Weekend Contest: What did Curiosity find on Mars?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by bartv, Feb 8, 2013.

  1. bartv
    bartv Member
    arrowmars.jpeg

    Okay, it's weekend - time for some fun! Curiosity spotted an interesting looking piece of metal on Mars. What is it?

    We'd like YOU to tell us. You have until Monday morning 10:00, GMT+1 to come up with the answer.

    How to enter

    Model the Martian Mystery, upload it to your gallery, tag it with 'Weekend Contest: Mars' and post the link and picture here (upload the image, and click 'Insert image into message body' to embed it in your forum message).

    Who wins?

    You decide! Visit the model that you like most, and add it to your favorites. The model with the most votes wins.

    What's the prize?

    Eternal fame! Kudos from the Shapeways team! Riches! Okay, well, the winner will get a $25 gift certificate.

    That's all?


    Yep, grab a drink, goof around in your favorite modeling app this weekend and have fun!

    Bart

    PS: Curiosity's Twitter feed is awesome.
     
  2. stonysmith
    stonysmith Well-Known Member Moderator
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  3. Youknowwho4eva
    Youknowwho4eva Well-Known Member
  4. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    ^^ Good ones! HAHAHA! :laughing:

    Actually, in all seriousness, I think I might know what that is. It's a Martian fulgurite. A fulgurite is sometimes what results when lightning strikes the ground. The high amperes melts the sand and gravel and turns it into glass.

    https://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&tbo=d&t bm=isch&q=fulgurite+glass&revid=1000229056&sa=X& amp;ei=TFoWUY6fMumuiAKv1IAY&ved=0CFEQgxY&biw=1429&am p;bih=706[/url]

    Lighting has been detected on Mars created from the huge seasonal dust storms and the triboelectrification between dust particles. Mars also has ever changing sand dunes just like on earth. So, there was about 6 inches of sand at that spot at one point and then a lightning bolt struck there and melted the sand into a fulgurite and then the remaining sand eventually blew away revealing the fulgurite. The shiny spots, of course, would be from the glass.

    On the other hand, it does appear to be the head of an encrusted titanium putter! :laughing:
     
  5. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
  6. Keymaker
    Keymaker Well-Known Member
    It is just a handle and the rock is secret door into martian underground city... nothing fancy

    or just one old, buried speed-model.jpg (created in hurry)
     
  7. bartv
    bartv Member
    I think UniverseBecoming is right! (And I don't want to believe in giant robots hidden there ;). I've sent you a $25 coupon code via PM.

    Do you guys think the weekend contest is something we should do more often?

    Cheers,

    Bart
     
  8. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    HAHAHA!!! Thanks Bart! :eek:

    Now we need to call Richard Hoagland and see what he thinks it is. :laughing:

    Yes! A weekend contest would be great! This one was a hard one cuz there are only so many things that artifact can represent, yet more open ended contests would attract more participation. I would not have entered had it not later crossed my mind that it looked something like a bicycle pedal.



     
  9. bartv
    bartv Member
    Allright then! Do you have suggestions for new themes?
     
  10. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    Yes I do! But just rudimentary ideas at the moment. Let me think it out seriously for a day or two and I'll list them out here.
     
  11. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    I never got to work on my idea which was of a petrified Martian hand holding a full-size 1950's US car! (oh, the story behind that one!)

    I think a week-end contest is a good idea, although ideally I'd like it to be a weekend-to-weekend contest... just not enough time in one weekend to sit down and work on something, especially if future contests involve more serious modeling.

    Glenn
     
  12. bartv
    bartv Member
    Hey Glenn,

    I think the weekend contests will/should be simple and fun. In the Blender community I once ran a contest that allowed people to make anything they wanted, but they could only use 10 cubes. The results were awesome:

    http://www.blendernation.com/2012/06/18/weekend-mini-contest -winners/

    That's the kind fo contests I'm thinking about doing..

    Bart
     
  13. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    Ha, and non-overlapping cubes at that! (Not ideal for printing, though :eek: )

    Yes, that would be an awesome sort of contest for just one weekend.

    Glenn
     
  14. Bart,

    In addition to fun 'artsy' challenges, how about some engineering/design questions?
    -design something that snap fits
    -design something with a living hinge(s)
    -design something with a moving part(s)
    -design a fabric-like mesh

    These wouldn't even need to be entire models, but could be just a creative solution to that one problem. (Extra credit for documenting the design or making the model available to everybody.)
     
  15. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    Sure, the possibilities are endless...

    - design something that uses two Shapeways materials creatively (damn, I guess Kaetemi just won that one!)

     
  16. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    I like Denali's ideas best, cuz I'm more of the engineering type. By the way, that would be a good question for Shapeways' new Ask An Engineer video blog. Can a living hinge be made? What material comes closest to the properties of polypropylene and other similar plastics?

    Though a super simple contest like you thought of Bart would be really fun, I cannot readily think of any simplified ideas at this time. Simple and elegant, perfect for a weekend of fun. Makes me think of the Eight queens puzzle, simple and fun. All I can think of along this line would be something like designing a device that uses a predefined magnet to do a predefined task.

    The ideas I have are way too complex for a weekend I think, but still, these are a sampling of the kinds of things I think about every day that I think would be fun as contests.

    Design the ultimate printability demonstration model. One of the biggest problems with 3D printing is getting to know and conforming to the design rules for each materiel. I'm thinking of a demonstration model that could be devised and printed that shows what can and cannot be readily done and then make it downloadable so people can use it for reference.

    Using free software, find the best way to make a hollow shell of a predefined design.

    Design a rocket that uses a predefined rocket motor that is completely 3D printed, including the recovery mechanisms.

    A zarf for the modern age. Design a zarf that uses a predefined ceramic model as the cup.

    Design a 3D printed flying machine using a predefined rubber-band.

    Design a device that keeps time.

    Design a device that uses hydraulics to preform a particular task.

    Design a device that measures weight.

    Design a mechanical computer.

    Design a device that crosses a gap by its own self contained means.

    As for Glenn's multiple materials idea, design solar powered ANYTHING that uses multiple materials.

    James
     
  17. AmLachDesigns
    AmLachDesigns Well-Known Member
    Wow! What a lot of great ideas!


    This, for me, is brilliant. If this resource could be available it would be so helpful to me, and I imagine, to many other designers both new and not so new. This should be the start of a new thread and I would suggest should be something that SW could usefully invest in, whether as a competition or just as marketing/education tools that they develop themselves.
     
  18. bartv
    bartv Member
    Thanks for the suggestions guys, I love them!

    @UniverseBecoming - that's a great idea for the AAE series, I'll discuss it with them. The idea for the ultimate printability demonstration model is so good, that we may want to turn that into another type of contest, thanks!

    We'll start thinking about our next weekend challenge :)

    Bart
     
  19. lensman
    lensman Well-Known Member
    Yeah, James, some great ideas there. I'm ashamed to say I actually had to look up what the hell a zarf was...!

    Glenn
     
  20. UniverseBecoming
    UniverseBecoming Well-Known Member
    Thanks guys! :D

    When I was in my mid teens I decided one day that I wanted to start learning about words, so I started reading the dictionary. I started at the end cuz the Z words were the coolest! I read about one page before I got sick of the idea, but from that I learned the word ZARF, which stuck with me my whole life! HAHAHA! :laughing: