Abstract
The goals of the competition are:
- To apply the engineering design process to build the strongest bridge that meets the specifications below, and
- Become more familiar with one of the most powerful prototyping tools in the MakerSpace, the 3d printers.
3D Printed Bridge Building Rules
- The bridge is to be 3D printed by the MakerSpace using PLA on a Creality Ender 3 Pro.
- You may use any of a variety of CAD tools to design your bridge. A workshop will be held Saturday to discuss this.
- You must use Ultimaker Cura as the “slicer” (post-processor) for your design. This software is free and will also be discussed in the Saturday workshop.
- The bridge will be free-standing and must span two level surfaces which are 170mm apart.
- The loading force will be applied at the center of the span and have a 5mm wide contact the entire width of your bridge.
- No post-processing of your bridge is allowed except support material removal. The completed 3D print will be tested as it is after printing.
- The bridge must span two level surfaces as depicted in this document’s background.
- Bridge depth must be at least 30mm.
- A bridge that deflects more than 20mm fails.
- You must design a bridge that will complete printing in 5 hours or less without pausing, according to Cura.
- No part of the bridge can extend below the two level surfaces.
- Scoring will be assessed to the strongest bridge under 5 hours printing time.
Saturday Pre-Competition Workshop
Feel free to watch the Feb 6th workshop overview meeting here
Competition Schedule
Saturday 6th, 11am: Pre-Competition Workshop (Zoom Recording)
Thursday 18th, 8am: Final submissions are due
E-Week at NC A&T!
Thursday 18th, 8am: Final submissions are due
E-Week at NC A&T!
Resources, start here
- Feel free to watch the Feb 6th workshop overview meeting here
- Download and install Fusion 360 (video guide)
- Download and install Ultimaker Cura (video guide)
- Feel free to open this Fusion 360 Testing Jig Template to be able to more easily visualize the testing jig (.step file)
- Design bridge in Fusion 360 (or other 3d software) and import to Cura for 3d printing "slicing" (video guide)
- Upload both STL and .gcode file to the job request form on this site (video guide)
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F.A.Q.s
Feel free to check out our standard F.A.Q. page full of information about 3d printing in general, but below is more Q/A about this competition specifically.
We also have remote support available to meet with an experienced MakerSpace SuperUser to gain advice and guidance.
We also have remote support available to meet with an experienced MakerSpace SuperUser to gain advice and guidance.
- Will we get our bridge back?
- No, bridges will be loaded with weight until they fail and break.
- Can we use any 3d modeling software?
- Yes, as long as you can export your bridge to an STL file to be used in Ultimaker Cura.
- We recommend Fusion 360 and have included demo videos of this software above.
- SolidWorks, TinkerCAD, SketchUp (for SketchUp be sure your "body" is enclosed), and Blender are other popular options.
- Can we use any 3d printing slicer software?
- No, in order to make sure that all bridges are printed with the same time limitations you must use Cura.
About Us
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