TyRex Interns Make a Lasting Impression with Product Patents
At TyRex, we believe that anyone is just one good idea away from entrepreneurship and that all they require are iterative tools to turn a thought into a successful product. This year’s group of student interns reminded us of this belief as they completed a new TyRex program that combines AI, 3D printing and CAD design to create new products with real-world impact.
The Summer season is a highly anticipated time of year for the TyRex Family as it looks forward to meeting a new class of bright and highly motivated student interns from the City of Austin, local NPOs and nearby student groups. This year TyRex welcomed 20 paid student interns interested in product design and engineering. The students were tasked with one goal – prototype and develop real-world products.
To accomplish this goal, the interns were introduced and trained to use our AI software and 3D printing machines. From there, the students got creative and showed off their CAD design skills to iterate prototypes, which were handed off to our internal design teams for finishing touches. Working with our engineering department, the interns learned about design for manufacturability (DFM) principles that enhanced their prototype design and 3D printing effectiveness, encouraging them to consider their part’s end-use environment.
What exactly were these student interns working on? Data center products like fiber cassettes, loopbacks and adapter plates, circuit board mounts and stress test fixtures, antenna enclosures for reconnaissance robots and lightweight signal booster frames for racing drones, to name a few!
In addition to gaining real-world experience, this year’s interns had the opportunity to be included on a provisional patent. So far, we are proud to announce that we have filed our first official U.S. patent on a new product designed by one of our interns and included their name on the patent.
When asked about his experience, Ladders for Leaders intern Pranav commented, “It was really cool, hands-on and creative, and helped me prepare for my future career. I learned a lot! Not just how to 3D print, but also about the industry and what it’s like to work in the manufacturing environment. “3D printing allows you to design new things to help solve problems,” added Pranav. Full time intern Daniel Roepke shared his experience on social media; “I worked on 8 engineering projects, taking concepts from initial research documents, through CAD development, prototyping, testing, and functional validation. This includes working with professional design engineers, and discussing design revisions that could improve my work.” Daniel added “This experience gave me a much deeper understanding of mechanical design, additive manufacturing, and the iterative engineering process. This experience also strengthened my project management and leadership skills while reinforcing the importance of clear, consistent communication.”
As our interns wrap up their final projects, we’d like to wish them the best in their upcoming year of studies. We’d also like to thank them, along with all our TyRex staff, for the amazing work they have done throughout the summer!
