Australian announced as one of eight GE 3D Printing Global Design Quest winners

1459108_577469282321370_2121709628_n — Nic Adams fourth place winning design from the GE 3D Printing Design Quest, which saw the engine bracket’s weight reduced by 80.4 per cent. (GE)

Australian Nic Adams has won fourth place in GE’s global 3D Printing Design Quests and is the only Australian among the eight winners from nearly 700 entries across 56 countries.

The competition challenged innovators to redesign the loading brackets found on jet engines using 3D printing, aimed towards reduced engine weight and fuel consumption.

Mr Adams, a Sydney-based engineer, won fourth place with a design that reduced the weight of jet-loading brackets by 80.4 per cent, by minimising sharp corners and using a hollow structure to best distribute material and stress.

First place was won by M Arie Kurniawan of Indonesia, who collected a US$7,000 prize. The balance of the US$20,000 prize pool will be awarded to the finalists capturing second through eighth place.

The top ten bracket designs were additively manufactured at GE Aviation’s additive manufacturing facility in Cincinnati and subjected to rigorous load testing at GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna in the US. Testing parts to failure was performed to ensure the winning designs met the highest quality and performance criteria. Loading brackets on jet engines play a critical role: they must support the weight of the engine during handling without breaking or warping.