In today's edition, meet David Profit.
David Profit recently joined the 4D Pioneers team as an R&D Engineer specialized in polymer processing. Through his passion for technological innovation, he wants his work to have a measurable positive impact on the planet. At 4D Pioneers, David will take up the challenges related to the industrial use of additive manufacturing and explore how it can bring many sustainable solutions to various sectors. Read his interview to find out more.
1. David, why additive manufacturing? What does it represent to you and what solutions does it bring in today’s times?
Coming from a background of mechanical design, I see additive manufacturing as a means to precisely tailor pieces to desired specifications, in order to answer an exact need. I’ve always been passionate about technical innovation and additive manufacturing represents a kind of freedom to me in the sense that it offers countless possibilities to take on big challenges. For instance, it enables remodeling and manufacturing replacement parts to tackle industrial obsolescence. It also allows us to improve parts by rethinking their design and removing excess material through topological optimization. This not only results in higher quality pieces, but it drastically reduces industrial waste. It’s a win-win situation.
2. What motivated you to join the 4D Pioneers team and how is this opportunity a unique one for you?
I’ve always wanted my job to meet two criteria: an innovative working environment and a meaningful impact. It became very quickly clear in my interview with co-founders Ingrid and Nicolas that we have a common drive for innovation. This is precisely their top priority combined with making additive manufacturing a solution to new industrial challenges. It was crucial for me to join a company in line with my values and the fact that sustainability and durability were both so close to their hearts is what really convinced me: we would fight obsolescence together as a team. It’s also a unique opportunity for me because it is a newly founded company, and they’ve got that start-up work mentality where agility truly is key. We are a small, close-knit team, that supports each other on all ongoing projects. We learn from each other’s different skillsets and backgrounds. We get to be involved in entire processes, from start to finish: for example, analyzing a client’s needs, moving on to the actual designing and production of the parts and then the follow-up. You are learning on a daily basis and you instantly become a key player of the team.
3. Can you please describe your new role at 4D Pioneers and what your main projects will be?
My new role at 4D Pioneers is two-fold. On the one hand, I am responsible for the production and optimization of the pieces and components for clients. This includes the supervision of settings to ensure top-notch printing. On the other hand, which is the bigger part of my role, my focus is R&D. We will be building several 3D printers and developing new technologies. One project is to have a printer over three meters long to print large pieces. We also plan to develop a hybrid printer that will combine both additive and subtractive manufacturing, meaning it prints, but on every layer removes excess material to fit exact dimensions. I will also work on developing dual tech printers, which implement new technologies that enable us to have qualities from certain technologies and remove defects from others. As you can probably tell, I’m pretty excited. And I won’t be bored anytime soon.
4. What do you hope to accomplish in this role?
I want to know the ins and outs of additive manufacturing to be able to offer a seamless printing experience to our customers. Printing is very sensitive to settings and through trial and error I hope to become an expert in the field. I want to keep developing innovative solutions and push the borders of the valuable solutions additive manufacturing can bring. I’m also looking forward to building project management skills as there will be many things happening simultaneously. The biggest accomplishment for me would be to know that I am a reliable team player and that my colleagues can count on me. That’s something I feel one can really be proud of.
5. When you’re not at work, what are you most likely doing?
To be completely honest, in a very engineer-like manner, I’m probably doing some kind of handy work. I’m a very manual person and I’m always looking for something to fix. I’ve promised myself that when I buy a house someday I will need a garage to fill up with tools and a work plan. In the meantime, I get to build and work on cutting-edge printers at 4D Pioneers - hey, I’m not complaining.
Commentaires