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Show off your skills and solve real design problems
We need your idea’s to find innovative 3D printing solutions to promote recycling.
We believe that 3D printing will have a tremendous role in helping to reduce both plastic pollution and poverty. In the developing world gaining access to tools and necessities can be troublesome because supply chains are often fragmented. 3D printing enables the products to be produced locally, while adding great value through customization.
What products, necessities or tools can be resold for the greatest value in the marketplace? What products, necessities or tools can provide the greatest functional utility to increase individual’s standards of living?
Perhaps it is a medical device, engineering widget, or an aerospace component.
The goal of this competition is to gather creative ideas. We are more interested in the creativity of the idea rather than its technical requirements.
The winner of the competition will be the product, tool, or necessity that can reveal the greatest value for 52 grams of plastic.
You must include:
- Rendering
- STL
- Description of your solution
You are encouraged to include:
- More renderings
- STEP / IGES
Winning designs will be
- Creative
- Functional
- Practical
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 "plasticbank" 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 July 7, 2014 (11:59pm UTC).
- Finalists will be announced by July 22, 2014.
- Winners will be announced by August 5, 2014.
Void where prohibited.
Awards for TOP 10 places.
$500 cash + 'The Art of Product Design' book by GrabCAD CEO Hardi Meybaum + The Plastic Bank flag
'The Art of Product Design' book by GrabCAD CEO Hardi Meybaum + The Plastic Bank flag
The Plastic Bank flag
All exceptional submissions will be featured in a TED Talk by David Katz.
The judging panel is comprised of industry leaders, experts, and innovators in a range of fields from various organizations:
David Katz is the founder & President of The Plastic Bank, Nero Global Tracking and The Core Values Institute. David has consulted globally with 1000′s of businesses about the use & implementation of Values Based Leadership & Mobile Workforce Management.
Shaun Frankson is a serial social entrepreneur with a specialty in business systems & marketing strategy. He has been an integral part 7 start-up ventures. Since 2009 Shaun has teamed up with David Katz on Nero Global Tracking, the Core Values Institute.
Andrew Almack is the founder of Plastic Shore, a not-for profit organization that strives to reduce plastic pollution through community engagement and education. In the summer of 2013 Andrew directed the Plastics For Change program.
JF Brandon is a Founder of Freescape, a company dedicated to developing products and applications that solve big problems utilizing the revolutionary capabilities of 3D Printing. He has won awards from the NYC Economic Development Corporation, TechforTrade UK and Makezine for his work, notably his use of Concrete 3D Printing to revitalize New York’s rotting waterfront, use of 3D printing to make low-cost solar tracking systems (The Petal) or accessory tools for Desktop 3D printers (Makeraser).
The Plastic Bank is turning plastic waste into a currency that can be exchanged to help lift people out of poverty & transition them into a self-sustaining life of entrepreneurship.
We are setting up re-purposing / exchange centers for plastic waste in areas that have a high concentration of poverty and plastic pollution. Our mandate is to provide a ladder of opportunity for the world's poor to ascend from poverty by providing access to education, opportunities and 3D printing services.
The exchange process for our recycled “Social Plastic” improves the life of a disadvantaged person while cleaning our planet.
Our goal is to lead the movement towards worldwide demand for the use of Social Plastic in everyday products. The higher the worldwide demand becomes, the higher the reward will be for harvesting Social Plastic.
Sara Sigel
JF Brandon
Shaun Frankson
Andrew Almack
David KatzHave 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
69 comments
CADmeifyoucan over 11 years ago
Hello and thank you for the great idea behind this challenge. I have a few questions regarding the material and recycling process:
1) Talking about plastic bottles, is there any specific material ? Is it Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE or polyester) which is mostly used in beverage containers ? Or is it something else, like High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) ? (Depending on the density, the plastic can form larger products in volume or vice versa.The material also affects the usage of the product, some can be good for chemical applications, some for mechanical applications. Or may be I am totally wrong.)
2) Is there any specific recycling process for those plastic materials ? If so, what is it ? And what is the percentage of material that can be recycled ? The cost ? (Or we are just assuming that you are recycling 52 grams of plastic from a bottle ?)
3) I think this one is the most important question of them all. (Or that might be just my ignorance about 3D printing.) Any type of plastic is good for 3D printing applications ? The cost ?
I think knowing the costs and material that should be used to create a 'most valuable' product.
Thanks,
CADMeIfYouCan
ALEXANDRE DROT over 11 years ago
nice idea!
Pouriya over 11 years ago
Common wait a minute GrabCad :)
I have a lot of exams these days and grabcad is full of good challenges !!!!!!
JF Brandon over 11 years ago
@Pouriya - that's a damn shame. It's going to be a long challenge so maybe you'll have enough time later :)
Azrul Amir over 11 years ago
I don't quite understand how this thing work... So, we have some plastic waste, then feed that waste to 3D printer (maybe some shredding or palletizing required, is it possible?) to print the new product - does it work like this?
Markus Rewinski over 11 years ago
Doesn't it reduce the recyclability of the new product when it's colored? And isn't injection molding much more energy-saving than 3D printing? So every design or product from PET that can be injected molded, seems to be senseless, when it's made by 3d printing. Or should we solve the pollution problem with one-off productions?
Markus Rewinski over 11 years ago
Another question: does anybody know how much energy is needed to print 52 gr PET?
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
@AzrulAmir The Plastic Bank has developed technology to transform bottles into filament....for this competition assume the filament is flawless.
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
@rewing...sorry I don't know how much energy it takes.
Nathan Caswell over 11 years ago
Most value in 52 g of plastic. Hmm, tricky goal.
52 g will cost roughly the same to print, no matter the end object. So no matter how valuable the object, anyone with a 3d printer could make it for a low set cost. It could also be mass manufactured even more cheaply, using the same recycled plastic.
This implies that selling price is somewhat irrelevant (competition will bring price down to near cost to make).
So how do you 3d print something valuable and actually sell it for $100?
I would look to companies who make a living selling 3d printed objects. They usually have the exclusive ability to make something their competitors can't.
Note, however, that as long as an object is worth more than the cost to 3d print it, it can be sold for a profit, even if small. I think the most valuable (monetary-wise) shared model is the one that is worth more than it costs to make, and has the largest number of potential buyers. Something that everyone would buy, multiple times over.
Nathan Caswell over 11 years ago
For example, this is the most printed thing on Thingiverse:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10483
Why do so many people make it? The answer to that is the key to making a highly sellable 3d printable object.
Shoeb Deshmukh over 11 years ago
Mostly raw materials for 3d printing are either plastic or powder + binding. Since you are recycling the plastic, your raw material could either be filament of PLA, ABS or PVA. Its not gonna be powder. So what is expected to design? A single part that can be quickly printed using a single STL file or an assembly containing many 3d Printed parts will also do......
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
@shoebdeskmukh For this challenge assume that the printer is able to create any design that weighs 52 grams.
Robin Diekmann over 11 years ago
Can you make an object that, once printed, is half, or one third/fourth/fifth of 52 grams? So that you can print the object multiple times from one bottle?
Rochim Abdul over 11 years ago
Is it the same as the recycling of plastic waste, guys?
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
@robindiekmann it can be less than 52 grams but no more.
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
@rochiemabdul Yes recycling 2.0
chris teddy manka over 11 years ago
it would be better to produce different profiles ( T- and L- Shape - Pipes ) using an extruder from the material and use to build Houses , Waterpipes , structures and mit some cheap useless stuff used once and disposed soon after :-( -- it is only my opinion ob this challenge -- find more about how is think recycling could work @ www.recycling-composting.com ( the system could be build using the profiles by the people)
Robin Diekmann over 11 years ago
I tend to agree with Chris Teddy.. This is a fun challenge however.
Mark Young over 11 years ago
The best use for a injection moulded plastic bottle is probably...as a plastic bottle.
If we are talking about reprocessing all the knackered, flattened & broken bottles then using the energy to shred, then print, that bottle is more worthwhile.
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
This comment was removed
Mark Young over 11 years ago
I didn't mean that this was not a great challenge. Everyone should check out your link, there's some great stuff there. The plastic bank is an awesome idea.
Plastic is amazing, we should cherish it. But virgin plastic is so cheap that it's a tough battle to stop people seeing it as disposable.
Andrew Almack over 11 years ago
Sourcing custom components in rural developing areas is nearly impossible. The beauty of 3D printing is that it can produce custom parts on site.
For example, in North Darfur getting a new widget for towns well pump took over 6 weeks. Imagine if it could have been 3D printed on site. Please consider these types of examples when submitting designs.
Ruan Pretorius over 11 years ago
Hi Andrew Almack , what kind of plastic are they going to use? There is a big difference in grams when it comes to Different types of plastic? I don't see it, I only see the people talking about it? in my design I used PET will that be fine?
Ignasi Sagré over 11 years ago
So, i understand it's not a product thought to be sold, but something that solves a problem on site in developing areas, Right? Something that could have a huge non-tangible value!?
Mart Berghs over 11 years ago
Is this real or scam? http://www.cubify.com/en/Ekocycle
Mart Berghs over 11 years ago
Filament with which the printer works with exists but only from 25% recycled plastic bottles
Mart Berghs over 11 years ago
First price? : Application of the rope out of the bottle ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQeeJEpBYsg )
Jonathan Brazeau over 11 years ago
what's with everyone using the plastic bottles in their designs........think outside the bottle.
Mart Berghs over 11 years ago
Simple, two birds with one stone.
Mark Young over 11 years ago
Yeah, reuse some good bottles for a while, then you could make filament from them later.
Mark Young over 11 years ago
Saw that ekocycle thing too singlefonts....maybe a PET / ABS blend?
Konrad Jakubiak over 11 years ago
I wonder in how many years it will be possible to use 100% PET as filiament. It will be great.
Jonathan Brazeau over 11 years ago
lol, thread died.....anyway,
This one is going to be hard to choose. I'd say knock off all the iphone and technology accessories right off the bat. Not to sure how many empoverished people have iphones and ipads, I can't even afford one. ...What are people thinking :~
Francisco Inglés over 11 years ago
Hi Jonathan, from a global point of view, the idea might be that the population of high poverty concentration areas are manufacturing technology accessories to be sold to the economically developed countries. Basically, it is exactly the same than is happening now with every "massive sales" product, but with an environmental friendly accent, and with possibly free materials. Unfortunately, the public administration in every country and in every city use to define taxes when somebody is using something for free...
Jonathan Brazeau over 11 years ago
Workers making ipads and iphones in the factories in China aren't using the products they're making, they're jumping off the factory roof tops.......
Jonathan Brazeau over 11 years ago
This is just my personal opinion, but I think that making anything that has to do with hi technology in this context is just missing the mark in a big way.
Devin Sidell over 11 years ago
Jonathan, I totally agree. That's actually the first thing I thought when I saw people submitting things that may work for people in well off areas but impractical for poor ones. The plastic bottle was a reference to weight of plastic and has nothing to do with bottles in the end. I think I saw someone submit a plastic bottle...really? My take on it is this: The goal was to improve the value of plastic from the original invaluable state in which it's already existing...ie.: a plastic bottle. How does one do that through design? Create something that demands a need for it and value will follow. It's just like land. It's value depends on what it can offer.
Konrad Jakubiak over 11 years ago
I personally like all these crazy ideas, because it helps me to find new path of thinking with own idea. Like f.e.: iphone holder for poor african people, ok ok, but maybe there is a need for some holder for something else, like a bagpack from plastic or a box... Idea with a bottle from a bottle is something like a "provocation technique" in creative tools. I don't know how to exploit this path, but thanks, I havent't think of it.
Tibor over 11 years ago
Jonathan and Devin Sidell nice comments, and the biggest problem of this challenge is "52 grams", we have tons and tons (billion tons) of plastic around the world, but requirement is: not above 52 grams. Not so smart, I think.
Francisco Inglés over 11 years ago
The idea is that poor people can sell the things that they manufacture, not that they can use them. However, both things are positive.
Mart Berghs over 11 years ago
I am also very curious after the outcome of this challenge.
Jasper Shan over 11 years ago
are you guys selecting winners or what
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
We are running a few days behind schedule. Finalists will be posted soon! There are lots of great entries and we're excited to share our thoughts with everyone following :D
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
Results are coming today :D
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
Finalists are announced!
http://grabcad.com/challenges/the-plastic-bank-challenge/results
.
It was wonderful to see so many inventive ideas to make products more sustainable. We believe these finalists are the best solutions based on our goals of creativity, functionality, and practicality. Next we'll be taking an in-depth look at how each finalist performed within those areas. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!
ANOUAR BARODI over 11 years ago
Congrats to Finalists & all participant! 5 ideas that I like the most :
Water Collector by tommy.mueller
PB_Tonsor Razor by devin.sidell
Filter Bottle Holder by singlefontsSG
Custom Lens Hood by gandhi.perkasa
The Plastic Bank - Splint by stefan.gales
Good luck to all!
Govio over 11 years ago
Congratulations to all the finalist and the participants ! We see a great potential from this design challenge for the plastic bank and the people around the globe.
Thanks gregory J. peck for the outstanding comments!
john smith about 11 years ago
pretty dumb finalists.pretty dumb competition. I vastly overestimated the judges' intelligence. If something as common as a razor blade can beat all the other interesting ideas that i've seen and make it to top 10, then honestly there is zero merit to this competition.
Andrew Curtis about 11 years ago
Yeah I agree with john. The finalists honestly made me very disappointed. Disregarding the blatant uselessness and downright absurd ideas of many of these designs, it seems that the judges can't even read their own rules : "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.", and yet many of the designs are DIRECT replicas of existing products. honestly, there were so many better choices within the pool, and the judges picked all of the worst ones.
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
@John Smith, your quote "pretty dumb finalists"
hey thanks a lot. What genius addition is yours? I'm very curious. But still i had a ball with this challenge.
john smith about 11 years ago
Since when was a submission required for criticizing stuff? Just because I didn't submit anything doesn't mean I shouldnt voice my opinions. In fact it makes my opinions more fair because I dont have a bias like "oh why wasnt my design chosen" etc.
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
@john smith: Criticism is not the problem, but your choice of words. Criticism with arguments without emotions are always appreciated.
-
Do not forget: "The best helmsmen stand on shore" ;)
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
What criticism to apply :)
-
Recycled PET bottles stuffed with human hair makes good seating poufs:
- http://www.atcrux.com/2012/06/14/3138/recycled-pet-bottles-stuffed-human-hair-makes-good-seating-poufs.html
Jonathan Brazeau about 11 years ago
lol...nice find.... seriously though, take away the transparency of the pouf liner and I think that would be a game changer....who wants to look at old hair. But if you don't know what you're sitting on, doesn't matter.
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
@gregory J. peck:
This is even worse, bread improver or flour improver E920 (L-cysteine unsure of correct english name) is extracted from hair or feathers (also pig hair or __human hair__) :(
Yauhen about 11 years ago
well, they were lloking for 3d printable products but most of the finalist do not really need to be 3d printable or they are not 3d printable. The jury gived away 500 bucks for the design of what? an razor blade? it looks like complete waste of the money of the plastic bank. it is a nice model but why will anyone 3d print this when there are a lot of cheap razors on the market with cost about 1 eur for 12 units and they are already recyclable? the cost of 3d printed version (and without a much higher cost of 3d printer) will be always higher in my opinion. And there is no need to 3d print recyclable mass product. Also jury selected the bottle cutter and the splint that are not the new original ideas - these ideas existed before and anybody interested in industrial design knew about that. I think the challenge should be for an original personal ideas not for the coping other´s people ideas. There is no any design check for originality in every grabcad´s challenges. It is not a problem when design does not win but it is a very important when design is selected as a winner.
Gandhi Perkasa about 11 years ago
Again, as Devin Sidell said before, the goal is to improve the value of used plastic bottle. So what i got from this challenge is the winner will have a good combination between the most valuable product and the more extensive use.
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
When is the TED Talk by David Katz scheduled?
Sara Sigel about 11 years ago
Winners are announced!
http://grabcad.com/challenges/the-plastic-bank-challenge/results
.
We've now looked in-depth at how each finalist performed within those areas. You can see their scores in their descriptions along with some feedback. Congratulations to all the winners!
Sara Sigel about 11 years ago
@singlefonts Congrats :D I'll look into the TED Talk details and get back to you. I'll post the info here so everyone can tune in when it's available.
Stefan Gales about 11 years ago
Thanks The Plastic Bank and GrabCAD. Congrats to everyone !
Tommy Mueller about 11 years ago
Ditto Stefan Gales!
Thanks to the sponsors & GrabCAD for the extra fine challenge! :))
...
Way to go https://grabcad.com/singlefonts!!!
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
Wow, thank you all, was a fun challenge to do.
Mark Young about 11 years ago
Thanks for the consideration Plastic Bank and great job singlefonts!
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
memobottle - A4, A5 & Letter Reusable Water Bottles: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1645027465/memobottle-a4-a5-and-letter-reusable-water-bottles
Mart Berghs about 11 years ago
Has someone already received the flag of platic Bank? I am curious whether that flag is made from plastic or fabric.
Jonathan Brazeau about 11 years ago
except for the form factor, completely pointless IMO. Could just buy a 1$ water bottle and reuse that :) basically what I do. But eh, they raised 114grand....money talks.
Mart Berghs about 7 years ago
David Katz: The surprising solution to ocean plastic, TED Talk:
https://www.ted.com/search?q=David+Katz
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