BECA Design & Build Competition 2022

On Monday the 5th of September MECHA hosted the first ever Design & Build Competition! This was a one-day competition where students designed a solution using laser-cut parts to launch a projectile accurately and effectively using only a falling weight as the energy source. 

The atmosphere was buzzing as the students walked into the MDLS at 9:00 and spotted the hardware packs on the tables. This only picked up as last of the inductions finished and every laptop opened to Autodesk inventor as plans were CAD’ed up and designs were drawn. With access to everything from drill presses to hacksaws to laser cutters the possibilities were endless! 

As the day turned from drawings to prototypes, with a Burgerfueled lunch in between, the sounds of drills and saws could be heard everywhere as the students raced the clock. Soon the judges Andrew Campbell, Andrew Jackson, Tony Shi, and Rebecca Lilley arrived and were able to walk past each table as teams frantically added the final touches to their designs.

When the demonstrations began everyone held their breath as the first payload launched. The whole day’s work had come to this point… would it fly? In no time at all that question was answered as it rained payloads for the next hour! 

Congrats to the winning team “Please Work” comprising of Junbang Liang, Nicholas Holmes and Luka Katavich, for launching their projectile an impressive 6.5m and taking home the $350 prize money! 

We were so glad to have been able to put together this first-of-its-kind event and want to say a big well done to all the students who participated! Also a big thank you to our sponsors for coming along to judge and especially to BECA, our gold sponsor, for helping MECHA put on the events we do!