 years ago
19’ x 8 ’x 7’ what is this? is it in inch? can some one give me it in mm?
Stephen Nyberg almost 10 years ago
482.6mm x 203.2mm x 177.8mm
Tommy Mueller almost 10 years ago
Been going at this challenge since it started... It looks like my 'first draft' entry will be uploaded sometime today. Demanding design challenge to say the least.
Anyone else as challenged as I? ;)
The wheels are giving me the most difficulty...
Anyone have any outstanding links to share for retractable landing gear?
Shaman Jim almost 10 years ago
I have a few serious questions from an aerodynamic standpoint, and have the software/experience to be of some help.
1: Materials - Alloy/titanium/Carbon fiber... what can I work with? If not all.
2: Proper/defined size limits of the aircraft in "Road" mode. Also does occupant positioning have to be 2x2? Or can it be different?
3: An approximate weight your looking for with 4 passengers and luggage, fuel and oil (we weights- Maximum takeoff weight MTOW) to design airfoils/engine to accommodate this.
4. Are you for any reason against multi-wing designs?
Thanks.
Cengiz almost 10 years ago
price is poor :/ wtf 1000?
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
I agree, another example where the compensation is really really off the mark but anyway.........not my battle this time......... I say no more...............awesome and fun challenge though from a design standpoint! Can't wait to see what people come up with!
The Ultimaker almost 10 years ago
Yeah same here. A few hundred pounds for a huge design job, us designers are becoming so cheap! Even that battery case put me off, $400 jeez!
Greg Thompson almost 10 years ago
Unfortunately this is what is being taught in marketing strategy classes, crowd source design, a cheap way to get a ton of ideas and no long term commitment or contract with a freelance designer. As fun as this challenge would be I'm out as well for that reason, just not worth it...
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Shaman, you don't need to worry about materials or weights. This challenge is about industrial design -- not the engineering of the vehicle.
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
At Terrafugia, we want to work with people who share our enthusiasm for designing a practical flying car. A "flying car industry" doesn't exist yet, so there is simply not a lot of money floating around to work on this sort of thing -- hence the size of the award. GrabCAD has allowed us the chance to find those people who share our motivation and see what they can do. We don't see the awards as compensation for your time -- there is no "time compensation" for this work. We see the awards as a simple and clear way of recognizing your design skill and your willingness to encourage and support the creation of a flying car industry. We are excited to see what you will generate!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Look I don't want to come off as the poster boy for negotiating GC rates, and I'm trying to stay out of tis one, but I just can't help but comment, but I still am out on this one anyway, not just for "compensation" reasons but other priorities, but I hope someone else picks it up from here. It says something when you have two award winning designers commenting on the issue, I'm sure more feel the same way though. You'll notice also, that the quality will be what you "pay for", passion or no passion.
Carl, you're a team of six entrepeneurs, obviously it sounds like you're start up funding this with your own monies....so your reward comes out to about 166$ per person, out of pocket......I mean really? Let's put the issue of passion and dedication aside here........................................................do you think that is fair a designer? I would feel better about this if you just came out and marketed it as a "just for fun" challenge with no reward, but no, you're asking people to work for you. I just feel it's very low. I won't say much more than this, again, not my battle this time around. Hopefully someone else will pick it up from here. This is not to detract from an otherwise awesome design challenge! Good luck to the participants!
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
They're not looking for a ready-to-mass-produce, 100%-finshed model guys, they're looking for some fresh ideas, and it really doesn't take that long to communicate an idea, especially for "award winning" designers. The rewards are decent for what they want us to do, in my opinion at least.
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Jonathan, thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is a friendly competition and an opportunity to show your stuff if you are so inspired. I'm sorry if you or anyone else is insulted by the size of our cash prizes. This competition is not the primary focus of our activities at Terrafugia. It is an experiment for us, and I hope it will be a fun activity for the participants. We certainly mean no insult. I wish we had more cash to throw around at fun opportunities like this! :)
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Carl, that's fine. Not insulted at all, you're not obliged to do anything you don't want to do ) I was simply just sharing my personal thoughts on the challenge which I still stand by. Also thanks for the kind response. Unfortunately, due to other priorities I probably won't be able to have a go at it! Enjoy the challenge! I wish your team great success!
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Carl, when you get them built, I would love a ride by the way! should have room for you in the driveway! :P Cheers!
Jack Matthews almost 10 years ago
@Tommy my best landing gear file is here: Hawker harrier main landing gear
Shoeb Deshmukh almost 10 years ago
@Carl: can you put some light on the fan duct size.......
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
@Carl Dietrich,
Since Terrafugia TF-x "fugit ab terra",
however sooner or later must go back, so the question is:
when it is on the ground as it moves?
I think the ducted propeller is objectively dangerous and throws dust and stones, therefore must be stopped, for which only remain the dear old wheels and then need a motor for traction, what kind?
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Flav is on to something.....Great points
Tommy Mueller almost 10 years ago
In my opinion, it'll be just fine working in a VTOL.
Just look at the popular Boeing Osprey here:
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/0/3/0/1517030.jpg
and here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIR8Up-qQxA
Don't cha think?
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
You could install a little cannon that shoots out goggles for people in the near vicinity of the craft so they wouldn't to protect them from rocks.......*pause.............****crickets churps
Me, Me, Me... almost 10 years ago
Lacking even basic dimension, I don't know how this design competition will work... Lacking of wing area, reminded me too much of the Moller flying car...... Before tackling the ID, may I suggest a name change, something people can pronounce...
Flaviano Crespi almost 10 years ago
Ahaha Jonathan! .)
@Tommy
also Agusta Westland 609
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QmyII4bBmM
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@Flaviano, ground drive will not use the ducted fan; wheels are driven -- like our Transition vehicle.
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@lawrence, basic box dimensions are given above. We are not expecting you to engineer a vehicle -- simply focus on modifying the industrial design to improve the look. You may suggest whatever you want for a name, but there is no prize for that :)
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@Shoeb, the fan duct should be comparable to the current images of the TF-X -- much smaller and there would not be sufficient control authority for pitch and yaw stabilization over a reasonable CG range...
Me, Me, Me... almost 10 years ago
Carl, I wish you guys luck, but considering how long the FAA certification/development process is for the AW609 tilt-rotor, you got soooo.... much work ahead of ya, that you may need more money than what Moller had squandered. I got no name suggestions for ya, :D ,but if you going to make this concept fly, try turn it into an UAV, much looser regulations, prob better investment $ from Uncle Sam. Good luck.
paultahar almost 10 years ago
is it front wheel drive when on the ground?
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@Lawrence: we have a very good understanding of the challenges. Nonetheless, we believe it to be a worthwhile endeavor. @ Paul: ground drive is TBD -- you don't need to have a concept for the drive system for this challenge -- just four wheels...
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
All, it's exciting to see all the new entries! As we get down to the last few weeks, please keep in mind that in addition to wanting something that looks cool, we have a judging panel that has a lot of engineers on it, so they will probably favor designs that they think are both cool and realistic from an engineering perspective. Thanks for all the effort!
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
Carl, does it have to have four wheels? Ditching one wheel and suspension components for that wheel saves at least 40 kg and since weight is always an issue with these kinds of vehicles, making it a three-wheeler would be the way to go, no? Are four wheels needed to meet the regulations?
Kamyar almost 10 years ago
Dr. Dietrich, having seen Anna's presentation on TED.com in 2011, I was envious. It addressed some of my own design problems from 1981. Somehow I expected more out of such successful project. Feel free to write back to me directly.
Krista Casal almost 10 years ago
Here's my two or six sucres (but either way not much value ha!):
---
"Jonathan, you are correct, we are looking for aesthetic ideas -- not nuts and bolts design." (-Carl D.) Pues, I think a thousand bucks for an aesthetic design idea that probably won't be entirely used by the time a final, functioning, produced-for-public version has come into existence sounds reasonable. Alas, no time for me to participate in this one. But if there was, I'd even go for a multi-tool. :)
---
"...crowd source design, a cheap way to get a ton of ideas and no long term commitment or contract with a freelance designer." (-Greg T.) I happen to very much agree with & can be affected by this; however for this particular case:
---
"...we want to work with people who share our enthusiasm [and a] chance to find those people who share our motivation and see what they can do. We see the awards as a...way of recognizing your...willingness to encourage and support the creation of a flying car industry...[This challenge] is an experiment." (Carl D.)
---
Perhaps the issue is that the Challenge goal above declares "refinement of the current TF-X™ outer design to improve the customer experience with a sleek, fast appearance" but elaboration on the intent was later revealed & remains buried in the comments.
---
I just have to say I feel like intentions are generally good here and compensation not far off for something as fantastical as this. I guess I believe most participants must view this more as a fun & creative exercise that can pay off a little too (and maybe & hopefully there will even be those with the particular interest or expertise Terrafugia is looking for).
---
Kamyar, you just might have to submit /something/ this time, even just for fun(!), the mechanical & aeronautic engineer that you are, simply for your enjoyment of sharing & exchanging with fellow designers, no? :)
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
funny how Terra didn't mention anything about these........the "transition" their first real working flying car......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnF2yua4KIw
issues:
airport mandatory takes offs, pointless, ruins the whole concept.
more of a plane than a car, imagine road tripping in this thing :P
long road ahead for the flying car concept, and a never ending sky.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
well........lol, having said that............, I still love it, still a very very cool piece of engineering that must have been a lot work so I must give congrats to Terrafugia for pulling it off....the first "flying car" prototype.
paultahar almost 10 years ago
chill your head Tommy Mueller
"According to all known laws of aviation, there's no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wing are too small to lift its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway - because bees don't care what humans think is impossible." (Bee Movie opening quote)
Me, Me, Me... almost 10 years ago
Strange concept. If you can land vertically on any parking lot or driveway, why bother being a car?
...
Then again most municipalities and FAA regulation would want u to land in an airport or helipad, which begs another question of why not detach the wing and put it somewhere safe at the airports?
...
Strange... :D
Cristian almost 10 years ago
Is the placing of the wings fixed or can they be moved?
Clix almost 10 years ago
Can the two fordable wing propellers be just for GIRO?...this way it explained why you don't need such a big wing surface and this way you don't have so many engines....and the project is possible? :))
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CajAq6ndJYE
teigan almost 10 years ago
what is the advantage to having the rear pointed ducted fan thruster? the props should generate sufficient forward motion on their own, even in transition mode. why needlessly complicate the system?
as separate questions:
are the propellors variable or fixed pitch?
what provides lateral stability on vertical take off?
teigan almost 10 years ago
if any of the wings remain unretracted for road mode, the inherent airfoil will lift the car while driving, which is the opposite of what you need for safe handling. with your current configuration, you can't realistically hope for anything more than low speed driving.
jura stok almost 10 years ago
The "Terrafugia Team" does not know much about efficiency of lifting surfaces. ...and rewards are as usually meager.
Kamyar almost 10 years ago
Degreed engineers with independent, critical thinking are coming out of the woodworks. This is getting interesting after all.
teigan almost 10 years ago
i noticed in the TF-X product video, that the windcovers for the pod-bays magically teleport into position without any need for supporting storage structure. if you have such capabilities, then why do you need a flying car?
Kamyar almost 10 years ago
No one has asked why does the design need a rear fan? If the front two fans are powerful enough to cancel the weight of the craft, then could certainly propel it forward and cancel the normal flight drag sustaining steady flight.
The rear fan is needed to compensate for sophisticated or heavy transition hardware and reduce the level of pilot skills. Not everyone would be a V-22 pilot flying this. This requires the rear fan to be also pointed down like the front units, and be able to rotate to horizontal position to contribute to the total thrust of the system.
teigan almost 10 years ago
i don't know of any "hover in midair" planes that aren't computer stabilized. the pilot isn't aware of the micro adjustments being made at every instant. these vehicles are all inherently unstable, and wanting to capsize into the ground without warning.
A D almost 10 years ago
Just assuming that Terrafugia will invent the wheel again (this is not the first approach for an aerocar), I think that all of you forget one essential problem.
Who and how will manage the traffic which results trough several hundred thousand or perhaps hundred of millions aerocars?
The management for such a kind of traffic is 3D and we are still not really able to manage reasonable a 2D traffic. Think about what's necessary to be done to manage the traffic at an airport.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
with current technology, probably not going to happen, but the doors fly wide open when we have good enough AI to be able to make all those calculations, per say to avoid oncoming flying cars........but you never know what technology will slowly progress and then enable another technology in the future. A perfect example I can think of is the new generation of graphics cards that allow triple monitor setups. The Oculus riff VR headsets would not exist if it wasn't for the new generation of graphics cards......and the cards just slowly evolved over time, nothing dramatic. Then one day, some dude got the bright idea to apply that technology to a headset and it's spawning a whole new industry in virtual reality.
A D almost 10 years ago
I love your enthusiasm, but there is another problem too. How will you manage a traffic congestion, there is not possible to stop the engine and to wait till the way will be free again. there is another kind of drive required to make this possible. We talk here about anti gravity drives.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
My comment wasn't really directed at anyone, just out there in the ether. But that's what I'm saying, you would need something that basically floats in mid air. But I think when Terrafugia says "flying car", they mean, a plane, primarily for airport take off and landings, that can be used as a car. The transition is pretty cool as it is, I just think it needs some tweaks for better road usage. My design sort of addresses that issue. Will be up in a few days, just finishing the final touches....
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
All, my apologies for the delayed response; I've been out of town with limited access. While there have been many interesting comments, I think the only direct question about the competition since my last post was regarding three or four wheels. If I am wrong, please repost your question. Regarding the question of 3 or 4 wheels, we are strongly biased towards four wheel configurations. Also, for those who are interested, here is a video of our first public demonstration of our first product: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWGIDaBwCJs&feature=share&list=UU9x4-93vT6hJuMj3c1NSb0Q&index=2
teigan almost 10 years ago
i asked three very direct questions, which you haven't answered.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Pretty cool....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvelR2aoheE
Stefan Gales almost 10 years ago
For you Jonathan :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ovsgui4YWs
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
not bad, not bad......little cumbersome but I tell you, looks like ALOT of fun!
I like this also...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdQK_odgedk
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@teigan: While we appreciate your interest and curiosity, your questions about how our baseline configuration works are not relevant to the challenge, as such, this is not the proper forum for those discussions.
teigan almost 10 years ago
judging by the percentage of entries that chose not to honor your configuration, my questions are very relevant. you handicap your own challenge with your unwillingness to discuss what you personally feel uncomfortable with.
neil louw almost 10 years ago
Are there any aerospace experts on Grabcad who can comment on this concept? I have seen lawnmowers flying, but what sort of power to weight ratio will be needed to get this thing into the air? Where are the lift generating surfaces? What sort of redundancy is built in? Where are the safety measures? The kilograms just keep adding up! Surely the "bodywork" design should factor in the practical realities of this type of vehicle?
Surely form should follow function!
I sincerely hope that the contest sponsors will not use some extremely sexy, but totally aerodynamically impossible, artists impression created on Grabcad to woo investors!.... What other possible use could the products of this challenge have?
Oh well, perhaps a thousand dollars is small money to pay for just having fun :)
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@neil louw: we are interested in improving the aesthetics of our TF-X concept, the challenge does not require aerospace expertise -- Terrafugia will provide engineering expertise in this field. However, we do not have in-house industrial design, so we are looking to the GrabCAD community for help. We are not expecting participants in the competition to have completed the types of analysis we have done. We are simply looking for novel aesthetic concepts that could be incorporated into future design studies, and the guidelines were structured so as to help the aesthetic concepts to be more relevant to our future efforts.
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@teigan: I am excited to see the wide range of concepts that are being submitted, and I have no desire to inhibit the wide range of entries -- including those who do not "honor our configuration". It's fantastic that they are willing to share their work with the community even though they are less likely to win our prizes. I'm not sure how the fact that there are people submitting designs that don't meet our requirements makes your questions about our baseline configuration relevant to this competition; this is a creative industrial design challenge -- not an engineering challenge.
No matter what level of transparency I provide into our engineering there will always be people who would prioritize engineering trade-offs differently, and this is not the forum for those debates; this is a forum for people to ask questions about what we value for this competition so that we can guide the participants and make it more likely that their design will be selected. Those people who would make different engineering trade-offs are welcome to sponsor their own design competitions with their own prizes. Those who want to be in serious contention for our prize should try to make their design concepts meet our requirements, but obviously I can't force that. I actually think it's quite exciting that there are so many different concepts that are being submitted.
A sophisticated aerospace engineer can take a look at our concept design for TF-X and estimate the answers to a number of the questions you asked, but that does not mean that we, as a company, are green-lighted to share our engineering information. I hope you will respect that we have internal processes and controls that prevent us from sharing the info you are requesting -- especially when it is not relevant to the success of this competition.
My apologies for the extended response; I will refrain from further comment on this particular line of discussion. I look forward to answering any other questions directly related to this challenge.
-Carl
neil louw almost 10 years ago
Carl: Thanks for the heads-up! Wish I had the skills to build models with such sexy lines as some of the entries. I'm more the mechanical / technical type... :)
teigan almost 10 years ago
the boundary between engineering and industrial design is entirely imaginary. and to insist that your industrial designers must be prohibited from asking engineering questions lacks vision and basic wisdom. the proper approach to developing the aesthetics is first understanding all the mechanical limitations.
Markus Rewinski almost 10 years ago
"Regarding the question of 3 or 4 wheels, we are strongly biased towards four wheel configurations." (Carl Dietrich).
Hello Carl,
this information coming one week before the end of the challenge is pretty favorable for people who began their work one month ago. Are you serious? In the description of this challenge are very few requirements (dimensions, rear fan, high wing, pivoting pods... and that's it). One month ago you spoke about "keeping this challenge as open and loose as possible". Now I read more and more requirements, I didn't know at the beginning of my work. So please enlighten me.
Regards,
Markus
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
@Rewing: 4 wheels is not a requirement; it is a bias -- "The goal of this Challenge is refinement of the current TF-X™ outer design to improve the customer experience with a sleek, fast appearance." -- the term "refinement" implies that we are biased towards concepts that are similar to our baseline TF-X configuration (which has 4 wheels), and the hard requirements reinforce that desire for a refined design -- as opposed to a clean sheet design concept. That said, we also want something with a sleek, fast appearance, so some designers may find that a three wheel configuration is more desirable to them -- so we will certainly consider concepts that have three wheels even though we might consider going from four to three wheels a particularly large "refinement."
Jovan almost 10 years ago
@Carl Dietrich, I have some trouble converting geometry from my native CAD format to Step/Iges, can I upload .OBJ file instead, Thanks!
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
Carl, I think you are confused about the differences between Industrial Design and Styling. These two are very different from one another bit are often confused for being the same thing. What you need is a stylist, not an industrial designer. Let me explain.
The industrial designer is involved from the very beginning. Every project starts with a problem to be solved and this person works together with the engineers in solving the problem and developing the concept. The industiral designer has great freedom and can take the project whichever direction he wants, as long as the direction is deemed feasible by the engineers.
The stylist is involved only in the finishing stages of the project, when the engineers are pretty much done with their work and the problem is solved. The shape of the concept is pretty much known at this stage, leaving only the possibility of making small changes to the volumes and shapes. The stylist is really limited in what he can do.
The head of the Swedish industrial designers association once said that this is like putting a lipstick on a pig and he's right.
Now, I think your concept can be vastly improved and I'll go ahead and disregard your opinion about the number of wheels and change the front of the vehicle significantly. That is, if I choose to finish my model.
Clix almost 10 years ago
I believe in convergence of disciplines, now the tools are so powerful that the limit is only the sky, i will never agree with the marginal role of stylist in the era where the marketing can change the way products are made...
Hans de Ridder almost 10 years ago
People beware...Always tag your model with your name or a logo if not... see: http://www.yuntai.com/projects/1c56ba96429f4fef9e946f960ead1cc5/view
paultahar almost 10 years ago
that is my design
Hans de Ridder almost 10 years ago
@ paultahar YES it is, but is has been "taken" by www.yuntai.com
But they only steal from the best......
Pouriya almost 10 years ago
@Hans de Ridder thanks for this information.
It is really shameful .
paultahar almost 10 years ago
thanks Hans de Ridder for your information, it makes me little bit angry.
Serhiy Lonco almost 10 years ago
how many hours before deadline designs?... I'm in progress
Hans de Ridder almost 10 years ago
@ Serhiy... This Challenge ends on June 23, 2014 (11:59pm UTC).
Serhiy Lonco almost 10 years ago
thanks Hans de Ridder
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
9 hours left! Upload your entries now and email challenges@grabcad.com if you need any help.
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Thanks for helping out @Hans :)
Clix almost 10 years ago
Good luck all, i'm in too...finally :), quite nice concepts all, for sure this is a "pleasantly disrupted" theme with unexpected results....
Mickey Gole almost 10 years ago
@ sara UTC according to http://time.is/UTC is 23:23 but your contest gate is closed ?
Carl Dietrich almost 10 years ago
Thank you all for your efforts. On behalf of the jury, we are all very impressed by the number of entries, and we look forward to reviewing them all!
Mickey Gole almost 10 years ago
Thank You Sara ! Great to be able to display my work in this Great Contest !
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
Ann, I think if there's a possibility for people to "cheat" they do it. It's up to the competition's organisation to prevent such a thing. Do you ask a bodybuilder politely not to take steroids? No. What you do is make the person take obligatory tests. This prevents him from cheating. It's the same here, in my opinion. You don't ask people to be fair, you prevent them from cheating.
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
We keep records of every edit and change so it is easy to track when someone makes changes to their design after the deadline. Adding a new rendering is okay as is adding new formats for your design. I remind people who forget to add a STEP or IGS file format at the end of every Challenge. But making modifications to your CAD design after the deadline isn't allowed unless explicitly stated in the Challenge Rules or Requirements.
Greg almost 10 years ago
Fu.. i'm too late! Sorry, squeezed up for the next challenge
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
The Challenge comments thread is not the appropriate place for the last couple of comments, which I've removed. If you do have suggestions for future changes in the Challenge rules or any other feedback email sara@grabcad.com or challenges@grabcad.com with your ideas. What I'd like to hear from the group is which entries they'd like to see as finalists - what are your picks???
Yauhen almost 10 years ago
Sara what kind of comments can not be posted? (that you removed)
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
@Yauhen I'll send you an email with details, it would defeat the purpose to post them again here :D
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
I think there are a few really nifty, cool looking designs from a creative standpoint, but I'd question if they'd ever get off paper, just due to the wing sizes. A lot of people are using basically knubs for wings....??.... in any case, a fun exercise....I'm spent,..... going swimming. Wishing everyone luck )!
Konrad Jakubiak almost 10 years ago
I heard somewhere, that formula 1 car generates enough pushing down force to fly a little, if it the car would be upside down. No big wings, just many small ones and right air paths generating drag. Maybe this is interesting path to dig into more: hollow design with many inside and outside profiles where air can travel and which can be switched from down lift to up lft force
Veleckovik Design almost 10 years ago
@Konrad, yes, F1 cars can drive on the ceiling of a tunnel at speeds above 180 or so km/h but a surface of some sort has to be present beneath them their wheels (in the case of a tunnel, that surface is the ceiling of the tunnel). They rely on not only wings but also the underbody, which generates as much force as the two wings combined. If you turn an F1 car upside down in free air, you lose the force generated from ground effect.
Sara Sigel almost 10 years ago
Finalists are announced!
http://grabcad.com/challenges/terrafugia-tf-x-industrial-design-challenge/results
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Thank you to everyone who participated! This was a unique Challenge to design a flying car and you all delivered with a top-notch batch of entries and ideas. We believe these entries are the best solutions based on our needs. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
Pouriya almost 10 years ago
Congregates to all
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Seriously, good show, congrats to all participants and finalists!
Yauhen almost 10 years ago
Well bad luck for me again. After so many hours of modeling...Maybe I should stop participating in the GrabCad´s challenges and do something else...There are a lot of dirty streets out there...Maybe I should find some cleaning job :)
Well there are some good entries and here is my top list starting from the best:
1. Terrafugia TF-X Concept
2. Terrafugia-Aircar
3. Terrafugia CARINARIA
4. https://grabcad.com/library/tf-x-ave-concept-1
5. TERRAFUGIA TF-X
6. Terra Fugia-Flying CAR-Machozz
7. Terrafugia TF-X concept
8. TFX U2FLY
9. Terrafugia LMX
10. Terrafugia TF-X Practical Flying Vehicle
It is really hard choise between first three.
BUT there are really unpractical and ugly designs in other finalists. For example last one - I do not even understand what is it doing in the list of finalists! Jury wanted to say that it is better then another entries? Even my own entry much better then the last one! I am dissapointed in jury.
TFX U2FLY Nice idea with folding under the wings motors.
Congratulations to all finalists!
ANOUAR BARODI almost 10 years ago
Congrats to all Participants and finalists!The Comments of the jury are very very constructive, thanks Terrafugia & GrabCAD!
Vedran Martinek almost 10 years ago
Congratulations to all the finalists and to everyone that participated. Now let's see what will happen next ;)
Yauhen almost 10 years ago
Guys I wanted to apologize to everybody - if I sounded rude. No offence
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
#1 for me personality.....
TFX U2FLY
Can't really give a good reason why, I just like it, fairly reasonable physics also etc. etc......
Good luck all you flying car people! I want a ride when you build one! :)
Christopher Richard almost 10 years ago
Congratulations to all the finalists!!!
TERRAFUGIA TF-X by Greg Thompson and Terrafugia Terrafugia TF-X Concept by Vedran Martinek are my personal favourites.
This was a great challenge...many amazing entries,,,makes me realize I have to work harder.Gearing up for the next challenge.
Clix almost 10 years ago
Congrats to all winners and all participants!, thanks to the judges for the nice comments!
Markus Rewinski almost 10 years ago
I root for Flavianos Terrafugia TF-X concept. Perhaps it doesn't have the best and most futuristic look, but it's the only entry, one might imagine that it can fly.
Kamen Rusev almost 10 years ago
Congrats to the winner's. I have only one concern about the GrabCad challenges in the future. The effort to build something new-different and unique worth more than couple of hundred dollars.. everyone know that there is ideas and "know how" that do not have price!( bigger money,more ideas) Please...in the future make sure to price the labor of the participants to be at least the minimum US wage for mechanical engineer or 3D designers. Thanks! No offence to anyone.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 10 years ago
Can someone find me Richard Branson's phone number?.........I have a plane to build.
Kamen Rusev almost 10 years ago
I'll find you in CAN and i'll give you the phone number...cheers dude :)
Yauhen almost 10 years ago
Just google it: http://www.ask.com/question/how-can-i-contact-richard-branson-direct
s zandi over 9 years ago
Congratulations to all the finalists. good luck
Sara Sigel over 9 years ago
No need to wait any longer, winners are announced!
http://grabcad.com/challenges/terrafugia-tf-x-industrial-design-challenge/results
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We chose our finalists based on their overall attractiveness, how well they met the design guidelines, and for keeping things simple. Some entries do these things better than others, and each entry has its strengths. We've taken a closer look at every finalist and you can see their performance in each category, on the results page. Congratulations to all the winners!
Pouriya over 9 years ago
Congratulations to all
Jonathan Brazeau over 9 years ago
congrats guys! good work.
Vedran Martinek over 9 years ago
I would like to thank Terrafugia and GrabCAD for choosing my design; it was very interesting challenge and I really enjoyed working on it. Only thing left is to see this design built and I hope it will come true, because that's the best award designer could receive. Also, congratulations to other winners and everyone that participated!
Yauhen over 9 years ago
congrats to all! 2 Vedran: maybe we´ll see your model one day flying...
AlexKit over 9 years ago
Congrads Vedran! and all guys, Excellent Challenge!
Clix over 9 years ago
Congrats to all participants and winners, thanks to Grabcad and Terrafugia for the opportunity to enjoy such a great theme, and not the last, thanks for all the nice words, thoughts and support from the community :)
ANOUAR BARODI over 9 years ago
Congrats to all participants & winners, thanks Terrafugia & GrabCad !
Kafe ammar over 9 years ago
it's a fair judgment by the jury team , congrats for the winners ! and big Up to the Grabcad comunity , we do have talented people here
Mart Berghs over 9 years ago
http://press.aeromobil.com/aeromobil-30-prototype-revealed
Jonathan Brazeau over 9 years ago
WOW WOW WOW!!!!
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