Extreme Redesign Challenge Calls on Students to Submit 3D Designs

College, middle and high school students have the opportunity to win scholarships by showing off their 3D design prowess in Stratasys' annual "Extreme Redesign Challenge." Students can either create and submit an original design for jewelry, art or architecture in one category or make an existing design better for another category.

The idea is to encourage students to come up with the "most creative, mechanically sound and realistically achievable design using 3D printing." However, access to a 3D printer isn't essential to entering the competitions; challengers simply need to create and submit design files in STL format with a description that highlights the design's "inspiration, meaning and impact."

This nail clipper add-on by Brenner Kar and Jake Klahorst at Grand Haven High School took first place in the 2018 Stratasys Extreme Redesign Challenge.

This nail clipper add-on by Brenner Kar and Jake Klahorst at Grand Haven High School took first place in the 2018 Stratasys Extreme Redesign Challenge.

During 2018's version of the event, winners included two students from Grand Haven High School in Michigan, who devised the "nail shield," a circular add-on device that fits onto a nail clipper to protect the user from "flying clippings" and catch them for later disposal. A runner-up at Newberg Senior High School in Oregon came up with a new design for the Rubik's Cube to reduced physical factors that might slow down players doing "speedcubing."

Higher ed winners included a student from the University of Alabama, who designed an adjustable ratchet wrench; another from Iowa State, who developed a modular hydroelectric generator; and a third from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, who created a new design for a table lamp.

This design for an adjustable ratchet wrench by Thomas Salverson at the University of Alabama won an award during the 2018 Stratasys Extreme Redesign Challenge.

This design for an adjustable ratchet wrench by Thomas Salverson at the University of Alabama won an award during the 2018 Stratasys Extreme Redesign Challenge.

The first-place winner for each of the two categories will receive a $2,500 scholarship; plus, their instructor will get a demonstration 3D printer from Stratasys for temporary use in the classroom. The second-place prize is a $1,000 scholarship. In addition, the top 10 entrants will receive a 3D printed model of their designs and Stratasys apparel.

Additional information for the art, jewelry and architecture challenge and the engineering redesign challenge is available on the GrabCAD Community site.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • teen studying with smartphone and laptop

    OpenAI Developing Teen Version of ChatGPT with Parental Controls

    OpenAI has announced it is developing a separate version of ChatGPT for teenagers and will use an age-prediction system to steer users under 18 away from the standard product, as U.S. lawmakers and regulators intensify scrutiny of chatbot risks to minors.

  • robot brain with various technology and business icons

    Google Cloud Study: Early Agentic AI Adopters See Better ROI

    Google Cloud has released its second annual ROI of AI study, finding that 52% of enterprise organizations now deploy AI agents in production environments. The comprehensive survey of 3,466 senior leaders across 24 countries highlights the emergence of a distinct group of "agentic AI early adopters" who are achieving measurably higher returns on their AI investments.

  • conceptual graph of rising AI adoption

    AI Adoption Rising, but Trust Gap Limits Impact

    A recent global study by IDC and SAS found that while the adoption of artificial intelligence continues to expand rapidly across industries, a misalignment between perceived trust in AI systems and their actual trustworthiness is limiting business returns.

  • laptop displaying a network map with connected blue nodes and red warning icons

    Report Identifies Surge in Credential͏͏ Theft͏͏ and͏͏ Data Breaches͏͏

    A recent report from cybersecurity company Flashpoint Cyber͏͏ detected an escalation of threat activity across͏͏ multiple͏͏ fronts͏͏ during͏͏ the͏͏ first͏͏ half͏͏ of͏͏ 2025.