Additive Manufacturing Competition

All competitions should be prepared in advance and conducted on the day of the competition.

Deadline to register: October 10, 2025

Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, is an advanced manufacturing process in which a part is fabricated in a layer-by-layer manner from a 3D computer aided design (CAD) file. AM involves various technologies from its simplest form in printing polymers, Fused Material Deposition (FDM), to complex systems such as powder bed fusion (PBF) in metal printing. The technology offers several advantages in terms of design freedom, fabrication of intricate and complex geometries, mass customization, reduced material wastes, and on-demand manufacturing. This allowed the integration of AM into key industries including aerospace, automotive, construction (concrete printing), medical (bioprinting), defense, and many more.

To fully benefit from additive manufacturing, it is critical to ensure that the build outputs come out in the desired quality, accuracy, and strength to serve its functional application.  This is done through optimizing printing parameters based on each AM technology. Printing parameters in FDM technology would include layer height, printing speed, feed rate, bed temperature, support settings, etc. The scope of this competition is to optimize the printing parameters of a complex 3D model to be fabricated through an FDM 3D printer while meeting specific given requirements. 

The competition will require basic knowledge of computer-aided design (CAD). It is also recommended that students familiarize themselves with this open-source slicing software (Bambu Studio) beforehand.

• High school students in grades 11 and 12 are eligible to participate. 
• Each school may register only one team, with a maximum of three students per team.
• Competition will be carried out on Rochester Institute of Technology – Dubai campus.
• No external sources or support is allowed during the competition duration.

The competition will be divided into five phases:

• Phase 1: Optimizing Printing Parameters (1 hour)
  A 3D file along with a set of limitations in terms of weight, printing time, quality, dimensional accuracy, and strength will be given. The part should be oriented and with optimized printing parameters according to the limitations provided. The slicing software that will be used in the competition is Bambu Studio.
• Phase 2: Setup of 3D Printer and Print Start (5 minutes)
  The correct material should be loaded onto the Bambulab A1 3D printer. The printer hardware should be checked and ensured to be in a suitable state to start the print. A 3D print should then be initiated. 
• Phase 3: Documentation of Optimized Printing Parameters (20 Minutes)
  Document all the modified printing parameters in a clear and concise excel sheet. 
• Phase 4: 3D Printing and Post-processing (Printing Time + 20 Minutes)
  The printing process should be completed according to the specified time limit, if the time limit is exceeded the group will be eliminated in this phase.  Post-processing should be carried out (if necessary) in terms of supports removal and surface finishing (sanding).
• Phase 5: Demonstration of 3D Printed Part (5 Minutes)
  Present the final 3D printed part, highlight the challenges faced and potential improvements to enhance overall part quality. 

Click here to register for the competition