Christian Randolph's Practicum Observations

Going into the summer at Terrapin Works, I had just completed my trainee experience. I had a very baseline and general understanding of the many manufacturing processes that could be used for prototyping. Anything beyond a surface level understanding, however, was beyond my knowledge, and now I was left to learn on my own. While some may say this is a bad thing, I believe that I received adequate training to learn the rest of Terrapin Work’s processes on my own.

As work was located on campus, I would say the most daunting task of the day was my 35-40 minute commute in the mornings, but I normally had rather later shifts starting at 11, so it didn’t prove much of an issue. Once I clocked in for the day at our company’s fabrication farm, a room filled with 30+ 3d printers which run around the clock, I would go straight to removing prints that had finished overnight from the build plates of the printers. I would then bag and prepare them to be moved over to our other lab where customers came to pick up their parts. Following this, I would begin slicing printing orders. Slicing refers to the act of preparing 3d design files for 3d printing. This includes adding supports, orienting the part for optimum printing, and generating quotes for customers. If I get through all the orders in a timely manner, I would then turn my focus to the numerous printers sitting on the repair bench. More often than not I came to realize that our issues came from old components, such as thermistors which had reached the end of their lifespans. A lot of the repair process was ordering and waiting for new parts to come in, to replace the old ones. A coworker of mine told me that fixing our 3d printers presented the same philosophical questions brought up by the Ship of Theseus. At what point does the 3d printer no longer become the 3d printer we received?

Most of my prior knowledge coming into Terrapin Works in general was thanks to the CAD modelling class I took my first semester. I learned the fundamentals of both Solidworks and Fusion, the main programs people use to prepare their 3d files. As a result I had knowledge that ranged from the design of a product, all the way to the finished product or prototype. Most of the issues I found in my day to day work was people that would submit certain parts, which would be impossible to print on a certain machine, this could be either due to a part being hollow and closed, its size, or its complexity. I would typically have to consult with these customers and talk about alternative options, like printing on a different type of 3d printer or separating their design into multiple printable parts which could be merged.

Now, off the topic of my time spent in our fabrication farm, on Thursdays and Fridays, my time in the latter half of my work day was spent in the Rapid Prototyping Center in the RPC. There I spent the majority of my time talking with customers who were either doing summer research or completing personal projects. Though most days were relatively slow, I came to get to know some regulars who were doing research. For instance, there was Michael who also came in to use the laser cutter, and there was Vivek who was doing rotorcraft research just upstairs, who was always printing some prototype rotor, or Eric who was printing parts for his RC car project. Seeing the range of applications of manufacturing further increased my passion for the field, and I could not recommend my job to STEM students enough. Terrapin Works has definitely helped me come out of my shell and speak to people more. Many of the people I spoke to were passionate about their projects, and were more than happy to tell me all about it when I asked.

Speaking of people, I would like to give a shout out to the staff I worked with throughout the summer. I got to meet many people who I now don’t just consider co-workers, but friends. The days where I wasn’t on solo shift, me and my coworkers talked about shows and music , while also giving each other advice in areas we knew better than the other. My team was very easy to collaborate with during major projects like the printing of over three thousand testudo statues, which we completed well before the deadline. All in all, my experience at Terrapin Works was amazing, and as I mentioned in my practicum reflection, one of if not the best choice I have made in my college career. Moving forwards, though I won’t be working at Terrapin Works this upcoming summer, it is thanks to them that I received an internship. I will continue to work during the school year for them and am looking forward to pursuing a career where I can continue to see ideas come to life through manufacturing.