Welcome to the 2025 Make:able challenge! We’re delighted to have you here and we look forward to supporting you in designing and making life-improving devices for people with disabilities. Let’s jump right in and give you an overview of what Make:able is all about. Check out the video below.
The brief for the Make:able challenge is to ‘Design and make a 3D printed product or prototype that improves the day-to-day life of someone with a disability or the elderly‘. In this section, we’ll be delving into the challenge guidelines, beginning with the rules. A PDF version of the full brief and guidelines is also available to download here.
You must design a product for a real end user (E.g. Someone in your local community). If you cannot find an end user, you can opt to design for a Make:able Champion. Make:able Champions are people with disabilities who have shared their story and day-to-day challenges within the Make:able Challenge toolkit.
There are 3 categories based on age groups – under 14, 14-18 and over 18. The over 18 age category welcomes students, educators, hobbyists, professionals and anyone else interested in participating.
You may work in teams of up to 5 people in the same age category.
The design process must include the use of either Tinkercad or Fusion 360 software and a physical 3D printed prototype must be created. 3D printing can also be combined with other materials and processes, such as electronics, to create the product.
To be entered into the Make:able Challenge, you must submit the information outlined below to the online form included in section 8 of the toolkit. Submissions must be uploaded by the 15th May 2025. Any submissions uploaded after this date will be entered into the 2026 Make:able Challenge.
The main submission is a 2-4 minute video, which shows information about your end user, how you developed empathy, how you framed a challenge, the idea generation process, the design-make-iterate process and visuals of the final product in action.
In addition to the video, you will be required to upload a high resolution image of your solution. This should be a strong visual that shows off your assistive device in the best way possible.
The raw design files (either Tinkercad or Fusion 360) should be submitted, allow us to review technical details of your solution. Guidance on how to share these files is provided in section 8 of the toolkit.
If your solution is made up of multiple components, you should submit a document that tells us the exact materials used in your solution, together with instructions on assembling it.
As you go through each stage of the Make:able Challenge, you should aim to adhere to the 6 key design criteria outlined below.
Develop a deep and personal understanding of your end user’s disability, challenges and needs/wants.
Use design-thinking methods to realise a product idea that differentiates itself from existing solutions in the market.
Explore multiple tools and features in Autodesk software to help drive your design.
Make a solution that is a perfect fit for your end user in terms of form and function.
Make full use of 3D printing’s capabilities to generate forms with creative freedom.
Rigorously test and refine a solution to ensure it is optimal for your end user.
You may work on your submissions at anytime between these dates and there is no minimum or maximum time you can spend on the challenge. Submissions must be uploaded to section 8 of the toolkit by 15th May 2025.
Team PrintLab will review all submissions and create a finalist shortlist of approximately 6 entries per award category in each of the 3 age groups. The finalist shortlist will be announced by email and consist of the entries that excelled the most in the design criteria relating to the award category.
An expert panel of judges from the medical, education and design fields will be invited to review the finalist submissions. Each judge will be allocated a specific award category and will cast votes for a 1st and 2nd place. 1st place will receive 2 points and 2nd place will receive 1 point. An online voting platform will be used where judges can view submissions, cast votes and make comments.
The points from each award category and age group will be counted and the 18 winners will be announced via email. Prizes will then be shipped out to the schools/organisations of the winning teams. Prizes are yet to be determined but will consist of a range of 3D printers, 3D scanners, filament and more. All participants will also receive certificates following the judging period.
Please note that all announcements will be sent to the email address you used to sign up to Make:able.
Make:able and all associated resources are completely free. We may however recommend supplementary content that may support you, such as PrintLab’s 3D printing learning platform.
Our approach is to be flexible on how much time you spend on your submission. However, we recommend that a minimum of 6 x ≈ 1 hour sessions are allocated to the Make:able challenge.
Experience in 3D design and 3D printing is helpful but not required. 3D design tutorials are included within the toolkit and additional training resources are also recommended in the challenge materials.
Although you are designing a solution for one person, the likelihood is that it could benefit many more people around the world! At the end of the challenge, we’ll be selecting a range of submissions to be uploaded to Makers Making Change’s open source model platform so others can use and adapt your designs. If your model is selected, we will of course seek your permission before doing this.
If you have additional questions, please email them to hello@weareprintlab.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible!
Aside from the mandatory requirement of using Autodesk software (Tinkercad or Fusion 360) as part of the 3D design process, Make:able gives you the flexibility to use any type of 3D printer and other associated equipment. We do however have some recommendations for you below.
The Prusa Mini+ is the in-house 3D printer we use on a day-to-day basis. And if you need something bigger, check out the rest of the range from Prusa Research. We love Prusa not only for their amazing hardware but they have excellent support, an ecosystem of solutions and a huge community!
Filamentive offer a unique range of sustainable filaments, without compromising quality. They are trusted by thousands of makers, educators and engineers globally and only work with post-industrial recycled material that has been diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process.
Shining3D offer the most comprehensive range of 3D scanners in the world. Having worked with the EinScan and Einstar ranges for several years, we can highly recommend them for acquiring human and object data to design ergonomic, custom solutions.
PrintLab is our very own 3D printing learning platform and is a great way to get prepared for the Make:able Challenge. Engaging in a variety of mini courses and short assistive technology projects enables you to acquire fresh skills and insights, enhancing the quality of your Make:able submissions.
Assemble your team and allocate each person a specific role. Everyone can participate in each section of the journey but it can be beneficial to have people 'in charge' of different areas. For example, you might have a lead 3D CAD specialist, a lead project manager and a lead video creator.
Browse through each section of the toolkit before you begin the challenge. A brief scan through will suffice as you will be going through the content in detail as you progress.
Having a strategy in place to document your journey will be greatly helpful when it comes to creating your submission video. Think carefully about what equipment you will use and how you will capture footage. Section 8 of the toolkit has plenty of advice and examples to guide you.
Bearing in mind the time you have available for the challenge, write down a brief outline plan that highlights when you might work on each stage of the design process.
The next step is to identify an end user to design for and there are 2 options to do this. The first and most effective way is to find an end user in your local community. Remember that you should be able to communicate with this person regularly, whether this be online or in-person and ideally, they’d be able to test your prototypes and provide constructive feedback to help you reach a final solution that fits their needs. Take a look at some of the ideas below, which highlight a range of places you might find meaningful design challenges.
Does someone in your team have any family members or friends who struggle with a disability? This might be a child, cousin or even a grandparent.
Teachers or staff members who have a good understanding of the people in your school, library or organisation may be able to support you in finding an end user to design for.
Use the internet to search for local disability organisations who can connect you with end users. You may wish to search for organisations that support specific disabilities such as arthritis.
Many hospitals have rehabilitation centers who may be willing to connect you to patients. If you decide on reaching out to a hospital, ensure you research what departments are available before finding the relevant contact details.
Local care homes may be able to connect you with elderly individuals who struggle with a range of disabilities or the effects of ageing.
We are also happy for you to expand outside of the local community and design solutions for people who you can connect with online through disability platforms. Check out the design challenges on the Makers Making Change forum by clicking below to see if you can connect with an end user who is seeking solutions.
Although finding a real end user is ideal, it might not always be possible, in which case you might want to look into option 2 – designing for a Make:able Champion. Make:able Champions are volunteers with various disabilities and they have kindly shared videos explaining their disability, together with the day-to-day challenges they face. By listening to their stories and observing their actions, you have the opportunity to design a solution for one of them. Their full profiles can be viewed in the Develop Empathy Toolkit but for now, we’re delighted to introduce you to our 2024 Make:able Champions, Valerie and Cath.
Valerie is 66 years young, loves planting flowers and describes herself as a geek and problem solver! She has had rheumatoid arthritis since she was 3 years old and scoliosis for the last 20 years. She started using a wheelchair 3 years ago and since then her health and quality of life has declined.
Cath is 76 years young and is at her happiest when she is making things! She lives with her partner Paul on a narrowboat and loves the freedom it provides them with. She developed osteoarthritis in her knees when she was 50 and it has progressed to other areas of her body, such as her hands.
If you decide to design a solution for Valerie or Cath, you may not be able to speak with them. However, there are other ways in which you can develop empathy such as simulating their disability, carefully observing the champion’s case study video, performing online research and speaking with others who have a similar disability. And at the end of the challenge, if Valerie or Cath have an interest in your solution, we will collaborate with you to refine it for their exact needs.
Check out these top 5 tips for designing assistive devices with 3D printing – courtesy of Dave Gaylord, Biomedical Engineer and VP of Product and Technology at MatterHackers.
This year, PrintLab’s lead designer, Rob, will be joining you in the Make:able Challenge! He’ll be designing a solution for a Make:able Champion and you can keep up-to-date with his progress by watching his videos at the end of each toolkit section. In this first video, you’ll learn more about Rob and his background as an industrial designer.
Before moving on to the next toolkit, you should have achieved the below objectives.
Go to Next Toolkit – Get Inspired