Innovate Pasadena’s Friday Coffee Meetups Attract Leading Technologists, Crowds

 

The future of design lies in 3-D printing, but how exactly does one get their hands on this seemingly futuristic machine? What do you need to know? A group of tech savvy and curious entrepreneurial types gathered at Innovate Pasadena’s Friday Coffee Meetup at Cross Campus to get a crash course on how to get started in the world of 3-D printing on the consumer level.

“They’re basically motorized hot glue guns,” explained 3-D printing enthusiast and entrepreneur Joan Horvath who was the featured speaker on this topic.

Horvath is a Pasadena resident and a former rocket scientist who spent 16 years at JPL before being involved in several entrepreneurial ventures before her current one in addition to being a Core Adjunct faculty member for National University and holds engineering degrees from MIT and UCLA.

“3-D printers are powerful tools, but to fully understand how to use one requires proper training,” said Horvath as guests were examining a small and intricate 3-D printed mold of a flower.

Horvath and her business partner Rich Cameron founded The Pasadena-based consulting and training firm, Nonscriptum LLC, in 2015 which focuses on teaching educators and scientists how to use technologies like 3D printers and low-cost electronics.

After having spent time working at a small 3-D printing company she soon realized that many people had no idea what to do with a 3D printer once they unpacked it, prompting her to start her business to fill that need.

Their most recent release is “3D Printed Science Projects,” which allows students, parents and teachers to use their 3D printers to create cool projects in topics from botany to aerodynamics, according to Horvath.

“We’ve discovered the learning curve 3-D printing requires and we are here to help. People are used to just having to hit ‘print’ and that’s not how it works,” said Horvath.

3-D printing technology has been around since the 1980’s, however the rise of crowdfunding has allowed it to surface with lots of financial backing with hopes of bringing it to the consumer on a large scale.

“This technology really exploded about two to three years ago,” explained Horvath.

Right now 3-D printing is thriving in the Aerospace industry and will continue to be utilized in that way, according to Horvath. A main issue that lies between industrial use and the consumer market is the issue of handling hazardous materials and safety protocol that still needs to be fine tuned.

The possibilities of what a 3-D printer can create goes beyond simple educational models.

“There have been projects talked about that include constructing buildings and houses with 3-D printers,” said Horvath.

Nonscriptum is working on finding a way to create 3-D printed models for visually impaired students to learn about design concepts.

“3-D printing is almost perfect for that,” said Horvath.

Meanwhile the industry is growing astronomically and has created market niches that include providing content, printer sales, medical uses, providing models, and companies like Sculpteo and 3DHubs which Horvath describes as the “Uber for 3-D printing”.

“I think we’re still waiting for the killer app to come out to change everything,” said Horvath.

Nonscriptum provides various books, online classes and consulting for the novice or experience 3-D printing user. They are currently looking for spaces to host development sessions.

For more information about Nonscriptum and to get started in the exciting world of 3-D Printing, visit .

To find out more about the Innovate Pasadena Friday Coffee Meetups, click here http://www.meetup.com/Innovate-Pasadena-Friday-Morning-Coffee/.