3D-printed creations by high school teams at Digital Fab SLAM finale event

Five high school teams presented digitally designed and fabricated projects on May 30.
The Digital Harbor Foundation hosted the Digital Fab SLAM Cycle 2 finale event, where the five teams gathered at the Digital Harbor Tech Center in Federal Hill to present their projects to a public audience and a panel of six judges.

• The theme for this cycle of the challenge was “Play,” and teams could interpret this theme in any way they chose.
• All products, however, had to be designed by digital means and created using digital fabrication tools such as 3D printers and laser cutters.
• Teams were given eight weeks to design, fabricate and prepare for presentations.

Participating teams from around the Baltimore area included:

• The Bryn Mawr School
• Digital Harbor High School
• Patapsco High School
• Western High School

Four of the five teams had participated in a previous Digital Fab SLAM, held earlier this year, and the team from Patapsco had no prior knowledge of, or experience with, digital design and fabrication.
The teams and awards:
First Place: The Teen Titans from Western High School created a “Hungry Hungry Hippos” game clone called “Munching Mammals,” where they modified the existing game to include new characters and a word-game component. They were awarded a Pro License to Skanect software from Manctl and a filament bundle from Matter Hackers.

Second Place: Team Gryffinclaw from The Bryn Mawr School created a coin-based toy called “Race the Dime.” This team was awarded a Printrbot Jr. 3D printer.

Third Place: The Digital Rebels team from Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts created a Modern Labyrinth maze design with interchangeable mazes. They received a gift certificate to Shapeways where they will be able to have their design professionally printed.

Team DHS from Digital Harbor High School created a product called “Hidebot.” The team envisions a future possibility of creating a Robot Village of custom Hidebots.

Team Nirvana from The Bryn Mawr School designed “Marble Mash,” a toy where Marble Run meets Rush Hour.

These Digital Fab SLAMs have been a tremendously effective way for us to encourage students to explore digital design, 3D printing and digital fabrication, an industry that these students had very little knowledge of prior to participating in these challenges. We are excited about the future possibilities, not only for these types of events, but also for the skills, talent, creativity and imagination that these students are now able to infuse into their future work and back into our community.
A huge thank to our generous sponsors: Printrbot, Matter Hackers, Manctl, Shapeways and SmartLogic Solutions.