A note from Tim Thellin ...
Building Custom Designs with FDM

Tim Thellin RedEye

The Hot Jalapenos is the name that dubbed the Stratasys/RedEye band. Many of us here have a passion for music and we play a few tunes now and then at company events, such as holiday parties and picnics. A few years ago, we decided that it was time to marry our passions - our work and our hobby - using FDM technology.

It started out as a gimmick to build something really different that would stand out for use at tradeshows. So, we made our first two telecaster style guitars out of PC-ISO and ABSi red materials. The sleek, translucent look of the PC-ISO only added to its rigidness and durability. Then, we chose ABSi red to build something in a different color that we could send to Stratasys' European sales office for use as samples and at their tradeshows. We quickly learned how easy it was to create custom designs with intricate geometries using the FDM technology.

We couldn't stop with single color projects, so we worked on a truly custom design and build a double S-shaped guitar for Stratasys using ABS black and blue. We further enhanced the complexity using PolyJet Clear and Vero White for the knobs.

Then, RedEye was born (P.S. Happy Birthday RedEye - two years young Oct. 2007) and we wanted to continue the tradition of building custom guitars. Most guitars are made of wood and are manufactured using traditional processes. I thought it was time that we built a guitar where only FDM technology could truly handle the intricate geometries.

Having access to a technology as intuitive as FDM, makes it easy to create custom widgets and gizmos. In fact, many of us have designed replacement parts for home appliances, custom parts for motorcycles, even toys for our kids. With a little imagination and a CAD program, we can help you build your passion too.

Learn more about this process, see the video of the guitar and learn how you can build your custom designs.