Designer and fabricator · Exton, PA

Taylor
Freeman

From Blender model to finished, working part: surgical display models, printed electric guitars and servo-driven animatronics.

See the work Get in touch

Occiput to thoracic display modelGlobus Medical

Surgical display models50+ at Globus Medical, built from engineering drawings and CT data

35 printed guitarsCo-founder, Bubble Belly Bonsai. Played on tour by Hannah Geller

Animatronic eye systemPrinted mechanism, character head, ESP32 control

Flywheel blasterOriginal fully automatic foam-dart design, in prototype

Selected work

Six projects, model to finished object.

01Surgical display modelsGlobus Medical
02Guitars played on stageBubble Belly Bonsai
033D, animation and real-timeBlender · Unreal · Web AR
04Animatronic eye systemESP32 · servos
05Flywheel blasterOwn design · prototype
06Printed and paintedResin · finishing

Globus Medical · Associate Model Maker, 3D Printing · 2 years

Surgical display models

Clear-resin spinal models used by surgeons and sales representatives at Globus Medical to review implant constructs and surgical plans.

CT-derived models. Engineering converted CT data into raw meshes; I rebuilt them for print in Blender, remeshing, repairing geometry with booleans and resculpting anatomy while holding the clearances the print process required.

Implant integration. I imported engineering's CAD models of each screw, plate and rod, planned the anatomy around them, and cut seats about 2 mm oversize. After printing and clear coating, hardware was set with UV-cure resin, keeping the anatomy transparent.

Production. Print preparation and machine setup on Carbon DLS systems, then sanding, airbrush finishing and assembly. Turnaround was about one week per model; finalized files went into repeat production.

Role: Associate Model Maker, 3D Printing
Users: Surgeons, sales representatives
Inputs: Engineering drawings, CT data
Modeling: Blender: remesh, boolean, sculpt
Equipment: Carbon DLS; EOS and Stratasys experience
Turnaround: About one week per model
Builds: 50+

Lumbar and sacrum model with pedicle screws and two rods — **Lumbar to sacrum**Pedicle screws, rods

Occiput to thoracic model, posterior view with rods and cross-connectors — **Occiput to thoracic, posterior**Rods, connectors

Cervical spine model with two anterior plates — **Cervical, anterior**Two anterior plates

Two-level lumbar model with an anterior plate over an interbody spacer — **Lumbar, anterior plate**Plate over an interbody spacer

The same lumbar segment from an angle, spacer visible through the clear resin — **Lumbar, angled**Spacer visible through the resin

Full clear resin spine and pelvis model held up by hand — **Full spine and pelvis**Clear resin

Process improvement

UV resin was running onto visible faces during assembly, forcing rework. I sculpted relief channels at each bone-to-screw interface so syringed resin pools out of sight, cutting rework on finished models.

InputEngineering drawings or CT-derived mesh
ModelRebuild, remesh and sculpt in Blender
Hardware planningEngineering CAD imported, seats cut oversize
PrintCarbon DLS, in-house setup
Finish and assembleSand, clear coat, airbrush, set hardware in UV-cure resin

Bubble Belly Bonsai · Co-founder

Guitars played on stage

Bubble Belly Bonsai designs and sells 3D-printed electric guitars, kits and print files. I co-founded it with two partners, share design, production and assembly with co-founder John, and do the luthier setup on every guitar we ship. Three body designs: floral, spider web and Aztec.

Construction. Each body prints as seven pegged sections on Elegoo Centauri Carbon and Bambu P1S/P2S printers, in carbon-fiber PLA, CookieCad and Protopasta PLA. Assembled bodies hold up without warping, flex or cracking, and weigh noticeably less than a standard Stratocaster, so they stay comfortable through hours of playing.

Electronics. Built on the Guitar Fetish platform, with Kwikplug harnesses on premium kits. Every guitar gets an added kill switch and aux port; copper shielding cuts pickup buzz.

Distribution. Finished guitars, kits and 3MF print files with photo and luthier guides, builder support through Discord, and a booth at 3D Printopia.

Role: Co-founder: design, production, luthier setup
Built: 35 guitars
Designs: Floral, spider web, Aztec
Construction: Seven pegged printed sections
Materials: Carbon-fiber PLA, CookieCad, Protopasta
Players: Hannah Geller (on tour), Becca Melodies, Noa Bar, Sasuke Jones, Kordel
Shop: bubblebellybonsai.com

Black 3D-printed guitar with a web-pattern body and white pickguard — **Spider web, black**

Red 3D-printed guitar with a web-pattern body and roasted maple neck — **Spider web, red**

White 3D-printed guitar with a web-pattern body and yellow pickguard — **Spider web, white**

Product shootVideo

Hannah Geller playing the guitar we built for her, on stage — **Hannah Geller, on tour**

Pickguard with three pickups and controls, copper shielding behind the electronics — **Pickguard with copper shielding**Cuts pickup buzz

Guitar body split into print sections — **Body split into print sections**Pegged for assembly

Blender · Unreal Engine 5 · Web AR

3D, animation and real-time

Blender is my primary tool across modeling, sculpting, particle systems, texturing, lighting and animation, with real-time work in Unreal Engine 5.

Floral guitar. Built from our production guitar model: particle-system growth, texturing, camera layout and rendering, completed in one day for social release.

LEGO Rebuild the World, BRDG Studios. I animated this web AR experience, which launched publicly through QR codes across Philadelphia.

Brand identity. I designed the Bubble Belly Bonsai logo start to finish.

Blender: Modeling, sculpting, particles, texturing, animation
Real-time: Unreal Engine 5
Web AR: LEGO Rebuild the World, public launch
Training: BFA, 3D Modeling; Animation minor

ReelAnimation and 3D

Floral guitar, overgrownBlender · 1 day

LEGO Rebuild the WorldAnimation · BRDG

Shoreline sceneUnreal Engine 5

Bubble Belly Bonsai logoMy design

Independent build · Animatronics

Animatronic eye system

An animatronic eye mechanism and the character head built around it. I designed the moving parts for 3D printing and modeled the head around the mechanism, verifying range of motion before printing.

Control. An ESP32 reads an analog joystick and drives the eye servos. I programmed the axis mapping and the per-servo travel limits so each eye follows the stick across its full range.

Scope: Mechanism, printed parts, character head
Controller: ESP32
Input: Analog joystick
Actuation: Servos
Head: 3D-printed, fur covered

The eyes in the character headVideo

Joystick module wired to the eye servos — **Joystick to servos**

Engineering problems

Getting the eyes to track the stick.

Range of motionVerified before printing
Axis mappingEach stick axis assigned to the correct motion
Travel limitsEndpoints set per servo

Independent build · Prototype

Flywheel blaster prototype

Kit and print-kit builds gave me the groundwork in microcontroller wiring and printed parts that survive repeated firing. The prototype is my own design: a fully automatic foam-dart blaster on a dual-flywheel drive.

Tolerances. The critical dimensions are the dart path into the flywheels and the gap between the two wheels. I dialed both in through iterative test prints.

Design: Original, fully automatic foam-dart blaster
Drive: Dual flywheel
Key tolerances: Pre-flywheel clearance, wheel gap
Status: Prototype
Prior builds: Blaster kits, print kits

Prototype, firingVideo

Pink and white kit-built blaster with clear magazine — **Kit build**Clear magazine

A table of printed blasters, magazines and darts — **Kit builds on the bench**

Green and white kit blaster I printed and built, with filigree detailing and a toothed trigger guard — **Kit build**Green and white, printed and assembled

Resin printing · Finishing

Printed and painted

Elden Ring mausoleum. Printed on a Carbon resin system, sanded, and finished with an automotive airbrush setup, the same process used on the Globus models. Shown beside the raw parts on the build plate, supports attached.

Commission. Frog game pieces for a lily pad Chinese checkers board.

Two printed and painted Elden Ring mausoleum models — **Elden Ring mausoleum**Carbon resin, automotive airbrush

Two gothic tower prints hanging from a resin printer build plate, supports still attached — **On the build plate**Supports still on

Clear resin bird print held on a dowel — **Clear resin print**

Lily pad Chinese checkers board with my frog pieces in six colors — **Frog pieces, commissioned**Lily pad Chinese checkers

The lily pad board in play — **The frogs in play**

About

What I bring to a shop.

I cover the whole path from design to working object. I model and sculpt in Blender, prepare and run the prints, finish them by hand, and wire and program what moves. Nothing has to change hands between design, fabrication and electronics.

That range made me the link between CT data and the printer at Globus, and it is how I take an animatronic or a prototype from first model to a working build.

3D design

Blender (expert): sculpting, remeshing, booleans, particles, animation. Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Unreal Engine 5, photogrammetry

Printing

Carbon resin, EOS and Stratasys, SLM metal and titanium, Bambu P1S and P2S, Elegoo Centauri Carbon, print setup and slicing

Electronics

Soldering, guitar wiring, kill switches, copper shielding, ESP32 and Arduino, servos, flywheel drives, diagnosis and repair

Finishing and assembly

Sanding, clear coating, automotive airbrush, UV resin hardware seating, luthier work, mechanisms

2 yearsAssociate Model Maker, 3D PrintingGlobus Medical · Audubon, PA
OngoingCo-founderBubble Belly Bonsai · Infill Industries LLC
OngoingIndependent buildsAnimatronic eyes, flywheel blaster prototype, commissions
Contract3D ArtistBRDG Studios · LEGO web AR animation
Contract3D Artist and Level DesignerThrone Media
2022BFA, 3D ModelingPennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts · Animation minor