Abstract— Engineering competences are characteristics, knowledge and skills that allow engineers to create in a challenging and dynamic environment. Higher education institutions must develop the competences that prepare engineering students to face modern society challenges. Here, it is presented a study case to develop engineering competences using low cost computational tools in combination with 3-d printing. A ludic activity is developed by undergrad students majoring Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. The design and fabrication of a boomerang by a group of students is analyzed and how they develop relevant competences during this process. The students are exposed to computational tools used during the project. First, databases for aerodynamic profiles are introduced. The databases used include curves of drag and lift coefficients performance for different attack angles. Students develop the understanding and the handling of those databases to create an aerodynamic profile for a boomerang. The computational tool used for numerical software is matlab and the g-code generation for 3-d printing used is ultimaker Cura. The methodology to design a boomerang using the tools mentioned is explained. Then, the development of engineering competences by the students during the activity is analyzed and discussed. It is observed that using a ludic educational activity in a short period using open access databases and numerical analysis computational tools is of great use to develop competences.