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Show off your skills and solve real design problems
We invite engineers, makers, tinkerers and inventors to explore additive printing’s amazing capability to print fully assembled, interconnected objects.
Contestants are tasked with designing a gear system with three (3) or more gears that is fully assembled when 3D printed and cleaned up. In other words, it needs to be a functioning model. Any idea may be submitted as long as the gears turn freely and are co-dependent upon completion.
Some examples of creative gear applications: A clock; toy; drivetrain; Geodesic sphere; a piggy bank; and a weather vane, to name a few. The idea being to create an elaborate and functioning gear system that pushes the envelope.
Winners will be announced at the 3D Printer World Expo’s evening reception on Jan. 31 in Burbank, Calif., and published on GrabCAD simultaneously.
You must include:
- STL file
- Rendering
- Model must have three (3) or more gears
- Model must be functioning and fully assembled when 3D printed and cleaned
- Model gears must turn freely and be co-dependent when 3D printed and cleaned
You are encouraged to include:
- Native CAD file
- Description of your design
- Up to three additional renderings
Size instructions:
UPDATED on Dec. 10: Assume the model will be printed no larger than 8” x 8” x 6” using a high-precision Stratasys FDM printer.
Criteria upon which the entries will be judged:
- 3D printability
- creativity
- design
- quality
The competition is open to everyone except GrabCAD, 3D Printer World and GoEngineer employees. 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 “3DPW” 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 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 public entries will be considered. Any private submissions will be made public at the Challenge deadline.
Punchbowl Media (“3D Printer World”) and GoEngineer retain the right to promote and publicize entrants and their design work.
Winning designs will be chosen based on the rules and requirements. This Challenge ends on January 6, 2014 (11:59pm UTC).
Winners will be announced at the 3D Printer World Expo’s evening reception on Jan. 31 in Burbank, Calif., and published on GrabCAD simultaneously.
Void where prohibited.
$20,000 in cash awards
$10,000 cash
$5,000 cash
$3,000 cash
$1,000 cash
$1,000 cash
The jury will be comprised of experts from 3D Printer World, GoEngineer and GrabCAD.
3D Printer World Expo, hosted by 3dprinterworld.com, brings together the broadest range of 3D printers and 3D printing professionals ever assembled under one roof. The 2-day event, which includes exhibits, demonstrations, education tracks, contests and networking opportunities, takes place January 31 and February 1, 2014, at the Marriott Burbank Hotel and Convention Center. To register, or for more information, visit www.3dprinterworldexpo.com
GoEngineer has been helping engineering, manufacturing, and product design companies innovate and stay competitive for over 25 years. The company provides best-in-class solutions from SolidWorks, Stratasys, CAMWorks, Altium, and Oracle Agile PLM with training, services, and technical support resources throughout the Western and South Central United States.
Mike Titsch
Bob Titsch
Joe Micallef
Sara Sigel
Tyler ReidHave an awesome idea for this competition? Want to win cool prizes? Sign-up now to upload your entries.
85 comments
Branko Stokuca almost 12 years ago
Nice challenge. Finally some serious cash prizes :)
Fahad Butt almost 12 years ago
Model must be functioning and fully assembled when 3D printed and cleaned , what does that mean? will you print it and assemble it yourselves?
Luis Filipe Ferreira de Moraes almost 12 years ago
I understand it as a model that will be printed using a secondary polimer that wil be liquified and washed out after the printing cicle is completed. In this case the parts need not be removable. I'm I right?
Chris Schoener almost 12 years ago
very nice challenge! Also, I have to add that GoEngineer is one of my favorite youtube channels, second to Javelin Technologies.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
GoE, what is the level of resolution of the printer you will be using? What tolerance should we use for material spacing? .6mm--.0265"? Thank you.
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Fahad - yes the entries will be printed by us. Entries should be submitted in assembled form so that after printing, we can remove the support material (if necessary) to unveil an assembled, working model.
Jonathan - we'll be printing on our Stratasys FDM machines. We have everything between the Mojo and Fortus 400 available so we'll likely match machines to model requirements. Z resolution (slice height) is available down to 0.005". XY is trickier to quote - the width of a single extrusion can measure down to about 0.012" but we consider 0.030" to be 'thin wall.' Spacing is up to you and could be considered part of the challenge... gears require varying amount of clearance themselves depending on the type and not all would require support material! If support material will be required, your estimate about right.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
ok thanks Tyler.
Dimitris-Mast almost 12 years ago
Are we going to design just the gear system assembly or the full model of our assembly with it's surfaces, bodies and stuff?
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Hi Dimitris - you would want to design and submit the entire assembly. Keep in mind we are looking at prints that will fit into a 5"x5"x5" cube.
Luis Filipe Ferreira de Moraes almost 12 years ago
Are you able to print using several collors or the model must be made in a specific collor. For example, if i make a little airplane. Your printer will have the means to print it in red for the fuselage, black for the weels etc? I'm well aware that there are several collors available for 3d printing with FDM materials but is it possible to print several collors for a single body?
seghier khaled almost 12 years ago
hello
i have an idea its small thing very useful ; i made it with paper
can i add an gear system to it and submit the final work ?
Juan Jose P. almost 12 years ago
It would be nice to get further details about what is needed for this contest and what is not allowed.
Mohammad almost 12 years ago
Hi :
Can we add other stuff to the model ?? like springs,motor-gearbox(for mechanism movements),pins, lamps or bearings ??
Julius Siador almost 12 years ago
Hi, Tyler and challenge sponsors. I come to know that Fortus 400 can have a build envelope of 14 x 10 x 10 in. Considering that everybody here wants to win and would like to bring forth a design worthy to vie for a 1st place, could you please reconsider entries that would fit in 10"x10"x10" cube? IMHO the elaboration and innovation of the entries will rise exponentially every additional increase of build envelope. Also, in this way we can accommodate other possible winning entries outside the 5"-cube build envelope that will effectively push the envelope further for a uniquely inspired functioning gear system.
Fahad Butt almost 12 years ago
^^ size can always be scaled down!
Julius Siador almost 12 years ago
Yes, all 3D computer models can virtually be scaled down but our existing 3D printers has its present-day limits like wall thickness and surface finish. Also, although we can thicken parts that would become impossibly thin and/or too frail for a 3D printer to build, some parts cannot be thicken when, for example, the essential geometric structures are nestled or stacked to each other. I hope the challenge sponsor can reconsider my request.
Bob Titsch almost 12 years ago
Luis, all models will be printed in one color.
Mohammed, assemblies should be submitted as assembled. Unless we can print it, please don’t include it in the model.
Julius, the sponsors have discussed your request about the build size limitation and decided to bump it up from 5"x5"x5" to 8"x8"x6". This change will soon be reflected in the requirements section. We are not comfortable going any larger than that because of time limitations re: printing and shipping so all five finalists' models can be displayed at the show in Burbank. Many thanks to GoEngineer for accommodating contestants with this increase.
Pedro Azevedo almost 12 years ago
Hi,
I don´t understand if we are free to make our model with correct meshes, or if it has a specific purpose like mentioned in the title "...The idea being to create an elaborate and functioning gear system that pushes the envelope."
Please clarify me about this.
Thanks
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Hi Pedro - "push the envelope" isn't meant to be taken literally! It's an English phrase meant to mean "go beyond the current limits," so what the rules are asking for is a creative, imaginative design of your own.
Pedro Azevedo almost 12 years ago
Thanks Tyler, I´m Portuguese and i´m not familiar with some English words.
We are always learning. Thanks again. I´m going to try this challenge
Christian Padilla almost 12 years ago
Tyler,
When we submit our designs, is it possible to specify which direction we would like the .stl to lie on the print tray or are they going to be auto oriented. The reason i ask is that the xy tolerance and the z tolerances are different, z axis stepping could mess with ways that gears rotate, and it changes how the soluble support gets laid down. Thanks for the help, i look forward to posting my designs
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Hey Christian - you absolutely can make that request. You're right about the orientation making a big difference in the outcome of the print, so kudos for thinking ahead. As long as you design the model to fit within the 8"x8"x6" envelope in the orientation you want there won't be a problem. For people who do not specify an orientation we will use our best judgement.
David Lewis II almost 12 years ago
do sprockets count?
Mahender CH almost 12 years ago
Hi Tyler,
Certain assemblies are difficult to print at once. Will the parts be printed at first and then assembled in such cases? or is it must that it should function when the full assembly printed at once and cleaned??
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
with 3D printing, can anyone clarify what tolerance or thickness or soluable material will provide a snug fit for pivot points once it's washed away. In theory I was using .0265" but it seems like there would a lot of play....anyone have any practical experience with this?
Fahad Butt almost 12 years ago
^ me waiting for it too,
seghier khaled almost 12 years ago
question ; can we create any gear system ; or we must create on eto use it in machines
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
also, how does the printer know when to print soluble and when to print normal? I'm assuming we save each material as seperate bodies in our design...? Sorry, don't have any hands on exp. with 3D printing 2 mats.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
So far, not any of the designs submitted show support material designed into the file or how the part could feasibly be printed.........isn't that the important and the whole point?.......can someone let me know what scope our design has to cover..... will save me a lot of work. thanks. -
Christian Padilla almost 12 years ago
Jonathan, you take the .stl and put it in the print software and it reads it and auto determines where support is needed based on orientation. it is not neccessary to model support material. Cheers! Good luck! PS, make sure when you save the .stl file to take note of the units you are modeling in. It could save some hassle later if you are modeling in centimeters for example, and the judges have to guess what to scale the model to.
Mart Berghs almost 12 years ago
For inspiration purposes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3xxDxlsIdA
seghier khaled almost 12 years ago
i hope i get answer for my third question : the selection of winning design based on the gear system (only gear system) or on the model ( the design when we can use the gear system)
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
@CHristian. Oh, that's good to know! Will save a ton of time, but what about friction joints, let's say a rod or axle needs to rotate in a shaft, I'm sure the software wouldn't figure this out....how do you design for this. I've been adding a sleeve of support material in my designs approx. .0265" for any friction fit surfaces, I've left it as a seperate body, I was assuming the software would let you go through and select support material bodies........not sure if this is the way to do it...
Christian Padilla almost 12 years ago
Jonathan,
I saw in your profile that you use solidworks so i will use examples from this and assume that it is portable in other software. For a shaft for example, you are going to want to dimension your fit however you think will be the best tardeoff between low friction and low slop / jiggly-ness and leave it like that. The software is completely auto, no selecting bodies. Its actually quite nice. This will give you a final assembly of multiple solid bodies. You are going to want to make sure the check box in the "Save as" .stl options pertaining to "Save all components of assembly in a single file" is checked. this will give you an .stl file with multiple bodies in it. The software then does its thing and puts support where ever it needs to. This allows designer to worry about design and not about print process. Hope that helps. Good luck, hopefully we both will be represented in the finals!
Christian Padilla almost 12 years ago
This should help.
PS disclaimer - this isnt my youtube video nor do i represent Stratasys. This is just for people who have never printed something themselves before that i happened to find via the google.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et_533lpi8E
Fahad Butt almost 12 years ago
minimum support material will be built in the default orientation , in this video, but may be it will get stuck to the bed?
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
Christian, ok thanks, so I'm good then, I'll just hide the support material that I designed in and leave an airgap instead. Really cool to know the software calculated support material automatically, such a time saver.
Ernesto Chavez almost 12 years ago
@Tyler, what specific material are you planning on printing everything in?
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
This comment was removed
David Lewis II almost 12 years ago
Does a sprocket and chain system Count?
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Hi David - we're saying that sprockets/chains do not qualify as gears.
Nick Hampton almost 12 years ago
Tyler- Just to clarify, must be the model be printed in 1 print complete. Or in parts to be assembled?
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Yes, 1 complete print. No assembly required!
Rohit Kumar Singh almost 12 years ago
Where do you look forward to in terms of positioning yourself at the expo and what are your expectations from the ones that you will finally display at the expo?
Do you want to display a functional and useful object like a clock or a weather wane or only an aesthetically functional object like the geodesic sphere? Which of the two categories makes more sense to you all.
Leon van Rijn almost 12 years ago
I think it would be usefull to require that at least 1 rendering is in a uniform color, preferably specified by you. All models have nice renderings in different colours but will be printed in 1 color. It looks nice but is not realistic, It would make comparison easier!!!
David Lewis II almost 12 years ago
so does that mean my model does not work?(tank)
i built this specifically for this. the parts all move codependently and work as a whole. all joints are built so it's printable.
Tyler Reid almost 12 years ago
Hi David - if you can implement some geared systems into your design then it would work, but the tracks/wheels would not qualify as-is.
Bob Titsch almost 12 years ago
Rohit, models that are more “functional” or “aesthetic” will be considered and judged equally based on the design criteria – and not how they will be presented/appear as physical objects at 3D Printer World Expo.
Mohamad ghotbian almost 12 years ago
Please give more time.
I need about 15 more days for complete my model.
Sara Sigel almost 12 years ago
@Mohamadgh Since the deadline is based on the event date, we aren't able to move it. I'm so sorry! I hope the 13 days is enough to get something submitted!
Rohit Kumar Singh almost 12 years ago
@Sara
How does one submit a private entry?
Lumas almost 12 years ago
I'd like to include a printed 'tool' that can be used to power the design from a few possible locations. In the assembly, should this be positioned in one of these locations, or can it be just placed next to the assembly as long as it fits within the print area?
Sara Sigel almost 12 years ago
@Luke Hmm that sounds really interesting, can't wait to see how that works! The requirements ask for one print and for all parts to be assembled. So, I would say find a way to include it on the model in a function way.
@Rohit I'll get back to you via email.
Rohit Kumar Singh almost 12 years ago
@Sara Thank you. That helped.
Simonr almost 12 years ago
Do any of you know of an on line, preferably free source for accurate gear profiles? I've tried a physical dynamic simulation on gears from the Solidworks toolbox and concluded they are more aesthetic than accurate and do not run nicely. I've also 3D Printed them - and they jam if spaced at the correct PCD.
I could construct them from first principles - but it adds a lot of work if you have several sizes / types, particularly if there's a good source!
sedri almost 12 years ago
How should we consider the tolerances, specially at the joints???? should we consider the gap between separate parts or not???
Simonr almost 12 years ago
@sedri - you need to leave a reasonable gap to stop the parts fusing together as it prints. I would suggest at least 0.25mm - though this depends upon the printer. I would make gaps as big as you can / tolerance as low as you can to ensure it will run.
Patrick Hughes almost 12 years ago
@Simonr - If you're not able to find a gear that you want here at GrabCAD you might find something suitable at McMaster Carr.
Patrick Hughes almost 12 years ago
I have an old copy of AutoCAD (r14) which allows selection of only one solid body for export to a .stl file. Can anyone advise, If I were to union all components (with clearances between components) should the resulting export print successfully?
Jing Luo almost 12 years ago
Can we get a general idea of best practices for your particular 3D printers in terms of the minimum wall thickness and minimum gap distance? Please let me know what you think! Thank you very much for your assistance!
Jing Luo almost 12 years ago
Also does the worm in a worm drive count as one of the three necessary gears?
RJuanateyDesigns almost 12 years ago
Hello Sara,I have a doubt with one of the requirements: When in the requirements state that we are encouraged to include "Up to three additional renderings" it means that we shouldn´t include more than three; most of the entries include more than three renderings, including the ours one, so I don´t know what are you going to do with the extra renderings.
e.g.oussama almost 12 years ago
dear jurors, I want that you criticize my project sharpener that I advance and I can put another project ...
Juan Carlos Santisteban almost 12 years ago
Hi I have searched in the challenge rules but haven't found this, sorry if it has already been described. Who owns the intellectual property rights for the submitted design?
Julius Siador almost 12 years ago
We hope it is very clear in the rules that the designer himself/herself owns the IP as the sponsors only want to retain the right to promote and publicize entrants and their design work. So, this makes this particular challenge very fair, most especially to the winners who have plans that extend far beyond than what current 3D printing can offer.
Juan Carlos Santisteban almost 12 years ago
Great, thanks for your reply
David Lewis II almost 12 years ago
@Tyler Reid. thanks for the feedback now it looks way better than before no gear system, now with minigun!
Vipin kumar almost 12 years ago
Hatsoff ! awesome entries
Dimitar almost 12 years ago
My personal best was Rotobot from Luis Cordoba!
Luis Cordoba almost 12 years ago
Thanks a lot Dimitar :D!!!
Sara Sigel almost 12 years ago
Surprise - we're posting the results a few days before the 3D Printer World Expo: https://grabcad.com/challenges/gears-of-innovation-challenge/results. We'll be posting honorable mentions over the next few days so be sure to let us know your favorite that should be recognized.
Luis Cordoba almost 12 years ago
Congrats to all the winners :D
Patrick Hughes almost 12 years ago
Good job and congrats to the winners.
Konrad Jakubiak almost 12 years ago
Congrats! And for honorable mentions I personaly like planetary conical mechanism by Leonid Platonov
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
Congatulations to all winners... some that stuck out for me were....
La Tête à Toto (Mechanical calculator for kids)
Grabbomotive
G.O.I. - Pocket Fan
"Made with love" Hand Whisk
Lotus
Fahad Butt almost 12 years ago
Congatulations to all winners.
Lumas almost 12 years ago
A few I reckon deserve some recognition:
https://grabcad.com/library/chevron-gearball-1
Oliver
3DPW: Go-Chopper
Congratulations to all the winners though. Some really great work there...
Nouamane almost 12 years ago
Congatulations to all winners :)
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
@ Luke, thank you for the vote. Many great designs, so hard to choose. Congrats to all finalists and participants. Great creativity in designs, fun fun fun. Special congrats to 1st place, 10g's for a yoyo, not too shaby.
*raises glass )
Vladimir Palffy almost 12 years ago
Fi folks, Congatulations to all winners but I think that you forgot for Almost infinite
and/or
Twister
I know - it is so hard to choose :) from all great projects in this competition
Congatulations to all winners one more time.
Regards,
Vladimir
RJuanateyDesigns almost 12 years ago
Congratulations to all the winners.
My mention would be for Marc Beroukas and his PLANETARY SUPERCHARGER, as in my opinion he was the one that really "pushed the envelope" in 3D printing, by designing an useful piece of hardware that could only be produced with this technology.
Jonathan Brazeau almost 12 years ago
Thank you for the honorable mention. Very much appreciated.
Devin Sidell almost 12 years ago
Thanks a lot for the honorable mention, unexpected to say the least but I will be enjoying my GrabCad Mug!
Konrad Jakubiak over 11 years ago
so how it went on the expo? Anyone found any footage?
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
@Konrad There was a member or two there. We're hoping to share details of the event and hopefully pictures on the blog sometime soon. We'll post here when it's published.
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