Danae Industrial 3D Printing is a 3D printing lab run by a MICA Alumni and winner of the MICA START. Originally beginning as a company focused on the creation and design of 3D printed prosthetics, they have since expanded to become a printing and prototyping service with SLA, SLS and FDM capabilities, taking clients from the medical/pharmaceutical industry, large sports companies, and companies on the fortune 500. I found out about this internship and applied for it through the MICA Network’s list of posted internships. The internship was secured through an email application and zoom interview.
My direct supervisor was the founder and CEO of the company who oversees the management of the company and works creating processes to improve the workflow of the company, as well as securing production deals with potential clients. My main responsibility was to assist the production floor printing technicians with the slicing, printing and post processing of incoming jobs.
Projects I was involved in:- Creating a pitch for 3D printed products to produce as Danae products
- Prototyping a part for a home tools company as a pitch.
- Designing and printing my own lightsaber
- Post processing parts for various companies (Under NDA)
I am most proud of the design and creation of my lightsaber. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and super grateful to have had the chance to use such high quality printers to be able to print the parts plus learning tolerances and material limitations and possibilities. The biggest takeaway I have had would be the goal setting and career advice I received at my time there. The best advice I received was that to get to a goal faster, setting it clearly in your mind as what you want will help you unconsciously work your way towards it even when you’re not actively trying to.
Some new skills I have acquired as a result of this internship are learning SLS and SLA 3D printing processes. I also learned about tolerances in 3D printing and the potential and limits of several 3D printed materials. This internship has made me even more certain of my goal to become a prop maker, with how much I enjoyed the design and production of the lightsaber, to how comfortable and happy I was with the post processing work.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Copeland
