The event featured numerous heats until one racer, Takata's Stewart Murray, was crowned Slot Car Champion. On June 10th, 25 3D-printed slot cars raced during Materialise's networking event on the show floor.

Many contestants used Materialise's 3-matic software to design their car or enhance its look by applying textures and logos, with each design then being optimised and prepared for 3D printing using Magics software. The results included a miniature Ford 1955 pickup truck, hot rods, an ice cream truck with working jingle bells and, bizarrely, a rowing boat. Materialise launched the slot car challenge in 2013, giving slot car fans a whole year to design and 3D print a slot car.

This year's RAPID was held in Detroit, Michigan, so Materialise's playful show feature was especially apt, given the state's reputation as the automotive manufacturing heartland of the US. Materialise has reported on the success of its slot car racing competition, which was set up in the heart of the show floor at RAPID, encouraging visitors to get involved and for slot car enthusiasts to submit their own 3D-printed designs.

3d printing slot cars