This week’s designer spotlight features Tom Felker, creator of unique, customized accessories for Fitbit. Taking advantage of the uses of 3D printing, Tom has created a shop full of different ways to easily take your Fitbit wherever you go. He’s also experimenting with old school mechanics, trying to combine his tech background with traditional manufacturing processes.
Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?
I would describe myself as a tinkerer and a learner – if there’s something I think I can make, I want to build it; something interesting to know, I want to understand it. I always knew computers would be a great outlet for that, and working as a programmer in the video game industry brought me from Illinois out to the San Francisco Bay Area. Spending so much time at work with computers has pushed me towards more physical hobbies lately – hence the 3D designs.
What’s the story behind your designs? What inspires you?
For me it’s about meeting an engineering challenge in an interesting way. For example, I’m working on a mechanical clock. Clocks were made once with metal gears, and again with quartz and electronics, but doing it again with modern 3D printing technology is a fun problem. I also look for cases where 3D printing has a unique advantage. Customized items is a big one – for example, I have a product that attaches a Fitbit to a watch band. But every watch band is a little different. With Shapeways it’s easy to customize, and that’s not really true of any traditional manufacturing process. Of course, it’s also really nice for prototyping and one-off parts.
What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?
When I first started a few years ago, there were several 3D printing services, but most of them assumed you were working at your day job using your company’s money. And if you’re spending ten grand for an injection mold (the main service these companies offered), you actually do want to discuss it with another engineering team before they make it. But as just some guy with a hobby, simply uploading a model and instantly ordering it was great, and Shapeways was one of the first to offer that.
How did you learn how to design in 3D?
In some sense, I never have. I learned to program instead, and then I found OpenSCAD, which lets you make models with all the power (and difficulty) of a real programming language. Most of my projects are mechanical, and in many cases I don’t know all the dimensions before I start – so OpenSCAD gives me the power to decide them later. I can press a button, see how it looks, change one number that affects the whole model, and try again. It requires a lot of algebra, geometry, and even trig, but it’s worth it: math is powerful.
How do you promote your work?
Honestly, I haven’t done much of anything – which speaks to the power of Shapeways. It’s so easy just to click that checkbox and offer things for sale, and if the designs fill a need and people like them, you can do well. I did spend a few hours making some nice photographs and videos.
Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?
I’m always excited by the mechanical things: Theo Jansen’s famous Animaris Geneticus, Virtox’s Gyro the Cube, and various designs with gears and hinges.
If you weren’t limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?
A mechanical wristwatch would be pretty impressive. A process for printing metal with the design freedom of SLS plastic would be amazing for functional prints. And while cost drives everyone to make things small and light, with no technological limit I’d make things huge, chunky, and strong.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT THIS SHOP:
- Awesome photography, showing context and detail of products
- Great variety/options of the same product
- Quick to customize gadget accessories for popular, current technology
Thanks so much for the interview, Tom. Fascinating to hear you use mostly math for your modeling! Can’t wait to see how the clocks turn out! Don’t forget to check out Tom’s shop, TomBot. To be featured, as always, email aimee @ shapeways.com. Happy holiday shopping!