The winners of General Electric’s 3D Printing Design Quest are doubtless currently celebrating receiving the prizes, publicity and prestige surrounding their victory. The Quest challenged designers to innovate loading brackets found on jet engines using 3D printing to reduce engine weight and, thus, fuel consumption. M Arie Kurniawan, based in Salatiga, Indonesia, won the first place prize of USD$7,000.
Kurniawan’s bracket was chosen for its 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.
The balance of the $20,000 prize pool will be awarded to the finalists capturing second through eighth place. The top ten bracket designs were additively manufactured at GE Aviation’s additive manufacturing facility in Cincinnati and subjected to rigorous load testing, at GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna. Loading brackets on jet engines play a critical role: they must support the weight of the engine during handling without breaking or warping.
The 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.
Steve Liguori, GE Executive Director of Global Innovation said, “At GE, we know innovation can come from anywhere. This challenge tapped into the ingenuity of the GrabCAD Community to unleash new solutions to tomorrow’s challenges using additive manufacturing. By applying GE’s scale and expertise to open innovation, we can continue to grow the ecosystem of designers, engineers, materials scientists, and other partners to redefine the industry and drive real results for our customers.”
Hardi Meybaum, CEO of GrabCAD said, “Our Community really responded to this real-world engineering challenge from GE. There were an extraordinary number of submissions, from around the world, because engineers want the chance to design something that may make it into production and solve a real problem. GE’s Jet Engine Bracket Design Challenge exceeded expectations and shows its commitment to seeking innovation through open engineering and collaboration. It’s the way of the future, and we love that it’s happening on our platform.”
About GE
‘GE (NYSE:GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works.’
About GrabCAD
‘GrabCAD is leading the Open Engineering movement, helping engineers get products to market faster by connecting people, content and technology. GrabCAD Workbench makes it easy for engineers to share files, work with partners and complete projects on time, while the GrabCAD Community accelerates the design process by tapping into the knowledge and resources of the largest source of CAD content and engineering minds in the world.’
