Sherpa Intern, Aiden Rodriquez

Aiden Rodriquez began his internship this January, joining the Carbon Additive Manufacturing Department, and spending time with one of our Engineering Product Design Teams. He is studying Product Design at University of Oregon in Eugene, which requires 360 internship hours to graduate.

“I was impressed by the level of expertise and equipment available, it may be a small business, but they are working with some of the biggest companies in the world. Everyone has been so helpful and supportive, and I have learned so much about product design and additive manufacturing,” says Aiden.

During the internship, he has taken Carbon Academy courses and learned all about the Carbon 3D Printers and DLS process for additive manufacturing. This is a truly hands on internship and he has helped the department with everything from installing inserts on printed parts to washing and final assembly.

“Aiden has been a massive help to the 3DP team, and we are look forward to seeing the great things he will do in the future,” Says Connor Shimamoto, Additive Manufacturing Application Specialist

Aiden’s college course work required a product development project for which he was able to utilize the Carbon 3D Printing technology and the expertise at Sherpa for help.

School Project - Ski Outrigger for Adaptive Athletes

His school project this quarter was to work with adaptive athletes to develop innovative sporting gear. He chose to focus on adaptive skiing. Adaptive skiing refers to various skiing techniques and equipment designed to accommodate individuals with physical disabilities, enabling them to participate in the sport.

One of the pain points for adaptive athletes in skiing is that the outrigger (ski pole) is too short and lacks padding. This leaves them exposed to injuries during a fall and makes it hard to get back onto the Monoski after a fall without needing assistance. Aiden felt he could design a ski pole that would provide protection for the wearer’s arms utilizing padding from Carbon printed parts, and be lengthened to improve leverage to get themselves back up on the ski chair without anyone’s help.  He was able to develop a ski pole prototype, using Carbon printed parts for added protection.

Learn all about the project here as he presents the work in this video.