DEARBORN, Mich. — The Society of Manufacturing Engineers(SME) announced today a call for submissions to the Design for Direct Digital Manufacturing 2008 Competition. This two-day effort will be held in conjunction with the RAPID 2008 Conference & Exposition, May 20-22, 2008 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center near Orlando. Both university and high school students are invited to submit computer-aided design (CAD) “inventions” which capitalize on, among other criteria, direct digital manufacturing’s (DDM) geometric capabilities and fit within the automotive peripherals or automotive after-market product guideline. Winning inventions or entries will be recognized by awards and other commendations and ultimately manufactured using DDM technology.
Each entry will be judged by a panel of rapid manufacturing academics professionals, industry leaders and experts who make up the SME Direct Digital Manufacturing Tech Group. This volunteer member interest group operates within the organization’s Rapid Technologies & Additive Manufacturing Community and serves to promote greater DDM shop floor usage.
Last year’s competition focused on computer peripherals with university students from Georgia, Utah and as far away as Loughborough, England, submitting winning entries including a customized webcam, a personalized computer game joy stick and a redesigned optical, cordless mouse to the Tech Group’s international panel of judges from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The judges will rely on such additional criteria as innovative aesthetics via DDM, degree of customization/personalization, justification of DDM process and a cost/benefit analysis to select this year’s winning automotive after-market product entries. The first prize designer whose work exemplifies how rapid manufacturing can best be used will receive a personalized recognition award, a certificate of achievement, a complimentary SME student membership, and other commendations along with the ultimate opportunity to manufacture his or her design. Runners-up also will receive a certificate of achievement, a complimentary SME student membership and the chance to see a 3-D or “live” prototype of their inventions.
For complete details and processes on how to enter, please visit www.sme.org/ddm and click on the Design for Direct Digital Manufacturing hyperlink. All entries are due by April 16, 2008 and each category submission should consist of a zipped file that includes:
-A completed entry form (can be found at www.sme.org/ddm)
-An STL file(s) (or stereolithography/CAD software) of your design
-A one-page summary stating why your design is suited to DDM (Include the
benefits it would
bring to the customer and indicate the volume of the build)
In addition, college/university entrants will also need to submit a three-page
report containing the following additional elements:
-A justified choice of DDM process to be used
-A justified choice of the preferred DDM material
-A cost-benefit analysis for using DDM (which must include an estimate of
the numbers to be
manufactured)
-Temperature range for product use
Entries will be judged by April 23, 2008, and winners will be notified at that time. Announcement of the winners and runners-up will be made at RAPID 2008, May 20-22, 2008 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center near Orlando.
::Design World::
Source: :: Design World ::
