Using a 3D printer, my team and I designed and built a vehicle that ran down a 4 foot by 7 inch path at a 25 degree incline while simultaneously picking up seven figures and ensuring the vehicle does not fall off from the sides of the ramp. The competition was Star Wars themed and each team had 30 hours to design, build, and test their vehicle.

Our Team was comprised of four senior engineering students with aerospace and mechanical backgrounds. Initial designs were made on paper while prototypes and final designs were prepared on Solidworks. Various 3D printers manufactured by XYZ Printing, Maker-bot, and Robo were used.

Our team was small and each individual contributed throughout the entire project. My focus was on:
• Overseeing the entire design and performance from start to finish
• Designing the initial chassis and helping team develop and grow design into final model
• Designing a windup mechanism to use potential energy with a rubber band
• Perform risk reduction analysis with prototypes and make according adjustments
• Ensuring printing times were minimal yet met quality standards

Our team placed first out of six teams. We are very happy with the results and are grateful of UCSD’s T3D organization for allowing us to compete and use their 3D printers.
We have also been featured on UCSDs Jacobs School of Engineering Blog: http://jacobsschoolofengineering.blogspot.com/2015/06/make-thon-2015-hack-thon-takes-on-3d.html