Through their hard work, a team of  three Miami students took first place for their work in an  Additive Manufacturing Hackathon.                          

David Pearl, Doug Mcle, and Matt Becker, mechanical engineering students, competed against three other teams in a  Hackathon competition during a week long conference hosted by Dassault Systemes (DS) in Boston.

Each team was tasked with a different challenge related to additive manufacturing, and were asked to solve the challenge using 3DExperience, DS’s new software package.

The 3DExperience view of Miami team's challenge      

The Miami team’s task was to create a customized knee replacement that could replicate a natural knee. Given the models of the femur and tibia, the students were challenged to improve the 3D printing process to see what would lesson the deformity of the knee replacement. 

At the end of the competition the students gave a final presentation of their work to a panel of professionals. The team was awarded with $2500, and the panel was impressed with their teamwork and ability to think critically about their challenge.

“The competition was a lot of fun. We worked very hard but performed well against the other teams, especially as the sole undergraduate team [in the competition]” Pearl explained.

Pearl, Mcle, and Becker plan on using their winnings to fund different personal items including a mountain bike, a motorcycle, and a backpacking trip.

By Maggie Cavanaugh