TOLLAND, Conn. – Mastercam announced in November the winners of its 2021 Wildest Parts Competition, and this year three woodworking projects were selected.

The Wildest Parts Competition is held each year to encourage student interest and participation in manufacturing. The competition is open to students at the secondary and postsecondary levels to create parts demonstrating creativity and technical skill using Mastercam. The Wildest Parts Competition also has a division for professional Mastercam users to enter parts they created.

“We always look forward to seeing all the entries we receive for Wildest Parts,” said Peter Mancini, Product Manager, Education at Mastercam. “There are so many talented and dedicated teachers, and the quality and originality of their students’ work with Mastercam are inspiring.”   In the Secondary Division, Wes Bruski from Capital High School, Montana, submitted a domino and dice cup game set. Bruski and his family have always enjoyed the game, so he had the idea to make a custom set of dominos and dice cup. He made the dice prototypes out of wood, then machined the final set. 

Second place went to Cadogan Wheat from Hamilton High School, Montana, who designed a model of a padlock with a lock and key. Every part of the padlock was milled out of wood or Delrin plastic, except for the tumblers and key.

In the professional division, Wireless Charging Disc by Puten Plus came in third place. Many types of wood were tried, including mahogany, Taiwan Asian fir, and green sandalwood in designing this part. Green sandalwood was chosen because of its hardness and stability. In a circular charging base body, the circuit board is precisely mounted in a wood part through sophisticated machining programming. The polished copper is installed on the surface to make it look like a reflection of the moon.

Every participant receives a Mastercam t-shirt, and the winning entrants receive cash awards, certificates, and other prizes for entering the competition.

Even as this year’s winners are announced, it’s time for teachers, students, and professionals to start thinking about what they will submit for the 2022 Wildest Parts Competition.

For more information on Mastercam’s Wildest Parts Competition, visit https://www.mastercam.com/en-us/Competitions/WildestParts.

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).

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