Take a part from concept to manufacture in three weeks. Win A$1,000.
Open to Australian engineering students. Free, no credit card.
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Free
Manufact and the challenge cost A$0. No credit card.
Bring any CAD
Export STEP, Parasolid, or IGES from SolidWorks, Fusion, Onshape, Inventor.
Iterate to manufacture
Upload a part, get DFM feedback, refine, re-upload. Repeat until the design is fit to manufacture.
Solo or team
Up to 3 people per entry. Prize pays one nominated member.
How to enter
Four steps. Iterate, don't perfect.
The point is to take a part through real revisions, not to ship something polished on day one.
- 1
Sign up
Drop your email above. We add you to challenge comms.
- 2
Sign in to Manufact
At launch.manufact.au using that same email. Free, no credit card.
- 3
Upload and iterate
Drop a STEP file. Manufact flags manufacturability issues. Fix, re-upload, watch the DFM score change.
- 4
Submit by Thu 28 May
For the Showcase prize, send a 500-1000 word writeup or 3-5 minute video. Other prizes auto-judged from your activity.
Why we're running this challenge
Multi-part assembly support, plus a new engine for complex products.
You may already use Manufact (by AI-NC) for coursework. Since then we've launched a new version with the same DFM core, plus:
- Multi-part assembly support. Analyse complete assemblies, not just individual parts.
- New enterprise-grade engine. Built for larger, more complex products.
We want one cohort outside our enterprise customers to test the platform and use it on some real parts, so, we're inviting you!
Sign up (free, no credit card). Upload a .STEP file for your parts or an entire product assembly, exported from your CAD platform of choice. Manufact analyses for manufacturability, flags features that are difficult or expensive to make, suggests fixes, and recommends a manufacturing approach. Iterate. Re-upload. Watch the score change.
The point is to get a part from a first draft to something that could plausibly be manufactured. Document the iteration as you go. When you're ready, submit.
Prize categories
Four prizes up for grabs.
Just enter and start working on a part in Manufact. Eligibility for each prize is determined automatically from your activity. The Showcase prize requires a short writeup, but we'll email instructions once the challenge is well underway.
Showcase
A$1,000 cash
plus your winning design manufactured
How to qualify
A 500-1000 word writeup or 3-5 minute video walkthrough showing initial design, AI-NC feedback, revisions, and final design, with screenshots of each analysis. Hosted anywhere public. GitHub Pages, Medium, dev.to, a personal blog, YouTube all work.
Judging
Judged manually on iteration quality and storytelling. We pay to have the winning design manufactured (within reason, see terms). Best submissions are shared on AI-NC social channels with credit.
Most-iterated design
Most revisions on a single part across the window, with measurable DFM-score improvement from first to final upload.
Auto-judged from product analytics. No separate submission.
Best assembly
A submitted assembly with at least three parts, mixing custom and off-shelf components.
Judged manually on plausibility and complexity.
Random draw
Anyone who uses Manufact on a real (non-toy) part during the challenge window.
Engineering team confirms real-part criterion at close before drawing.
Timeline
The challenge is now open. Winners chosen on 29 May 2026.
- Fri 8 MayChallenge opens. Sign up, sign in to launch.manufact.au, and start designing.
- Fri 15 MayMid-point check-in. We email examples of strong early submissions.
- Thu 28 MaySubmissions close 23:59 AEST. Last chance to upload your final designs.
- Fri 29 MayWinners chosen by the AI-NC team.
- By Fri 5 JunWinners notified by email and announced on this page.
Eligibility
Who can enter.
- Solo, or teams of up to three.
- You can be eligible for more than one prize. The same part can count toward multiple categories where it qualifies.
- Must use the Manufact platform to review parts and track versions, and to identify manufacturability issues. Any CAD tools are fine for the actual design and modelling work.
FAQ
Common questions.
- Can I submit a project I have already started?
- Yes, as long as the iteration documentation (analyses, DFM feedback, revisions) is captured in Manufact during the challenge window.
- What if I just want to try Manufact, not enter the challenge?
- Sign up anyway. Completing one analysis on a real part enters you into the random draw automatically.
- How is the most-iterated prize judged?
- Auto-judged from analytics: most revisions on a single part, with measurable DFM-score improvement first to final. We sanity-check the top result manually before announcing.
- Who judges the Showcase prize?
- The AI-NC team (Keaton and Max). Rubric: 40% iteration quality, 30% storytelling, 20% real-world plausibility, 10% documentation completeness.
- What happens to my CAD files?
- Files you upload to Manufact stay yours. We use anonymised excerpts for analytics and, with your consent on the submission form, for marketing. We do not share, sell, or train on your geometry.
- I signed up to Manufact during my DFM coursework. Do I sign up again?
- No. The challenge runs on your existing Manufact account. Use this form to register your entry intent and we will send a confirmation.
- When does the activation email arrive?
- Within minutes. Check spam if not. Email keaton@ai-nc.com if it does not appear within an hour.
- Who manufactures the Showcase winner's design?
- A third-party manufacturer (likely PCBWay, JLCPCB, or a local Melbourne jobshop), capped at an A$1,500 budget. See terms clause 4.
Ready
Three weeks. A$1,000 cash plus your design manufactured.
Activation link arrives within minutes.
Questions: contact keaton@ai-nc.com. See the competition terms for full rules.