Wikifactory and Snapmaker #safetoplay design challenge

As we transition out of lockdown, this competition has been conceived to challenge the global community of product developers, innovators, engineers, makers, students and teachers to rethink how we could be designing everyday products to make it #safetoplay indoors and outdoors.

Designs must be submitted on www.wikifactory.com/topic/safetoplay and will be assessed for innovation, collaboration, aesthetics, functionality and safety. The panel of experts includes Daniel Charny (award-winning creative director, curator and educator at Fixperts), Paula Zucotti (industrial designer, trend forecaster, ethnographer and author of Every Thing We Touch), Henk Werner (CEO of TroubleMaker Shenzhen), Agustin Arroyo (professor at UVF Madrid and celebrated maker @flowalistik) as well as representatives of Wikifactory and Snapmaker.

Paula Zucotti, Author of Every Thing We Touch, said: "I’m excited to be on the jury of Wikifactory and Snapmaker's #safetoplay competition that challenges designers and makers to rethink materials and behaviours that promote safer contact and interaction. I've been studying everyday habits for some years now, and today I see so many of our normal habits becoming unsuitable for a world where social distancing must be followed to prevent community transmission.

“My latest project, a crowd-sourced world-wide initiative to study our everyday lives since the lockdown, has revealed unmet needs arounds safe play. This challenge is an important starting point to address this."

Nicolai Peitersen, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of Wikifactory, added: “On average, people handle 140 objects per day, excluding structural fittings like taps, handles and light switches. As we transition out of lockdowns, we really need to rethink everything we do and, crucially, we need review how we design everything we touch. Products for our entire built environment can be made much safer in the long term if we start to incorporate considerations like virus-resistant materials and processes into design thinking right from the beginning.

“Wikifactory, which has a community of 30,000 across 190 countries, was built to enable collaborative product development across the globe with just a laptop and an internet connection. The system accelerates global innovation and sustainable production for both small teams and large companies. By partnering with Snapmaker in this particular design challenge we hope to catalyse the best design thinking for lifestyle products and bring winning ideas through to prototype with digital fabrication.”

Xuedong Chen, Founder and CEO of Snapmaker, said: “Since I was a child, I have enjoyed making and taking part in DIY and engineering competitions. A key takeaway from these experiences is the importance of collaboration. My teammates and I would bounce ideas off each other, and together we were able to create extraordinary things. Four years ago, I founded Snapmaker, and we achieved rapid growth thanks to the incredible support of the maker community around the globe. But in 2020, we like many others, encountered unexpected challenges following the outbreak of COVID-19.

“That’s why in March we created the Snap Face Shield as well as other protective gear, and launched the design open-source on the Wikifactory platform for their global community. As we transition into a New Normal, we are proud to come together to face these new challenges and glad to be able to provide a tool for people to not only make, but also create something wonderful while developing accessible solutions to make our daily lives safer.”

Winners will be announced on 14th July 2020 and the top prize is the new Snapmaker 2.0 A350, a 3-in-1 digital fabrication machine that enables 3D printing, Laser engraving and cutting, and CNC carving.

There is plenty of expert advice, support and resources to help product developers with all aspects of this challenge, including technical specifications, protocols, how-to video tutorials, design templates, and WHO advice on safer practices.

Prizes

1st prize:

• Snapmaker 2.0 A350
• Feedback on your design
• Mentoring from the Jury to help bring your concept to prototype
• One-year FREE Wikifactory Private Subscription for your team for up to 10 collaborators worth EUR 840

2nd prize:

• Snapmaker Original
• Feedback on your design
• One-year FREE Wikifactory Private Subscription for your team for up to 10 collaborators worth EUR 840

8 Runner up prizes:

• Feedback on your design
• One-year FREE Wikifactory Private Subscription for your team for up to 10 collaborators worth EUR 840

Contest Rules:

•       Upload on https://wikifactory.com/topic/safetoplay, the world's first social platform for collaborative product development, and your all-in-one workspace to collaborate, design and prototype with 3D visualisation, issue-tracking, version control software and social functionalities.
•        Include the topic hashtag #safetoplay when creating the project and invite @flowalistik to provide mentoring and guidance.
•        Share the project on your favourite social media, tagging Wikifactory and Snapmaker.
•        Include at least one digital fabrication technology including 3D printing, Laser engraving and cutting, and CNC carving, and carefully incorporate anti-viral materials and processes into your design.
•        Encourage at least one of the #safetoplay tips for safer designing listed below.
•        Be able to be manufactured using a Snapmaker 2.0 A350 (1st prize) and fit the working dimensions of 320mm X 320mm X320mm.
•        Include complete project documentation (check out the template on the contest page).

#SAFETOPLAY Design Tips

Think about designing devices that can be easily disassembled allowing for in-depth cleaning and using temperature and virus-resistant materials and processes. Eligible 'design concepts' must also include at least one of the following recommendations (based on WHO's advice for the public):

•        Encourages people to wash their hands (painting toys that will require washing their hands after playing)
•        Encourages social distancing (frisbee, badminton...)
•        Stay home if you're not feeling well (board games, marble runs...)
•        Don't touch your face (cosplay helmet/mask design)
•        Look after yourself and stay healthy (individual sports made more comfortable, bicycle accessories, skates, electric vehicles...)