The Stratasys Extreme Redesign Challenge has now entered its 15th year. Ten years ago China was hosting the Olympics, Timbaland’s Apologize was agonizing the airwaves while people were wearing thigh-high gladiator sandals, Paris was a person not a city while The Dark Knight was in theaters and Lost was on TV. People qued for RAZR’s by Motorola while Lehman executives boasted of Unparalleled Liquidity. The High Schoolers eligible to participate in this year’s Extreme Redesign Challenge were dreaming of Nintendo Wii’s or of Bolt. Go a further five years back to when the Extreme Redesign Challenge started and we were watching Matrix Reloaded, Friends, Buffy and the Wire while Nokia and Sony Ericcson were the largest phone manufacturers, the Gameboy Advanced SP was released while people were playing GTA Vice City. So much has changed in the interim but Stratasys’ Challenge is still growing strong. Over the years the entries have solved any manner of problem and showcased real design and invention prowess from Secondary and University students worldwide. Judges have poured over many “creative, mechanically sound and realistically achievable entry” submissions to the contest. For 2019 you can now submit your entries to Stratasys’ engineering community GrabCAD. You can enter before February 24, 2019.
Winners can win a $2500 scholarship in several different categories. Additionally, the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers (NCATC) will award a $1,000 scholarship for one winner in the Engineering category. For middle and high school students there is an Engineering category, there is another Engineering category for College students as well as an Art, Jewelry and Architecture category for all students. To enter you have to submit an STL file of your design and a subscription of it. You can learn more on the Stratasys page here or submit here at GrabCAD.
Last year a number of inspiring entries won the 2018 version. These ranged from prosaic designs meant to catch nail clippings to hydroelectric generators and cooking utensils. You can find the 2017 winners of the Extreme Redesign Challenge here. While the 2016 winning entries can be found here and the 2015 winners here.
Above we can see Paul Sperling’s optimized 3 X 3 Speed Cube for Speed cubing involving Rubik’s cubes.
Thomas Salverson of The University of Alabama in Huntsville was Twice a GrabCAD Extreme Redesign Challenge finalist. His project is a 3D printed adjustable ratchet wrench. The ratchet/wrench has been designed to be a happy marriage between all of the best qualities of a ratchet and a wrench where an adjustable ‘aperture’ can quickly be sized to fit any bolt while getting a good grip and torque on said bolt.
If you’re a current middle, high schooler or college student I would strongly encourage that you enter this contest. You can invent and come up with just about anything at all. You can demonstrate to your peers your abilities and showcase your skills as an inventor to future job and education providers. It is your chance to really and truly invent something that does not exist yet. It could be just about anything. It does, however, have to work and provide some kind of solution. That kind of a completely blank slate challenge is a rare one indeed to have and you should embrace it should you have the chance. The Director of Global Education at Stratasys, Gina Scala told us that,
“The global Stratasys Extreme Redesign challenges students to make the world a better place through 3D printing. Now powering innovation for more than a decade and half, the contest spurs designs and inventions that make the world sit up and take notice – improving an existing product, creating a stunning work of art, or building something totally new. From a space-age adjustable wrench to jewelry inspired by delicate coral to adaptive casts that change the healing process, the Extreme Redesign Challenge continues to be a contest like none other – with open ended innovation from students using 3D printing solutions that truly solve the design and engineering industry doesn’t even know they have yet.”