The entry must be published between April 4th, 2016 and June 27th (11:59pm PT), 2016 in order to be considered. Selected entrants will be eligible to win one of three categories, each with a different set of prizes available. The Instructable can be considered for all three of the categories if it is eligible, however a single Instructable can only win in one of the categories. All of the entries will be judged on not only the quality of the project, but the quality of the entered Instructable, including creativity, the quality of the presentation, and the final execution of the Instructable itself.
Once the contest closes on June 27th the judges will select 65 of the entered Instructables as finalists. The winning Instructables will be selected on July 11th and they will be announced on July 12th. The Grand Prize Winners will be chosen by combining the judges’ scores and the community scores until all nine of the highest scored entries are chosen in the Best Instructable category. Additionally there will be three Judges’ Prize winners in the Best Health Related Instructable category chosen by Zortrax and three Judges’ Prize winners in the Best Fully 3D Printable Instructable category chosen by Ultimaker.
To be considered for the Best Instructable, it should be a project including 3D models, projects with 3D printed parts, or any other type of project that is 3D printing-related. Multiple Grand Prizes will be selected for the Best Instructable category, and five of those Grand Prize winners will receive one of five available 3D printer models. Selected winners will receive either a DeltaWASP, a Witbox 2, a MakerGear M2, SeeMeCNC’s Rostock Max or an Ultimaker 2 Extended+. Four additional Grand Prize winners will be selected to receive either a BEETHEFIRST 3D printer, a CEL Robox, a Craftbot Plus or a LulzBot Mini.
The three Judges’ Prize Winners selected for the Best Fully 3D Printable Instructable category will receive either a Ultimaker 2 Go, an Ultimaker 2+ or an Ultimaker 2+ Extended. Entries in this category must be 100% 3D printable or only require a few screws to function. Three Judges’ Prize Winners will be selected to receive a Zortrax M200 for the Best Health Related Instructable category, which may include projects for assistive technology, ergonomically designed builds, bio related, or any project that was created to improve people’s lives.
Additionally there will be 50 Runner Up Prizes awarded, each consisting of a $50 3D printing services voucher for 3D Hubs and an Instructables prize pack that will include a contest t-shirt. And every single Instructable that is entered into the contest and eligible to win will be awarded a $10 3D printing voucher from 3D Hubs. Those are a lot of prizes and vouchers available, especially considering last year saw 591 entries, including amazing projects like a 3D printer made from LEGO, an automatic knitting machine and a retinal imaging device attachment for a smartphone. You can find out more about the contest, and upload your entries here. Let us know your thoughts over in the 3D Printing Contest forum at 3DPB.com.