3D Design Contests on Printables.com

Bakers and makers, roll up your sleeves! Our new flash contest, “Cookie Cutters,” is back just as the holiday season approaches, but we’re not limiting you to Christmas themes—bring on Thanksgiving motifs, fairy tale characters, or anything else that sparks joy. We ran a similar contest back in 2022, and it was such a hit that we decided to bring it back for another round of fresh inspiration. This is your opportunity to turn a slab of (play) dough into something funny, cute, or even festive. We’re looking for designs that are easy to print and use—whether it’s geometric patterns, decorative shapes, or cutters with built-in stamps, we want to see your best ideas. Feel free to explore designs that can be used with other materials too, like kinetic sand or fondant.

3D Printing Industry (3DPI) launched the 3D Printing Industry Awards in 2016 to celebrate excellence in additive manufacturing and highlight the applications, enterprises, systems, and individuals driving the industry forward. Award winners are selected by a combination of public vote and an expert committee with nearly 2,000 years of collective 3D printing experience. Each year, we run a design competition to create the trophy for the awards, and we are very proud to be working with the Printables community for this year's competition! The winning design will be 3D printed by Desktop Metal and 3DPRINTUK . Design Brief In the decade-spanning history of this competition, a design that looks like this 🏆 has never won. Past winners have drawn inspiration from many sources - classical sculpture blended with digital references such as low-poly styles, architectural forms, and lattice structures have been featured. You might want to think about algorithms, industrialization, engineering, or geometric complexity. A full guide on how to win the design competition (plus a gallery of notable previous entries) is here. The trophy design will consist of 2 parts, a main structure 125x125x125mm (printed with SLS) and a secondary structure 45x45x45mm (Printed in metal Binder Jetting). Consider how these 2 parts can be assembled to interplay in order to form the final trophy. Technical Design Specifications The trophies will be 3D printed using SLS. Minimum feature size: 0.75mm Minimum trophy dimensions: 75 x 75 x 75mm Maximum trophy dimensions (SLS): 125 x 125 x 125 mm Secondary part / insert max dimensions (Metal Binder Jet): 45 x 45 x 45 mm Minimum wall thickness: 1.5mm Possible features: ​​Overhangs, fine surface details, internal lattices and channels, print in place assemblies and moving parts Finish: Trophy to be monochrome black and vapour blasted Design to be optimized for: SLS & Metal Binder Jetting

Design custom 3D-printed case, mount, or accessories for the Framework Mainboard! We’re looking for innovative solutions that highlight the Mainboard’s capabilities as a powerful standalone computer. Whether it’s a sleek case for a mini desktop setup, a creative mount for a unique project, or a modular accessory that enhances functionality, we want to see how you can push the limits. A valid entry must securely house or support the Framework Mainboard. You can use the provided Mainboard case model as a template, even if you don’t own the Mainboard.