#Working3D: Six Questions for an Additive Manufacturing Innovation Engineer

We are back with the #Working3D series in which we get to know first-hand the different professions in the 3D printing sector. On this occasion, we will learn about the day-to-day life of an additive manufacturing innovation engineer. Closely related to product design and development, this job consists of identifying opportunities and creating integrated technology-based solutions, in an innovative and sustainable way, in this case applied to 3D printing. To learn more, we met Drew Whited, innovation engineer at Cobra Puma Golf, who works in the world of additive manufacturing in the world of sports, specifically the development of golf equipment. We caught up with him to find out more about the position, the qualifications required and what his routine is like at work.

3DN: Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Drew Whited and I currently work at Cobra Puma Golf as an Innovation Engineer within our Innovation team. I graduated from Eastern Washington University with a B.S in Mechanical Engineering followed by an M.S in Sports Product Design from the University of Oregon. While attending UO I specialized in equipment design with my thesis project focusing on designing and building a set of golf clubs for the niche world of Urban Golf (golfing on the street). This eventually led to my introduction into the golf industry and my career at Cobra Puma Golf where I am helping to build new design and manufacturing workflows that utilize computational design techniques blended with traditional and additive manufacturing methods to build innovative and high performing golf equipment.

On the right Drew Whited, innovation engineer at Cobra Puma Golf.

3DN: How did you discover additive manufacturing?

My undergraduate capstone project was my first introduction to additive manufacturing. My team and I were tasked with designing and manufacturing a hydraulically controlled prosthetic foot for a fellow teammate. Throughout the design process we quickly learned the advantages of the rapid iteration capabilities additive offers where we were able to quickly print components for both shape validation and tolerance verification. As well, for our final design additive played a key role in helping to reduce weight savings and manufacturing cost through the use of a continuous carbon fiber reinforced nylon printed via FDM which helped to reduce weight, save on manufacturing costs, and offer strength comparable to some metals.