Attention students: Start your engines!
The Society of Plastics Engineers' Thermoforming Division is looking for undergraduate college students to enter a new competition designed to inspire and support innovation in thermoforming. The deadline is May 1.
Each student will be furnished with an electric, remote-controlled car. Students must design, manufacture and decorate a car body to be mounted on the chassis. The car body must be formed using clear plastic, such as PET, glycol-modified PET, acrylic or polycarbonate, and it must be produced using the vacuum/thermoforming process. Upon request, the Thermoforming Division will supply the plastic sheet.
The cars will race on a special indoor track during the SPE Thermoforming Conference, Sept. 11-13 in Orlando, Fla. — racers will compete Sept. 13 at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld Hotel.
Cars will be judged on presentation and thermoforming complexity. Winners will get cash prizes and a trophy that will be passed on the winner of next year's competition.
All participants will keep the cars. And division officials said students are not required to be present for the race.
The car race is part of the division's efforts to support young people.
“Education has always been mission critical for the Thermoforming Division, and we continue to look for wats to introduce the thermoforming process to the next generation of our workforce,” said Paul Uphaus, the co-chairman of the 2017 Thermoforming Conference. “Students who attend the Thermoforming Conference can attend technical sessions, participate in networking events and meet with prospective employers.”
Companies and individuals can sponsor a car for $300, on a first-come, first-served basis. Forms are posted on the Thermoforming Division's website.
More information is available at http://thermoformingdivision.com or by calling Lesley Kyle at 914-671-9524, or emailing her at [email protected]