Four Sheridan teams set to compete at the IAM3D Challenge

Four teams of students will represent Sheridan at the ASME Innovative Additive Manufacturing 3D (IAM3D) Challenge taking place on August 2nd in Boston, MA.  The four teams are among 20 finalists drawn from universities around the world, including the United States, India, Columbia and Mexico.  This is the second annual IAM3D Challenge, which is sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  Two Sheridan teams won a total of three awards at last year’s event.  This year’s teams include a total of ten students and four professors, who serve as mentors and advisors.

Following is a brief description of the four projects in contention for awards this weekend:

The Audible Hockey Puck for Blind and Visually Impaired Athletes

This device is designed to help athletes who are visually impaired to enjoy the game of hockey.  The puck is designed with internal sound frequency that allows all team members to be aware of the puck’s location and have more movement and freedom on the ice to fully experience the sport.

Rehabilitation Exoskeleton Device for a Hand (R.E.D. Hand)

The R.E.D. Hand is a universal device that provides increased mobility to people with hand disabilities.  Designed using additive manufacturing technologies, it is light weight, low cost compared to traditionally manufactured exoskeleton devices, and easily customizable.

Exhaust Gas Generator

The Exhaust Gas Generator device is fitted to the exhaust pipe of vehicles to increase energy efficiency.  It works by taking the main source of energy loss – exhaust fumes – and converting it to a usable form of electric energy.

Optimization of Air Circulator Exhaust for Maximum Airflow

The project team created an optimized design of an Air Circulator Exhaust by using additive manufacturing techniques to achieve maximum airflow.  Their success was theoretically proven based on velocity, pressure and temperature results, as well as the back flow phenomena.

About ASME:

ASME is a not-for-profit membership organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, career enrichment, and skills development across all engineering disciplines, toward a goal of helping the global engineering community develop solutions to benefit lives and livelihoods. Founded in 1880 by a small group of leading industrialists, ASME has grown through the decades to include more than 130,000 members in 158 countries. Thirty thousand of these members are students.

About IAM3D:

The IAM3D Challenge gives mechanical and multi-disciplinary undergraduate students around the world the opportunity to re-engineer existing products or create new designs that minimize energy consumption and/or improve energy efficiency. Students showcase their creativity by demonstrating the value added through their ingenuity, application of sound engineering design principles, and leveraging Additive Manufacturing technology to address a broad spectrum of industrial, manufacturing and humanitarian challenges.