CONTACT: Renee Meiller, 608-262-2481, meiller@engr.wisc.edu
MADISON – Spectrom, an attachment for 3-D printers that will allow users to incorporate seamless, on-demand color into the 3-D printing process, won both the $10,000 Schoofs Prize for Creativity and the $2,500 Tong Prototype Prize at the 20th annual Innovation Days competition.
The competition, which rewards undergraduates for creative and marketable ideas, was held Feb. 13 and 14 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“The next great technology of our generation that will see the change to color is 3-D printing,” says Cedric Kovacs-Johnson.
Kovacs-Johnson and Charles Haider, both chemical engineers, created the winning invention for color 3-D printing. 3-D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a process of using a digital model to create a three-dimensional object, and has been used for applications ranging from prototyping architectural designs and biotechnology to jewelry and fashion.
Spectrom is specifically designed to work with fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3-D printers, which are the most viable consumer 3-D printers, thanks to their ease of use and lower cost of materials. Unlike the current state of the art in FDM color printing, which is limited to the spools of pre-dyed plastic filament, Spectrom delivers solvent dyes directly to clear plastic filament in a continuous, on-demand process. This allows a 3-D printer to mix colors and function more like an inkjet printer, unlocking the full rainbow of vibrant colors to 3-D printed objects.
Possible applications of Spectrom include creating color-matched prosthetics. Whereas currently, doctors hand-mold prosthetic body parts such as noses and then afterward, an artist matches a patient’s skin tones, Kovacs-Johnson and Haider envision the process taking far less time and money. “With 3-D printing you have the ability to scan someone’s face and build an exact face profile,” says Kovacs-Johnson. “You can then print off, using Spectrom, a nose that would match their skin exactly.”
Color also can be used in prototyping to set a design apart or add clarity for clients. “One of the things when you’re doing prototyping is that you’re looking to highlight specific, complex features,” says Haider. “Being able to bring clarity to the parts that are unique – while in meetings with clients and upper-level management – that’s where we have an advantage.”
This year, the 20th anniversary of the event, winners were selected from a field of 18 different inventions from 27 students. Event judge Jerold Jacover told participants that inventions don’t need to be radically different from products already on the market to be innovative. “To be successful, you only have to be a little bit better than your competition,” he says. “Even if it’s just a little bit better, people will pursue something that’s better.”
Other Schoofs Prize winners include:
-Second place and $7,000: Trunk Respirator, a lightweight, compact mask system that filters out airborne pollution and uses an LED light to indicate a proper seal. Invented by Max Bock-Aronson.
-Third place and $4,000: Night Watch, the combination of a wearable device and an autonomous phone application that sends out a distress signal and the user’s geographic location to the police and a user-defined distress network in dangerous situations such as an attack or an accident. Invented by Alex Gabourie, Brad Gundlach and Jason Reinecke.
-Fourth place and $1,000: The Band Wagon, a collapsible bicycle cart that allows the user to tow a relatively large volume of items and materials. Invented by freshmen Michael Fix and Katrina Ruedinger.
Other Tong Prototype Prize winners include:
-Second place and $1,250: The Band Wagon.
-Third place and $700: Drip Drop, a monitoring and collection device that wirelessly transmits real-time data about irrigation conditions on farms, allowing decision makers to better manage water resources. Invented by Kyle Anderson, Steve Berg, Logan Hietpas, Ross McCaig, Kevin Ripley and Chris Stiles.
Additional prize winners include:
-Sorenson Best Design Notebook Award and $1,000: Trunk Respirator.
-Younkle Best Presentation Award and $1,000: Yortee, a customized golf tee with a wide middle section to incorporate advertising or a custom logo. Invented by biological systems engineering senior Justin Vannieuwenhoven.
