Dec.11, 2013
GE today announced eight winners of its 3D Printing Design Quest, which challenged innovators to redesign loading brackets found on jet engines using 3D printing. M Arie Kurniawan, based in Salatiga, Indonesia, won the first place prize of $7,000. The balance of the $20,000 prize pool will be awarded to the finalists capturing second through eighth place.
The design of M Arie Kurniawan from Salatiga, Indonesia. (Photo: GE)
GE and GrabCAD launched the 3D Printing Design Quest in June, challenging the public to redesign a metal jet engine bracket, making it 30 percent lighter while preserving its integrity and mechanical properties like stiffness.
"If we can make a relatively simple part like the bracket so much lighter, imagine what you could do with complex parts. We would like to see some of the people who enter the challenge to become our suppliers as we launch new products." says Michael Idelchik, who runs GE's advanced technologies research.
The contest drew nearly 700 entries from 56 countries. In September, GE and partners picked 10 finalists who received $1,000 each.
The top ten bracket designs were 3D printed at GE Aviation's additive manufacturing facility in Cincinnati and subjected to rigorous load testing, at GE's Global Research Center in Niskayuna. Testing parts to failure was performed to ensure the winning designs meet the highest quality and performance criteria. Loading brackets on jet engines play a critical role: they must support the weight of the engine during handling without breaking or warping.
According to GE, Kurniawan's bracket had the best combination of stiffness and light weight. The original bracket weighed 2,033 grams (4.48 pounds), but Kurniawan was able to slash its weight by nearly 84 percent to just 327 grams (0.72 pounds). Kurniawan's design was inspired by the H-beam profile which can handle both a vertical and horizontal load.
Phase II winners include:
1st Prize Winner- $7,000 cash
1. M Arie Kurniawan, based in Indonesia.
2nd Prize - $5,000 cash
2. Thomas Johansson, Ph.D, based in Sweden.
3rd Prize - $3,000 cash
3. Sebastien Vavassori, based in the United Kingdom.
4th -8th Prize $1,000 cash each
4. Nic Adams, based in Australia.
5. Fidel Chirtes, based in Romania.
6. Mandli Peter, based in Hungary.
7. Andreas Anedda, based in Italy.
8. Piotr Mikulski, based in Poland.
You can view the other 3D printed brackets here.
Posted in 3D Printing Events
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Or even the original
Casey wrote at 12/11/2013 7:42:40 PM:
Would be nice to see what the other eteries looked like.