Jul 12, 2016 | By Tess

Listen up maker community, if you’re looking for a fun and challenging way to occupy your long summer days, why not participate in this latest maker challenge launched by Pinshape in partnership with MatterHackers and Enabling the Future. What’s more, by partaking in the 3D printing design challenge, you’ll potentially be helping someone in need, as the whole challenge is dedicated to the creation of tools and devices that could help people with hand-related disabilities with every day tasks.

The challenge, called Within Reach, launched yesterday and will be running until September 6, 2016. Organizers of the challenge have called out to all professional and amateur makers, summer camps, and maker spaces around the world to conceive of, 3D print, and submit their designs in order to help stroke victims, military veterans, people suffering from arthritis, and a number of other afflicted people get by in their everyday lives.

Brandy Leigh Scott, a judge for the contest who herself suffers from Dupuytren’s Contracture—a rare condition that has caused her hands to become stuck as fists—explains how helpful 3D printed tools have become in her life. She says, “Last year, MatterHackers designed a couple simple tools for me that would help me do tasks that are difficult from day to day, like swiping your credit card at the gas station or just picking up a coffee cup from my local coffee shop.” With Within Reach, she and the other judges are hoping to find a number of other innovative tools that could help people like her and others around the world.

To enter the contest you simply have to upload your design to 3D printing marketplace and platform Pinshape and select the “Submit this model to the Within Reach 3D Design Challenge (18 and over)” option. There are a few considerations to be eligible for the contest, however, namely that designs cannot have already been submitted to a previous Pinshape contest (other 3D model platforms are fine though), you must be registered with Pinshape, and your design must fall in line with Pinshape’s content policy. Beyond that, entering the contest is free of charge, and makers are free to upload as many innovative designs as they want.

Once submitted, designs will be assessed by a diverse panel of judges, which include the aforementioned Brandy Leigh Scott, Pinshape ambassador Les Hall, Jen and Ivan Owen from Enabling the Future, and mechanical engineer Dave Gaylord. Entries will be judged for their creativity, their technical excellence (including their functionality, usefulness, and applicability), their presentation and documentation (which includes demonstrating your design process through photos, optionally showing how your tool actually works in a video, and if possible, having photos of your 3D printed model), and finally for their social media documentation throughout the design process. The last judging category includes posting photos and videos of your design process with the hashtag #WithinReach3DP and by tagging the contest organizers on social media.

If you’ve been wondering about contest prizes (beyond knowing you’re helping someone in need), there are some great rewards. First prize will receive an Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer, a MatterControl T10 3D printer controller, and 3 spools of MH Pro PLA. Second place will win a Crafty Pen 3D printing pen and $100 MatterHackers credit, and third place will receive a $50 MatterHackers credit. Winners can expect to be announced within a week of the contest deadline.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printing Events

 

 

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