Northside Engineering & Technology
FET • Northside Engineering & Technology
Design it. Print it. Keep the ice alive.
Turn a simple cup into a creative ice-saving design.
Use this website for directions. Keep printed worksheets and project paperwork in your team folder. Only two project grades: Process /100 and Final Product /100.
FET • Northside Engineering & Technology
Teacher-selected teams of 3–4 • Five teams per class
Design an original enclosure and removable lid in Onshape around the teacher-provided Solo cup. 3D print it and use approved insulation to keep ice frozen as long as possible. Give the container a name and a creative theme built into its geometry.
Keep ice frozen, use materials economically, make the cup and lid easy to use, and create a product that appeals to a customer. Explain your decisions using evidence.
1. Maximum assembled size: 6 × 6 × 6 inches, including lid, handles, and decorations. Your design can be smaller.
2. Maximum final print allowance: 350 g total for enclosure, lid, decorations, and required supports/adhesion structures, verified with common teacher slicer settings.
3. Use the supplied Solo cup, unmodified. Measure its actual dimensions in inches before modeling. Cup and lid must both be removable.
4. Use original Onshape geometry with dimensioned sketches. Each member contributes identifiable CAD work. No downloaded finished container models; no assembly mates required.
5. All insulation stays inside the enclosure and lid. Only the supplied ice goes inside the Solo cup.
6. Use only teacher-issued materials purchased with classroom dollars. No spending cap, subject to available supplies. No outside purchases, commercial insulated containers, ice packs, powered/chemical cooling or pre-chilling.
7. One final printed design per team. Small fit samples require teacher approval. No required reprint or tested redesign.
Use classroom dollars, not real money. There is no spending cap; purchases depend on available teacher supplies. The 6 × 6 × 6-inch and 350 g limits still apply.
Submit one initial order BEFORE any insulation testing. Order enough for both preliminary tests and the final build. There is no free insulation research kit.
All additional supply orders after the initial order are rush orders at twice the listed price. All issued materials count, including test materials, unused material and waste. No refunds or transfers between teams.
Reuse your own test materials after drying. Record every initial and rush purchase. Total project cost = initial supplies + rush supplies + approved PLA cost. Do not double-count reused materials.
PLA costs $0.10 per gram using the teacher-approved full slicer estimate. Printer delays and equipment failures do not add rush charges. One final print per team; small fit samples require teacher approval and a stated cost before printing.
| Material | Purchase unit | Initial price | Rush price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed PLA | Per gram, including supports/adhesion | $0.10 | $0.10 (no rush surcharge) |
| Felt | 6 × 6-inch square | $5 | $10 |
| Bubble wrap | 6 × 6-inch square | $4 | $8 |
| Packing foam, if supplied | 6 × 6-inch piece; teacher-standard thickness | $6 | $12 |
| Cotton balls | Pack of 10 | $3 | $6 |
| Fabric scraps | 6 × 6-inch square | $2 | $4 |
| Corrugated cardboard | 6 × 6-inch square | $1 | $2 |
| Aluminum foil | 6 × 6-inch square | $2 | $4 |
| Masking tape | 12-inch strip | $1 | $2 |
| Rubber bands | Each | $0.50 | $1 |
| Required Solo cup | One; teacher provides identical test cups | Included | Included |
Follow the separate Canvas instructions for the CAD exam.
Submit the course completion certificate through its separate Canvas assignment.
Print-ready files: Submit the shared Onshape link and STL files in Canvas. Design in inches; export STL in millimeters for slicing and have the teacher verify imported dimensions. Teacher approval includes assembled dimensions and the complete ≤350 g slicer estimate.
Submit your initial material order before insulation testing. Later supplies cost double.
Final build and presentation: Follow your teacher’s instructions for when to present and submit. Keep completed paperwork and the final cost record in your team folder. Submit the team’s Onshape link using Canvas directions and bring the finished container to class. Official results and reflection are completed after testing.
Only TWO project gradebook entries: Process /100 and Final Product /100. Daily checkpoints are components of those grades, not separate assignments to grade. The CAD exam and course certificate remain separate existing coursework.
Your teacher will give each team a physical folder and printed worksheets. Keep all project paperwork in that folder: sketches, measurements, material orders, cost records, test results and reflections.
Complete the printed activities given in class. Write your team name, class period and group members on group work. Put your name on individual work. Bring your team folder to class each day and have it ready for teacher checks.
Use this website for the challenge, rules, materials, submission instructions, testing and grading. Follow Canvas directions for digital CAD files and links.
While prints run, complete preliminary insulation tests using purchased supplies, prepare and label insulation, annotate a heat-transfer cross-section, check drawings against CAD, update cost records, prepare an observation log and rehearse your sales pitch. Document teacher print delays and complete available work. Delays are not missing student work.
Compare two insulation arrangements plus an uninsulated control using identical cups. Start with equal ice masses of similar shape from the same batch, dry room-temperature materials, and the same test location and duration. Predict a result first. Collect and measure meltwater using the same strainer and drain duration for each cup. Teacher announces ice mass, test duration, and collection procedure before testing. Less meltwater indicates better ice retention under these conditions. Record spills, small differences, and uncertainty. Select an arrangement based on your results. No full printed prototype or reprint is required.
All entries in a comparison start together with equal ice masses and similar shapes from the same batch. Teacher announces the starting mass and common brief lid-opening duration before the test. Use dry insulation and room-temperature containers. Only supplied ice goes in the cup.
Keep all containers and an uninsulated control together, sheltered from rain and direct sunlight. Weather and temperature may change, but every entry experiences the same conditions. Move all entries together if necessary. Compare within each class unless classes start and test together.
The teacher checks on the hour and records the actual time, ice present/no ice, and conditions. Give each lid the same brief opening time. Do not change designs or add materials after testing starts.
Record the last check with ice and the first check without ice as a melting interval, not an exact melt time. Confirmed retention time is elapsed minutes from the common start to the last observation with ice. If the first hourly check finds no ice, the confirmed time is 0 minutes.
Best Value score = original-round confirmed retention time in minutes ÷ total classroom-dollar cost. Use the positive cost of each required printed enclosure/lid; retain full precision when ranking and display two decimals. Equal scores share the award.
If multiple entries have ice at the final evening check and none the next morning, record the overnight interval and retest those entries together that morning when containers are dry and back at room temperature. Designs and costs stay unchanged; no new purchases. The teacher may use a smaller equal ice mass for all retest entries.
Do not estimate an overnight melt time. If no ice remains in the morning, the last evening observation is the confirmed endpoint. If ice still remains in the morning under conditions where it could not refreeze, that morning observation confirms survival through the interval. Avoid freezing conditions that could refreeze meltwater.
The overnight retest resolves tied ice-retention results; it does not replace original-round times in Best Value, because all teams need the same comparison. There are only two awards: Best Value and Most Marketable. Add results/reflections after testing finishes; timing does not create another grade.
Best Value: highest original-round confirmed ice-retention minutes ÷ total classroom-dollar cost. Initial supplies, rush supplies and PLA all count. Equal scores share the award.
Most Marketable: the product a customer would most want to buy. Teacher judges appearance, originality, ease of use and the convincing 60-second sales pitch, each from 0–5 (20-point award judging scale). Equal totals share the award.
Awards are separate from the two project grades. Longest ice retention is recorded, but is not a third award. Winning is not required for full credit.
PROCESS — 100 points. Evaluate completed worksheets, design evidence and each student’s identifiable contribution, using the paperwork kept in the team folder.
| Process checkpoint | Points |
|---|---|
| DEFINE | 15 |
| IDEATE / SELECT | 20 |
| MODEL & ORDER | 20 |
| PRINT APPROVAL | 20 |
| INVESTIGATE | 15 |
| PREPARE / ASSEMBLE | 10 |
| Process total | 100 |
| Category | Points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Function & constraints | 30 | Meets size/material limits; cup and lid removable; insulation contained. |
| Build quality & usability | 20 | Secure, finished construction; reliable lid; easy loading and handling. |
| Marketability | 20 | Original appearance, identifiable customer and convincing 60-second pitch. |
| Performance & value analysis | 20 | Accurate official results, complete purchase cost and correct value calculation. |
| Reflection | 10 | Explains evidence and limitations; proposes a specific improvement and how to test it. |
Reflection — 10 points. Explains evidence and limitations; proposes a specific improvement and how to test it.
Quick scoring: full points for complete, supported evidence; half points for partial or unclear evidence; zero for missing evidence. Half of 15 is 7.5. Do not add separate daily checkpoint, journal or portfolio grades for this project.
Complete feedback and readiness checks before presenting. The final build/presentation accounts for the first 70 final-product points; results/value analysis (20) and reflection (10) are entered after testing finishes. No required reprint.
Ask your teacher for printed work you missed and review your team’s folder. Complete the missing work and add it to the folder. Label any teacher print delay. Never invent observations, measurements, or results.