Jennifer Cichra, a junior mechanical engineering main at Slippery Rock College, has earned recognition for her revolutionary 3D printed spike plate design. Cichra obtained the runner-up award within the undergraduate class of the Digital Manufacturing Problem Award on the RAPID + TCT occasion held April 8-10 in Detroit. The annual convention is North America’s largest additive manufacturing occasion, hosted by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
The spike plate design permits customers to connect detachable traction units to footwear for improved stability in winter situations. Cichra developed the idea after experiencing difficulties with conventional crampons throughout a household mountaineering journey within the Rocky Mountains. “They have been heavy responsibility and intensely onerous to stroll on, so I assumed, perhaps I could make one thing lighter that may be a little bit simpler, particularly for folks with mobility points,” Cichra defined.
Utilizing nTopology software program in SRU’s 3D printing laboratory, Cichra optimized her design to be each light-weight and sturdy. The challenge required intensive structural evaluation to find out optimum spike placement. “I used to be capable of do a stress evaluation on it to find out the place I would like to put the person spikes on the backside and work out how the strain is distributed throughout somebody’s foot,” stated Cichra.
The award bundle included a $500 prize, convention admission, a certificates of feat, a recognition letter, and extra skilled improvement alternatives. Cichra additionally obtained a complimentary certification to take the additive manufacturing examination and a one-year license for SME on-line courses. She attended the convention together with her challenge adviser, Jheng-Wun Su, assistant professor of engineering at SRU.
Supply: information.sru.edu
