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Producer of the Week: jbrenner

Posted by sdesapio 9 years, 10 months ago to Featured Producers
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Jbrenner shares some high-tech passion projects as well as how he can relate to many of the characters in Atlas Shrugged.

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QUICK FACTS

*Favorite Ayn Rand book:
Atlas Shrugged. I have more comparisons to what has transpired since the middle of 2008 when I first read the book than I can count. I identify with many of the characters. Like Rearden, I am a materials engineer. I could show Reardon and d’Anconia a few things about how to purify metals. I have been on many sides of the energy equation and thus can relate to several characters like Galt, Danagger, and Wyatt. I have a bit of a personality disorder in that I enjoy keeping things running despite all sorts of setbacks like Dagny. When I was younger, I had a few Wet Nurse moments. I worked in a government lab for a while before reading AS and could see the temptation for a Robert Stadler.

*Favorite Ayn Rand character:
Francisco d’Anconia, especially for the money speech. Francisco was gifted at illustrating the hypocrisy of those around him.

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Q & A

*When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
I read “We the Living” while in high school because I had to do so. I wrote an essay showing the absurdity of Communism as exemplified by the book, only to find out that my teacher was a Communist. She gave me a C on the essay to give me a B for the course and cost me being valedictorian.

*How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
Later in this thread, you will read about a company I helped start in which one of my partners invented something akin to Mr. Fusion from the Back to the Future movies. I was one of the last in our small business to read “Atlas Shrugged” in 2008. When Barack Obama got elected and it was obvious that he was favoring solar instead of the biofuels we were selling, we sold our company and shrugged. I don’t think I would have shrugged had I not just read “Atlas Shrugged”.

*What passion projects are you working on right now?
Prof. Kurt Winkelmann and I are co-authoring the first lab manual on a nanotechnology laboratory that encompasses both synthesis and characterization.

My current research projects involve 3D printing of poly(lactic acid) fibers as inexpensive tissue scaffolding. In several years I plan to make tissue engineering affordable by embedding growth and differentiation factors into such fibers, thereby allowing one of my colleagues at Florida Tech to morph induced pluripotent stem cells grown on the poly(lactic acid) fibers into fully developed, ready-to-implant tissue. This will make some money, but the next project is the one for which I will make a mint.

Just today I bought a 40 watt engraving laser from which I will build a 3D printer of metals and ceramics via laser sintering. Right now 3D printing of metals and ceramics AND 3D bioprinting equipment is overpriced to the point where that industry is similar to the computer business in about 1982. In the last couple of years many people have developed 3D printers for home use, but the laser power required to do 3D printing of metals and ceramics will greatly limit the number of companies that want to compete with me. Fortunately I have a student working for me who could be the next John Galt.

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ON THE WEB

I need to update my web site quite a bit, but it's: http://my.fit.edu/~jbrenner
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/1ocHjmV
Gulch Profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/jbrenner...

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K’s Q & A

*What are you wearing to the Atlas Shrugged III premiere?
I just bought an Atlas Shrugged: Now, Non-Fiction T-shirt (http://store.atlasshruggedmovie.com/offi...).

*What is the one phrase Ayn Rand wrote that stopped you in your tracks?
I would not take it upon my conscience that anything produced by my mind should be used to bring them comfort. - Quentin Daniels

*If you could be the tycoon of an industry, which industry would you pick?
I want to dominate the business of 3D printing of metals and ceramics by making such rapid prototyping printers in the $2000-5000 range instead of in the $200,000-$1,000,000 range.

*What do you pack in a sack lunch?
I don't pack a sack lunch. I either go to my university's dining hall or out to eat.

*Favorite current song?
We Are the Champions is my favorite song because I have no time for losers.
As I write this, my wife is listening to Fool on a Hill by The Beatles. That is a perfect description for people who have blanked out. Taxman by The Beatles describes how I feel about government. When I was in high school, I was the lead singer for a 60's-70's-early 80's rock and roll band, but I couldn't turn it into a day job. I have a fairly broad range of music that I like, but I do not like anything since about 1987.

*Pretzels or chips?
Chips

*Crab or shrimp?
Shrimp

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Read how you can be featured in Galt’s Gulch as a Producer of the Week: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/51...


All Comments

  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The Gulch is my vacation, and don't expect me to spend nearly this much time during the school year.
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  • Posted by eddieh 9 years, 9 months ago
    Congrarts Well deserved. We're in the company of genius. It's amazing how you can find time for the gulch with such a full plate, but we are very grateful.
    eddeih
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The common problems with 3D printers are a) filament gripping/feeding, b) extruder head temperature, c) storing the polymer feedstock in too humid an environment, and d) accelerated cyclic fatigue if the lead screws are not aligned perfectly to begin with.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 9 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Thanks $5Au. Two years ago 3D printers were quite unreliable and, to some extent, they still are. If interested, a friend of mine just made the first inexpensive 3D printer that uses lead screws only (i.e. no belts). My daughter and I were beta testers.

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  • Posted by fivedollargold 9 years, 9 months ago
    A couple of years ago, $5Au saw a 3D printer demonstrated and wasn't impressed until discovering that many different materials could be used. With that epiphany $5Au has been buying common stock of these and related companies. Congrats on your recognition in the Gulch and good luck with your research.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    ObjectiveAnalyst, the metals printer I will make will have a smaller print space even than that, at least at first. The biggest printing envelope I deal with in one of GBotz's other printers is about 16x16x32.
    30x30x45 is going to be for professional use only, but for models, which is what 3D printing is mostly for, you can do a scale model rather easily. These printers really aren't meant to be production units.
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  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The travel/printing envelope for the Gbotz - G200P 3D Printer is X,Y,Z, 8in.x8in.x8in. You will need to do much better to put me out of business. :) I produce dies that small, but most are larger and I can and do produce ones that measure as much as 30x30x45. Occasionally I produce them even larger but must make extra setups and they are rare.
    I feel better already. LOL
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  • Posted by ObjectiveAnalyst 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If my calculations are correct that converts to about a 47 RMS. Not bad. A mold cavity can be benched/polished and finished from that.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Cartilage regeneration is one of the easier problems in tissue engineering because cartilage cells can survive outside their native environments for longer. Shoot me an e-mail at jbrenner@fit.edu, and I'll see if I can put you in touch with someone who specializes in that. I have some ideas, but that's not really my area of expertise.
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  • Posted by teri-amborn 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Torn miniscus (x2).
    I'm hoping for cartilage regeneration technology.
    Glucosamine goes so far but arthritis runs in the family.
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Frankly, knees are better replaced than regenerated, in terms of cost and complexity. What's your medical problem precisely?
    Reply | Permalink  
  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    well, sir, I'm on permanent vacation (Thanks,
    Aerosmith '87!) and will endeavor to seek out
    opportunities to improve yours!!! -- j

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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The surface finish of current printers is about 1 micrometer, and I am expecting that ours will be comparable to that.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The current printers are in the $500-700 K range. My goal is to get 3D metal printers under $10 K.
    Reply | Permalink  

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