SME - Digital Manufacturing Challenge 2019

SME - Digital Manufacturing Challenge 2019 now is over!

The SME, an organization dedicated to developing the future manufacturing workforce, has announced its 2019 Digital Manufacturing Challenge, this year themed "Additive for energy transfer & heat exchange".

Energy and the work it can do are fundamental to our world and they exist in many forms. Harnessing energy through its generation or conversion, transfer and storage, is often accompanied by heat.

The 2019 Digital Manufacturing Challenge emphasizes the thermal management or temperature control of systems, processes or devices that generate, convert, transfer or store energy.

Cross-functional teams are challenged to leverage the design freedom inherent in additive manufacturing in order to simplify or integrate features and functions while simultaneously reducing size, weight and increasing the efficiency of a thermal management system, process or device.

Additive manufacturing embraces a considerable variety of materials and processes suitable for directly creating a wide range of 3D models, prototypes, mock-ups, tooling, end-use parts, assemblies and systems/subsystems. The design freedom enabled by additive manufacturing allows the optimization of form, fit and feature/function integration often not possible by other means. Therefore, student designers and engineers are challenged to go beyond the classroom or laboratory and showcase their technical and commercial talents by demonstrating new and creative ways additive manufacturing can add value.

A virtual prototype is to be created comprehending one or more of the seven available additive manufacturing processes.

Contestants must recommend and justify their additive design, process and material selections through their research and cost-benefit/value analysis, and must also include a discussion of all manufacturing considerations in order to achieve the form, function and capability/performance claimed.

Submission requirements:

Each category submission will consist of a zipped file, which includes:

• A completed entry form.
• STL files of your design.
• A one-page summary stating why your design is suited for direct digital manufacturing (DDM).
• Include the benefits your design would bring to the consumer.
• Indicate the volume of the build.
• Include your name(s) and contact information.
• Include your school name along with the name of your academic adviser as well as his/her email address plus title of your entry.

In addition, college/university entrants will also need to submit a report (not to exceed three pages) containing the following additional elements:

• Justified choices of DDM processes and materials to be used.
• Social and environmental impact analysis.
• A cost-benefit analysis for using DDM (include an estimate of the quantity to be manufactured).
• Include your name(s) and contact information.
• Include your school name along with the name of your academic adviser, including his/her email address, with title of your entry.

Entries are welcome from both college/university students and high school students. The two categories will be judged separately according to the following weighted criteria:

• Functionality and durability - provide a description and analysis of features and functions - 15%
• Cost-benefit/value analysis - justify reason(s) for using additive manufacturing - 15%
• Utilization of DDM material(s) - justify the material(s) selected - 20%
• Utilization of DDM process(es) - justify the additive manufacturing process(es) used - 20%
• Design integration and innovation - showcase AM capabilities / compare with traditional methods - 10%
• Marketing - justify market appeal and market share forecast - 10%
• Social and environmental impact - forecast, explain and justify the affects anticipated - 5%
• Judges’ discretion - 5%

There is no entry fees to participate!