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Additive 2025 RegionalChallenge InternetRequired

The SkillsUSA 2025 Additive Manufacturing Regional Challenge, titled 'Make It Run', requires participants to design and 3D print a four-wheeled vehicle powered solely by a rubber band, adhering to specific design and competition requirements. Key considerations include interlocking parts, printed assemblies, and ensuring the vehicle meets size and functionality criteria. Judging will focus on the engineering notebook, quality of assembly, adherence to design principles for additive manufacturing, and the effectiveness of the final presentation.

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3 views

Additive 2025 RegionalChallenge InternetRequired

The SkillsUSA 2025 Additive Manufacturing Regional Challenge, titled 'Make It Run', requires participants to design and 3D print a four-wheeled vehicle powered solely by a rubber band, adhering to specific design and competition requirements. Key considerations include interlocking parts, printed assemblies, and ensuring the vehicle meets size and functionality criteria. Judging will focus on the engineering notebook, quality of assembly, adherence to design principles for additive manufacturing, and the effectiveness of the final presentation.

Uploaded by

461676
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SkillsUSA 2025 Additive Manufacturing

Regional Challenge
Make It Run

Welcome to the “Make It Run” challenge!

The task at hand is to design and fully print a 4 wheeled vehicle powered only by a
single rubber band. The vehicles will then be tested on a “track” for functionality, and
additional scoring.

Design Considerations:
● Interlocking parts
● Printed Assemblies
● Snap fits
● Printable Tolerances
● Motion
● Kinetic to Potential Energy

Example of Basic Design

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STRATASYS.COM / THE 3D PRINTING SOLUTIONS COMPANY
Competition Requirements

1. The design must be completely 3D printed.


2. The design must not contain any outside hardware (axles, screws, washers
3. The design can be 3d printed using any technology.
4. The design must contain a legibly printed team number/name
5. The design can contain 3D printed bodies that are assembled after printing
for the final part.
6. The final design can use super glue for assembly, for a loss of points (see
grading rubric)
7. Parts must have printed wheels
8. The design must contain at least 3 moving parts
9. Wheels can not be larger than 3 inches in diameter
10. The design must be powered only by a single rubber band
11. The printed design must have moving bodies.
12. The design must not exceed 6” x 4” x 4”
13. 3D Printed Design - Students must create a design that:
o Is original and designed by contestant
○ Print all parts in less than 12 hours total
○ Uses less than 5 cubic inches of model and/or support combined for all
parts.

Tips for Competitors


Here are some tips to maximize the points awarded to you:
● Build debossed text on a horizontal surface for best results. This may require
building the part on its edge or standing up.
● Utilize soluble support structures for print in place assemblies
● Understand the achievable design tolerance of your printer for print in place,
or hand assembled designs to allow motion between parts.
● Leverage post-processing techniques to smooth printed bodies.
● Additional moving parts may add to your score but can produce more points
of failure on the final assembly.
● Use online resources (YouTube, GrabCAD Tutorials)
● Whenever intellectual property (IP) deters you from a project, try using
approximate geometries to communicate the design intent.
● Optional design for additive manufacturing learning resources:
● Stratasys Think Additively™ Masterclass:
○ https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUYaY5EIPtNBdU-s-
7l9rl05lBHHlTarI

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Regional Competition Procedure

Before or on contest day:


1. Students submit Engineering Notebook (Engineering notebook guidelines
below)
2. Students submit physical parts
3. Students submit final assembly if applicable
4. Students conduct their Presentation

Regional Competition Judging Criteria

1. The Engineering Notebook should contain robust content, including at a


minimum the following:
1.1. Be clearly labeled with contestant name(s), date and page # on each
page
1.2. Begin with a problem statement
1.3. Include discovery and documentation of approach to solve problem
1.4. Include sketched design concepts with critical features labeled
1.5. Critical dimensions clearly labeled in design sketch
1.6. Considerations for designing for additive manufacturing distinctly
addressed (i.e. part strength, part orientation) especially including any
expected risks during printing
1.7. Screenshots of the print time and material usage for all printed parts
1.8. Design decisions and alternatives are documented and evaluated
thoughtfully

2. The design must adhere to the Competition Requirements stated in the prior
page.

3. Quality of final assembly


3.1. Does it perform the function in the manner it was designed to do?
3.2. Does it meet all requirements in contest guidelines?
3.3. Do inserted components or multiple printed parts mate together
properly?
3.4. Did the students design the part with additive manufacturing in mind?
3.5. Is there sufficient tolerance between parts for movement?

3
4. The design must illustrate best practices for “design for additive
manufacturing (DFAM)”. Below are some potential DFAM metrics to optimize
for.
4.1. Build Time
4.2. Post-Processing/Support Removal Time
4.3. Functionality Optimization (gear ratio, pliability, strength, etc.)
4.4. Monetary Savings
4.5. Material Consumption
4.6. Energy Usage
4.7. Component Consolidation (lack of store-bought hardware)
4.8. Lightweighting for Ergonomics

5. Presentation Criteria
5.1. The team clearly describes their understanding of the problem to be
solved.
5.2. Design Process: good design logic is used for key design choices.
Intentional and well-communicated
5.3. The presentation is professional and well-rehearsed
5.4. The presentation emphasizes quantitative improvements (measured
and estimated) of the time, quality, or cost of the improvement as well
as any DFAM tactics employed.
5.5. Practical evaluation: team demonstrates visually (videos, photos,
drawings, animation, etc) the task they improved, both before and
after.

6. Racetrack Setup
6.1. Track will have a stating line and distance markers at 1”, 6”,12”, and
with marks every foot after up to 6 feet. Ruler or measuring tape will be
used for final measurement above 12”.
6.2. Front tire/tires must begin behind the starting line.
6.3. A small nudge can be used to help get the car moving (see grading
rubric)
6.4. Each design will have 2 chances to run on the track. The better of the
two scores will be used for final judging.
6.5. Final distance of vehicle is measured where the front wheels
touch the ground

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