Renee Eaton

Renee Eaton is owner and CEO of RapidMade, a 3-D printing, engineering and manufacturing firm. She has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing operations and university teaching. Renee previously worked for almost two decades at Nabisco where she held various management roles, leading significant changes in the business. During this time, she earned her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. After working in industry, Renee taught at the University of Portland's Pamplin Business School for eight years before launching RapidMade.

Articles by Renee Eaton

• Applying 3-D and 2-D printing technology to create unique solutions

  Thursday, June 29, 2017

  The cost advantages and creative applications of thermoforming — or vacuum forming as it is also known — are accelerating its use in multiple industries, including manufacturing and medicine. Recently, ​a case study found that thermoforming customized medical trays for procedures cut prep and operation times by 59 percent and lowered expenses. Having these customized trays better organizes procedures and improves medical staff utilization.

• Faster nylon parts: A new age for 3-D printing

  Wednesday, June 14, 2017

  ​Getting parts on demand has been a manufacturer's dream for many years. Since 2005, ​there have been cries from the 3-D printing industry that additive technology would replace the need for injection mold tooling, that it would eliminate the need for machining, that casting would become obsolete. Finally, that dream is becoming a reality.

• How does industrial design work?

  Wednesday, April 12, 2017

  The popularity of industrial design (also known as product design) has accelerated due, in part, to a new wave of designers and advances in technology, materials, processes and capabilities that have dramatically improved the design options available to clients. Working closely with engineers, industrial designers are trained on function, aesthetics, ergonomics, anthropometrics and manufacturing processes to provide clients with the best "working" concepts from sketches, to renderings, to CAD models that create their final products.

• Going low tech: When 3-D scanning just won’t work

  Thursday, March 23, 2017

  When designing a product or part, many people take inspiration from what's around them and end up looking to have an object 3-D scanned in order to modify or reproduce it. In 3-D scanning, the term "reverse engineering" has a specific meaning: converting the messy point cloud or polygonal data into a file better suited for engineering CAD software (e.g., STEP, IGES or native SolidWorks files).

• The deadliest cast: Creating a batch of rubber crabs

  Tuesday, February 28, 2017

  On the Discovery Channel's hit show, "Deadliest Catch," Derrick Ray is a captain for one of Alaska's most successful and beloved crab fishing ships, the Aleutian Ballad. During the offseason for crabbing each summer, Ray and his crew take customers on the high seas to simulate the experience — at least without the rough weather, long hours and extreme danger. A staple of the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour is that the customers get to see the massive 10-pound crabs up close.

• When rapid injection molding is better than 3‑D printing

  Wednesday, February 01, 2017

  3-D printing — or rapid prototyping as it is also called — is a fast and cost-effective solution for testing and perfecting digital designs in the real world. Due to their ability to fabricate parts overnight without any direct labor, programming or tooling, 3-D printing technologies carry many advantages over traditional technologies like injection molding for short turns and small-batch production.

• FDA examining regulations for 3‑D printed medical devices

  Monday, October 27, 2014

  The official purpose of a recent FDA-sponsored workshop was "to provide a forum for FDA, medical device manufacturers, additive manufacturing companies and academia to discuss technical challenges and solutions of 3-D printing." The FDA wants "input to help it determine technical assessments that should be considered for additively manufactured devices to provide a transparent evaluation process for future submissions."

• How 3-D printing improves surgical outcomes

  Monday, September 15, 2014

  Last month, an acquaintance underwent what was expected to be a routine ablation procedure — nearly 10 hours later, the surgery finally finished. Despite CT scans, X-rays and EKGs, the surgeons encountered "structural issues" that complicated the operation. If they'd had a 3-D print of his heart, they might have anticipated and planned contingencies based on what they saw.

• 3-D printing and additive manufacturing glossary

  Monday, August 18, 2014

  The terms 3-D printing and additive manufacturing are generally used interchangeably. They refer to a group of new technologies and processes that allow parts, models and (in some cases) assemblies to be built directly from computer-aided design (CAD) or building information modeling (BIM) data.

• Trade shows making use of 3-D printing for models

  Monday, July 07, 2014

  Exhibiting at trade shows can be quite rewarding for companies. Unfortunately, it can also be quite expensive and stressful. Transporting and staging large equipment can consume a significant portion of a company's marketing budget, especially when international shipping is involved.

• 3-D printing is revolutionizing construction and design fields

  Monday, June 09, 2014

  Most people have heard the stories about 3-D-printed gun and body parts. Now, additive manufacturing is revolutionizing the interior design, architectural and construction fields because it overcomes many of the limitations traditional practices have faced.