3D Printers for Peace

In the wake of the Cody Wilson’s 3D printed gun fiasco, Michigan Tech is launching a 3D printing contest for good.

Below are the details of the contest and how to enter.

3D printing is changing the world. Unfortunately, the only thing many people know about 3D printing is that it can be used to make guns. We want to celebrate designs that will make lives better, not snuff them out.

What is the Printers for Peace Contest?

We are challenging the 3D printing community to design things that advance the cause of peace. This is an open-ended contest, but if you’d like some ideas, ask yourself what Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, or Ghandi would make if they’d had access to 3D printing.

• low-cost medical devices
• tools to help pull people out of poverty
• designs that can reduce racial conflict
• objects to improve energy efficiency or renewable energy sources to reduce wars over oil
• tools that would reduce military conflict and spending while making us all safer and more secure
• things that boost sustainable economic development (e.g. designs for appropriate technology in the developing world to reduce scarcity)

1st Prize

Fully assembled, open-source Type A Machines Series 1 3D Printer
The Series 1 recently won best in class in the Make: Ultimate Guide to 3-D Printing. It has a 9-by-9-by-9-inch build volume, prints at 90mm/sec in PLA, ABS and PVA with 0.1mm resolution.

2nd Prize

Michigan Tech’s MOST version of the RepRap Prusa Mendel open-source 3D printer kit
The RepRap can be built in a weekend. It has a 7.8–by-7.8-by-6.8-inch build volume on a heated bed, prints comfortably at 80 mm/sec ABS, 45 mm/sec PLA, HDPE and PVA with 0.1 mm resolution.

Enter the Contest

Go to the Michigan Tech website to enter the contest.

Image by snapies_gi used under Creative Commons license.