element14 Community Launches ‘Just Encase’ Design Challenge

Sponsored by Hammond, latest competition inspires engineering community to create projects built to withstand harsh environments

element14 is harnessing the power of Hammond Enclosures to create projects designed to withstand even the harshest environments with the “Just Encase” design challenge. This challenge encourages the element14 Community to create a new design built to work reliably even in the face of extreme heat, cold, water or humidity.

Engineers have to take the environment into account when building their designs,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community. “This challenge is a great way for designers to test their skills and learn about the benefits of high-quality enclosures in protecting their projects from the elements.”

“Just Encase” design challenge is open to everyone. Members of the element14 Community will compete to design the most creative project built to withstand hazardous weather using a custom kit provided by Hammond, which includes Hammond cable glands, a water-tight ABS enclosure, a polycarbonate enclosure, a selection of thermocouples, environmental sensors, and load cells, plus an Arduino MKR WAN 1300.

Applications close on October 31 and the 20 best challengers will be announced on November 15. Then, these challengers will be invited to use the above mentioned kits from Hammond to create a project designed to withstand even the harshest environments. Participants will have until February 1 to blog about and build their projects. Winners will be announced in February 2022. Example applications could include:

·       Snow level monitoring in a cold area

·       Machine usage in food production areas

·       Predictive maintenance in damp conditions

·       Beachfront sun monitoring

The first-place challenger will win a PlayStation 5, a deluxe earthquake survival kit, a survival shelter as well as a vehicle fire extinguisher, all prizes worth $1,050. The runner up will receive a deluxe earthquake survival kit, a survival shelter and a vehicle fire extinguisher. All other participants who blog about the build process and outcome of the challenge will receive a vehicle first aid kit.