Applications
3D Printing Triumphs in Elon Musk’s Not-A-Boring Competition 2024
The 2024 Not-a-Boring Competition’s third edition, held in Bastrop, Texas, served as a global gathering of teams aiming to revolutionize tunneling. This dynamic event, blending innovation and speed, attracted 130 participants from five countries, forming eight teams. Among
- 3 min read
- Applications
- Six more stories
The 2024 Not-a-Boring Competition’s third edition, held in Bastrop, Texas, served as a global gathering of teams aiming to revolutionize tunneling. This dynamic event, blending innovation and speed, attracted 130 participants from five countries, forming eight teams. Among them were notable entrants like the first South Asian team from Bangladesh and the CU Engineering student club. However, it was Swissloop Tunneling that stole the spotlight. Armed with their groundbreaking micro tunnel boring machine, the Groundhog Beta, complete with integrated 3D printing capabilities, Swissloop Tunneling captured the attention of the judges and clinched the prestigious Champion Award. Yet, their triumph wasn’t a stroke of luck. Swissloop Tunneling, a student association comprising members from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and other Swiss universities, has long been dedicated to pioneering solutions in the tunnel construction sector.
Founded by Elon Musk and his company ‘The Boring Company,’ the competition aims to propel the development of a tunnel boring machine that outpaces traditional augers. Currently, these machines operate only about ten times faster than augers. Musk’s ambitious vision? To realize high-speed underground transportation. At the heart of this year’s winning innovation lies Groundhog Beta, an evolution of its predecessor, Groundhog Alpha. Named after the industrious tunnel-digging animal, the marmot, Groundhog Alpha made its debut in 2021, immediately turning heads.
Photo Credits: Teslarati
Featuring a unique control mechanism and an advanced tunnel lining system, Groundhog Alpha made headlines by 3D printing the tunnel’s inner wall during excavation. Participation in the Not-a-Boring Competition marked the culmination of Swissloop Tunneling’s arduous journey of relentless improvement. Since their selection as one of the twelve finalist teams from a pool of over 400 applicants in 2021, Swissloop Tunneling has been tirelessly refining their technology. Groundhog Beta retains all the strengths of the Alpha model but boasts significant enhancements in navigation and movement mechanisms.
More from the desk
Six other notes from the rest of the bench.
PrintersMeltio is expanding metal additive manufacturing in the aerospace sectorAlmost a year ago, a new player in metal additive manufacturing arrived on the market. Meltio, based between Las Vegas and Spain, has managed to strengthen the metal AM market’s offering – a market that experienced a growth of almost…
NewsPorsche to 3D Print Spare Parts for their Luxury CarsGerman luxury car manufacturer Porsche has recently announced that it will enter the 3D printing market. This move is to begin the development of spare parts for some of their classic cars so they last longer before becoming unusable. We…
Guides3D Printing Personalized Medicines with goatAMReinventing 3D printing for the pharmaceutical sector — that’s the ambition behind goatAM. Drawing on their research expertise, the company’s founders are developing solutions for the production of personalized medicines, including 3D-printed pills. With this innovative approach,
PrintersMetal Jet S100, HP’s Metal 3D Printing Solution, is Finally AvailableAt the end of 2018, HP announced its intention to enter the metal additive manufacturing market. Four years later, its machines are finally available commercially, after being tested by several companies carefully selected by the American manufacturer. This is highly…
ApplicationsIt Is Now Possible to 3D Print Artificial Cartilage for Living Tissue Replacement3D printing has reached new frontiers in the medical field, as a research team at TU Wien has achieved a breakthrough by leveraging a precise 3D printing process to produce artificial cartilage. This innovation enables the laboratory cultivation of living…
NewsIndustrial scale 3D printing will experience tremendous growth in 2020In a study conducted by Essentium back in March, it was reported that users of AM were starting to invest in 3D printing for mass-production. The report was based on an online survey of 114 stakeholders responsible for decisions regarding…