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Trophies and awards

Design Project 4 weeks Medium build

Design an award for a real event at the school and make a run of them, combining laser-cut structure, a 3D-printed figure or feature, and a UV-printed plate. A product, not a one-off.

Three matching awards on a workbench, each with a laser-cut walnut base, a printed geometric figure and a small full-colour UV-printed nameplate.

Overview

Every event at the school needs something to hand out: house games, the robotics tournament, a music night, a science fair, coach appreciation. Buying trophies is expensive and generic. You are going to design the award and make the run.

An award has three jobs. It has to stand up and not tip. It has to say what it is for, with a name on it. And it has to look like it was worth winning. Each of our three processes is good at one of those. The laser cuts strong, flat, precise structure fast. The printer makes forms with depth: a figure, a badge, a shape with an undercut. The UV printer puts a full-colour, durable name plate on almost anything. Use each for what it does best.

This is a production project. You will make at least five, so every step you do once, you do five times. Jigs, templates and checklists are part of the design.

Skills needed

  • Laser-cut structureBases, stands and layered forms in plywood or acrylic; finger joints and half-laps.
  • Designing for kerfAny part that slots into another has to account for it.
  • A printed featureA figure, emblem or shape that only printing can make. Orientation for a clean visible surface.
  • UV printing a plateresource comingArtwork at 300 dpi, white underbase on dark or clear material, fixture for repeat positioning.
  • Assembling a small production runresource comingJigs, glue, consistent finish, and a checklist so all five look the same.

Assessment

  • Design. The award reads as belonging to its event. Proportion, weight and finish feel like a product, not a shop project.
  • Process choice. Each part is on the right machine and you can say why. Joints account for kerf; prints are oriented for the visible face.
  • Consistency. Line the five up. They match.
  • Production thinking. Jigs or templates exist, the checklist exists, the cost sheet is real.
  • Client. The organiser signed off on the concept and received the run on time.

Deliverables

  • A brief from the event organiser, with the category names and number of awards needed
  • Three concept sketches and one chosen direction with a reason
  • A Fusion assembly of the award with each part on its correct process
  • The production run, five or more identical awards, plus one spare
  • A cost and time sheet per unit

Materials

  • 3 mm and 6 mm plywood, walnut or maple veneer ply for the good ones, or cast acrylic
  • PLA or PETG, or resin if the feature is small and detailed
  • [object Object]
  • Wood glue, CA glue, felt feet, finishing oil

Steps

Week 1: Brief and concepts

  1. Find the client. Ask what event, how many categories, how many awards, when, and whether names are known in advance.
  2. Research: look at awards you like and awards you don’t. Note what makes the difference.
  3. Sketch three concepts. For each, mark which parts are laser, print and UV. Show the client. Pick one.

Week 2: Design

  1. Model the whole award in Fusion as components, one per part, with the material set on each.
  2. Laser parts: nest on a sheet, check kerf on any slot, and plan the cut order.
  3. Printed part: orient for the face people will see, add a locating pin or pocket so it seats the same way every time.
  4. Plate: design the artwork at real size, 300 dpi, and build a simple fixture so the plate sits in the same place on the printer bed for every unit.
  5. Make one prototype. Show the client.

Week 3: Production

  1. Cut all the laser parts in one session. Sand and finish them as a batch.
  2. Print all the features. Queue them, check each one as it comes off.
  3. UV print the plates using the fixture. Print one test on scrap first.
  4. Assemble with a jig so every part lands in the same spot. Felt feet on every base.

Week 4: Finish and deliver

  1. Quality check against the checklist: stability, fit, finish, plate straight, no glue marks.
  2. Photograph the set. Fill in the cost and time sheet: materials, machine minutes, hands-on minutes per unit.
  3. Deliver to the client. Keep the spare in the shop as a sample.

Stretch options

  • A modular system where the same base takes different printed emblems for different categories.
  • Engraved names filled with paint or foil instead of a plate.
  • A display stand for a perpetual award with room for ten years of plates.