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Most 3D Wanted was the first ever competition in which engineering students had to build 3D printed bridge prototypes.
Most 3D Wanted was the first ever competition in which engineering students had to build 3D printed bridge prototypes.
Held at the Gdansk University of Technology, the event gathered participants from various technical schools and universities from Poland. Competing students and their teachers had to familiarize themselves with new technologies and project management skills in order to apply a more practical approach to design and rapid prototyping.
The goal for the participants was to design and digitally fabricate 3D printed bridge prototypes. Their objects had to withstand professional stress tests to prove that a real-life construction could be built based on the idea.
Students had to follow some strict rules in order to get to the final round. Parts for their 3D printed bridge prototypes couldn’t be bigger than 20 x 20 cm. The entire model had to be no longer than 60 cm and 6 cm in width. It was acceptable to glue the parts together as it wouldn’t affect the stress test anyway.
Nine teams met in May 2016 during the final round held at Gdansk University of Technology, which also organized the entire competition. Students had to manufacture and assemble their designs. They used ZMorph multitool 3D printer and biodegradable PLA BioFila Silk for that.
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All 3D printed bridge prototypes were next tested on a professional pressure machine used by construction companies and engineers. The weight to the force of pressure ratio was taken into consideration and compared with real-life standards.
PMB team formed by Gdansk University of Technology students Pawel Majchrzak and Marcin Kwiecien won the competition. Their model withstood 1780 N strong force and got the highest ratio score. Congrats!
Winning bridge prototype results:
Total mass of the prototype: 315 g
Max force withstanded during tests: 1780 N
F/m ratio = 5.07
The first edition of Most 3D Wanted (have in mind that in Polish “most” means “bridge”) was a big success and proved that students want to learn about the latest technologies and apply them in their works.
The importance of 3D printing in rapid prototyping will only continue to rise and that’s why we’ll continue support initiatives like this one.
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