Update: This competition is now closed. View the winner of the 3D Printer and selected favorites below. Subscribe to PDO to hear the latest challenges.
Favorites and Prize Winner
453 submissions were uploaded to Thangs.com for the #tidydesk competition. Keep in mind, many participants uploaded more than one submission (which was allowed).
You can browse all of the submissions or check out the favorites below.
I spent a few hours looking at all 453 submissions…
I pulled out the following 15 favorites based on the selection criteria: creativity, functional, and iterative. Deciding a winner from the 15 was not a task for my mind alone…
…so I called on some of my designer friends and colleagues to vote for their favorite.
15 Selected Favorites
Note that the following “favorites” are listed in no particular order.
Cable Real Print-in-Place by joaolsneto
Laptop Holder with Cable Management by MtlHed
Laptop Stand by mail4mikew
LEVI Surface Doubler by tim940301
Monitor Stand – Tower Bridge London by designsbykarl
Modular Desk Organizers by NoahMillerDesign
Nu-Clear Desk Power Organizer by CornishCo
Organic Forms by hatimtab412
Attachable Desk Paper Shredder by wortega
Sand Castle Revolver by pauleam1045
Modular Mini Lockers by ERZdigital
Wireless Charging Organizer by Schmitnd
Ultimate Extensible Power Station by alchemic
Modular Storage System by jacob0002
Extendable Triangular Organiser by eMniovate
I tallied all of the votes… and it was a very close call between two…
and the winner is…
Congratulations to ERZdigital with his entry of the Modular Mini Lockers!
Edward shared his build process, including images of his prototypes.
Thanks to everyone who participated! There were a lot of amazing submissions, including many that weren’t displayed above.
Keep your eye out for the next competition which will have additional prizes and more ways to win!
Competition Rules
Start Date: 22nd September 2020
Submission Deadline: 9th October 2020 11:59 PM Pacific Time. This competition is closed. Subscribe to PDO to hear the latest challenges.
PRIZE: Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer
A fun challenge to practice, test, and share your 3D modeling skills with the world. Let’s inspire others to learn and make new products.
- How to Participate (3 Steps)
- Winner Announced – 16th October 2020
- Selection Criteria
- Questions / Comments / Share progress?
- Design Considerations
- Starter Ideas
- FAQs
How to Participate (3 Steps)
- Design and 3D Model a product or prototype that improves the organization of your home office or desk. See the considerations and starter ideas below.
Note: You can use the CAD software of your choice. It does not have to be Fusion 360.
- Upload your solution (any 3D file type) to Thangs.com by October 9th, 2020. Creating an account is 100% free. Thangs.com is similar to Thingiverse, except that it indexes and relates models based on their geometry. It’s like if Thingiverse and Google had a baby – oh, and unlike Thingiverse, it actually loads!
- Come up with a clever product name! Include the hashtag #TidyDesk in the description (required so Kevin can find the submissions!).
Increase your chances of winning – upload as many submissions as you’d like!
Winner Announced – 16th October 2020
Kevin will share some favorite submissions along with the selected prize winner (Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer) via video on October 16th. The winner of the 3D printer will be required to provide a shipping address within 14 days of the announcement.
Selection Criteria
A winner will be chosen based on the following criteria:
- Creativity – a design that is innovative (not a copy of an existing design)
- Functional – the object works as expected and is intuitive to use
- Iterative – uploading multiple iterations of a design will not only increase your chances of being selected but will show that you enhanced the design based on feedback and iterations.
Questions / Comments / Share progress?
Join the PDO community on Discord and post your questions, comments, share progress, and more in the #3d_modeling_challenge channel.
Design Considerations
More than ever people are spending significant amounts of time at home. Consider how you could organize your workstation, declutter something in the office, or simply make the space more enjoyable with a new product or prototype.
Consider how different users may interact with the space if it is shared with others. Don’t be afraid to “think outside the box” and create something unique to your space or situation.
Starter Ideas
Don’t already have an idea in mind? Start with one of the following ideas and make it your own – personalize it with your name, make it a unique shape or size, or modify a design for better 3D printing.
Beginner:
- Phone holder
- Pencil holder
- Cable organizers
- Solutions with only one part
Intermediate:
- Tabletop monitor/laptop stand
- Headphone rest with cord storage
- Power strip mount
- Solutions with more than one idea
Advanced:
- Modular storage containers
- Trays that clip onto a desk
- Tape dispenser with hidden compartment
- Solutions with multiple parts/ideas
FAQs
Who is the challenge for?
The challenge is open to everyone with access to 3D modeling software – it doesn’t have to be Fusion 360. You are welcome to share the challenge with your School, Makerspace, or other organization. Make it a friendly competition and challenge your friend!
Where can I ask for help?
Join the PDO community on Discord and use the #3d_modeling_challenge channel. Ask your questions, share progress, bounce ideas around, or simply stop by and say hello!
Does it cost anything to enter?
Nope! You can use any free modeling software. Solutions are uploaded to Thangs.com, which is also completely free. No payment is required to be eligible to win the 3D printer.
Where do I submit my design?
All submissions should be uploaded to Thangs.com, by adding #TidyDesk to the description. This is required so Kevin can search to see all the submissions.
How much time do I need to allocate for the challenge?
Spend 15 minutes or several hours – This is up to you! You can submit one small project, multiple projects, or one time-intensive project.
Are there prizes to be won?
Yes! There will be 1 grand prize winner that gets an Ender 3 Pro 3D Printer. The winner will be required to provide a shipping address within 14 days of the announcement on October 16th.
Do I need a 3D printer?
You’re encouraged to prototype the design, but it does not have to be 3D printed. Make iterations on your initial design(s) after testing them out – then upload a new model!
thanks for invite me for this challenge. I will try
Looking forward to seeing your submission(s), Americo!
Cheers,
Kevin
ok
Thank you Thangs for the invite I will definitely create something and submit it.
Looking forward to seeing your submission, Joshua! 🙂
Lets see if after watching your tutorials i ll be able to desing something worth the prize.
Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your submission. Don’t forget, you can always submit multiple (unlimited) designs if you want to increase your chances.
Cheers,
Kevin
how to upload 2 stl files not saparetly from each other?
what ive made is not on internet at all, but people will realy use that 100%..
Are you saying the two STL models go together? (ie. Part 1 and Part 2)
Cheers,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
I’m a mechanical student ,so I’m using the free version of fusion 360 for educational use, but the “generative design workspace” is not activated (not for free) !
Can you help me how to get it, even for a very limited date (1 month for example)
Thanks a lot in advance.
Hi Zakaria,
The EDU licenses do vary based on the school. Some Autodesk “Partner” schools have access to Generative Design as part of the license. It sounds like your school does not if it’s asking for credits or payment.
If you’re looking to use it for a school project then I would recommend contacting the Autodesk EDU support team. Sometimes they allocate special permissions on a case-by-case basis. I can’t make any promises though 🙂
Cheers,
Kevin
Hey Kevin
You mentioned the last submission date is 9th October but again you in the description you said to upload the solution by 1 October!
What does that mean!
When is the final submission date? please relief me of my confusion
Hi Hridoy,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I just updated the wrong date. The official deadline is October 9th, 2020. It was originally the first, but I pushed it back to give others more time.
Best of luck – looking forward to seeing your submissions!
Cheers,
Kevin
I don’t have a 3d printer and I can’t prototype my design.
Hi Mayinja,
3D Printing or prototyping is not required…but encouraged. You can still upload as many designs as you would like, just be sure to consider how feasible they would be to manufacture (in any way).
Cheers,
Kevin
other countries can participate too?
Hi Daniel,
Yes! No restrictions as long as you can provide a valid shipping address 🙂
Cheers,
Kevin
Your contest got me to actually sit down and try to design something instead of just watching youtube tutorials (very new to this); Thanks.
I don’t have a printer yet so can’t test the design. It is very specific for my office but can propably be changed for others to use.
I have uploaded it to Thangs but I can’t find how to edit it again for changing the description or uploade a version 2.
Hi TheGreenDeskLamp,
Glad to hear the challenge inspired you!
No worries if you don’t have a printer. I simply encourage everyone to consider at least one manufacturing method that would be feasible. Otherwise, the designs useless if there’s no way to make it.
To upload a new version on Thangs – while on the model page, you will see a gray “Upload new version” button that is right under the yellow “Download Model” button. The new version will require you to include a new title and description.
Cheers,
Kevin
hi I’m using the free version of fusion 360 for personal use
however I’m struggling to upload any one know how to do that or have any ideas what the problem is
Hi Will,
Your Fusion 360 license type shouldn’t matter here. You’ll simply need to go to the File menu > Export > Select the STL or STEP file type and then choose a location on your computer.
You can then head to Thangs.com, where you can upload the file. Note: Thangs does not currently support the native Fusion 360 file extension, which is “.f3d”.
Cheers,
Kevin
My files aren’t uploading with a preview, what am I doing wrong?
Hi Tobias,
I’m not sure, but I’ve passed your issue along to the Thangs team. Can you upload a STEP file of your model? Perhaps that will help. I downloaded your model and uploaded it on my end and got the same no preview result.
Cheers,
Kevin
I did try to upload as a step file but it is still not showing a preview?
Hi Tobias,
That’s strange – both STEP and STL files should work. I saw in your other comment that you got the STL file into Cura and then uploaded it which worked. Glad to hear that! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other issues uploading… I can always upload/submit them on my end.
Cheers,
Kevin
Hi Kevin
I have just registered and immediately uploaded a file.
Which was successful, but get the no preview available as per Tobias. My .stl opens fine in Meshmixer.
Thanks Daryn
Hi Daryn,
I’m passing this along to the Thangs team. I’m not sure why some models are not showing a preview…but don’t worry, I will download and open any files that I cannot preview online.
Cheers,
Kevin
Thank you Kevin
Okay, I saved it as an STL file in Cura and uploaded it to thangs.com and it worked, although it doesn’t have any colour so…
Hi Tobias,
Color is not included in most major (3d-modeling) file extensions. Thangs will strip out all the meta data (I believe) even if you included a file that does contain color.
You can always include a link in the description if you feel that you do need to represent the model with color.
Cheers,
Kevin
Okay good to know, thanks I’ll do that.
Same here.
Maybe it’s because i’ve just registered and immediately uploaded a model. Perhaps they need to validate/screen new users files first?
Not sure?
Excellent
Looking forward to seeing your submission, Mazhar! 🙂
Hi Kevin,
I’ve submitted one of my best and most professional designs. It consists of two parts which I had to upload in two submissions. Please let me know if I can upload two files in one submission.
Hi Madhav,
Are you able to edit your description to link to one of the designs? Otherwise, just let me know what your Thangs username is and I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Cheers,
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
I will put the link for the second part in the description of the first part, as well give you my Thangs username just in case so you’re aware.
Thanks
Madhav
The username is MakersTube on thangs.