Additive Industries announces finalists of its 2020 Design Challenge
February 26, 2020

Additive Industries, Eindhoven, the Netherlands, has announced the finalists of its Additive World Design for Manufacturing Challenge 2020. The company organises the challenge annually to grow the number of examples of metal Additive Manufacturing applications available. Competing in two categories, both professionals and students are encouraged to redesign an existing conventional component for AM.
According to the organisers, the 2020 Design Challenge saw a record number of entries, with 151 professionals and students submitting their parts for consideration, with three finalists selected from each category. Speaking on this year’s challenge submissions, Daan Kersten, Additive Industries CEO, stated, “We are pleased to notice that amount of contestants from all around the world increased compared to last year by 25%. The designs are submitted from all over the world and across different applications fields including automotive, aerospace, medical, tooling and high tech.”
“They all demonstrated how product designs can be improved when the freedom of Additive Manufacturing is applied,” he continued. “This year again many interesting potential business cases were spotted, where within both categories we saw major focus on the elimination of conventional manufacturing difficulties, minimisation of assembly and lowering logistical costs.”
Additive World Design for Manufacturing Challenge 2020 finalists
Professional category
Nina Uppenkamp, SMS Group, Germany – Uppenkamp’s design demonstrates how media blocks, used as fluid-conducting components, can be designed for optimum flow, where both the space and size can be reduced through the use of AM. Compared to a conventionally manufactured hydraulic valve block, her design is said to bring significant efficiency gains because there is no need for plug screws. This also reduces the number of potential leak areas. As a result of this, and by changing the material from cast steel to the AlSi10Mg aluminium alloy, a weight reduction of 90% has been achieved.
Donatien Campion, 3DMedLab, France – Campion demonstrated how expandable metal additively manufactured intervertebral cages can be used to advantage in the medical field. The motivation for this project was to overcome the limitations of the material, while still developing an innovative design that benefits both patients and surgeons. By additively manufacturing an expandable vertebral cage in a single part, several risks are minimised during surgery, thanks to the lower part count and ease of insertion of the device.
Hitech Bihca and K3D, the Netherlands – K3D, which won the Design Challenge 2019, this year partnered with Hitech Bihca to redesign a laser welding head using Additive Manufacturing. Using AM, it was possible to solve multiple issues in the production environment, resulting in lower downtime, better welds, no damage to the laser or products, and higher productivity.
Student category
Younes Chahid, BiomimeticAM, University of Huddersfield, UK – Chahid redesigned a hip implant stem, addressing issues with implant revision surgeries and bone resorption. The new design is said to have many unique features, including density and thickness distribution optimisation to reduce stress shielding and increase osseo-integration.
SCUT Robotlab, South China University of Technology, China – The team at SCUT Robotlab improved the stabiliser mount on a robot for the RoboMaster competition. This is a key component which connects the mobile system with the upper projectile system. The original assembly consisted of twenty-seven parts and weighed 295 g. Using AM, the team achieved a 42% weight reduction for one part of the stabiliser, and expect to achieve further weight reduction with future optimisation.
Samir Mulgaonkar, Sunriser, USA – Mulgaonkar produced a brake caliper design, with the aim of improving the environmental sustainability of cars by lightweighting the component. Mulgaonkar hopes to save energy by using generative design to reduce the weight of the caliper by 50%.
Honourable mention
Honourable mention was given to Aravinth Kamaraj, of Spareparts 3D, France, for the production of a ducting bracket, one of the most commonly used rail components across all levels of a ducting system. The result of his case study showed that the design freedom offered by AM, coupled with technology optimisation tools, can have a major impact on the design and economics of product development compared to traditional manufacturing.
The results of the 2020 Design Challenge will be announced during the Additive World Conference Award Dinner in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, on April 1, 2020.