It was back to work today. I dropped Jeanine off at the airport, returned our rental car and a few hours later picked up a new rental car and my arriving MarkForged colleagues. Our business meeting lasted from 11am to 5pm but with sunset not until 8:30pm we had time to do some sightseeing. We visited Mount Rushmore by way of the Needles Scenic Highway. Even though this was a repeat for me, I was happy to see these sights again. For dinner, I ordered an Indian Taco, something Jeanine had read about and wanted to try.

After much driving yesterday, our focus today turned to hiking. We started with the base trail around Devil’s Tower which we enjoyed immensely. It is a place of great spiritual significance to Native Americans and home to many birds which fill the air with song. The Vore Buffalo Jump is an archeological site in Crook County, Wyoming and our next destination. A sinkhole, formed where gypsum soil was eroded, leaving a steep-sided pit about 40 feet deep and 200 feet in diameter. Native American hunters would stampede bison into the pit, which was deep enough to kill or disable them. Used between 1500 AD to about 1800 AD, archeological investigation estimates place the number of buffalo remains at 20,000.

After a delightful lunch in Spearfish we explored the canyon of the same name. There we visited Bridal Falls, Spearfish Falls, Roughlock Falls, and made an extended hike to a local swimming hole featuring a natural rock slide. The hike is up a very narrow canyon and it is necessary to cross the stream within it dozens of times. After our first few attempts at dry crossings we decided it would be easier if we just walked through the water with our shoes on. Jeanine is pictured below traversing a tricky section of the “trail” by clinging to the canyon wall and sidestepping along a narrow ledge.

By evening we had returned to Rapid City, exploring the old downtown and enjoyed dinner at a restaurant on the Main Street Square where hundreds were gathered for “Movies Under the Stars” night. The free film featured this evening was The Boxtrolls.

We were up with the sun (5:30AM) this morning for the start of an ambitious travel day. Our first destination was Custer State Park where we were lucky to spot pronghorn antelope, wild burros and had to share the road with a herd of bison. My craving for pancakes was more than satisfied at the Blue Bell Lodge which we happened upon just as hunger was surpassing my interest in photography (not something that happens often). After breakfast we followed the Needles Scenic Highway through the “Eye of the Needle,” a very narrow tunnel carved through one of the granite spires (the so-called needles).

Surrounded by magnificent rock formations, Sylvan Lake was our next stop as we made our way to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This massive mountain carving, is a tribute to all Native Americans and will dwarf Mount Rushmore in scale when it is completed. At this time only the head of Crazy Horse has been completed and that took more than half a century. Pictured below is a scale model of the sculpture with progress on the actual mountain shown in the background.

Our final destination in South Dakota for the day was the Wind Cave National Park where we took a 90 minute tour of the most complex cave in the world which includes some 140 miles of explored passage ways. Each year an average of 4 miles is added to this total, the result of ongoing exploration. The cave is notable for its displays of the calcite formation known as boxwork. Approximately 95 percent of the world’s discovered boxwork formations are found in Wind Cave.

Fortified by pancakes, I was determined to make it to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming in time for golden light. The effort was worth it and I could not be more pleased with the images I made there.

Jeanine and I arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota in the wee hours of the morning sans our checked baggage thanks to major thunderstorms over the Denver airport which forced all ground personnel at the airport to take cover. Adding insult to injury was a mix up at the hotel which placed us in a smoking room. With the new day, however, came the opportunity to explore the Black Hills. Our first stop was Mount Rushmore, a must see destination for anyone visiting the area. We returned to the airport to collect our recovered bags and then headed east towards Badlands National Park. On the way we paused for lunch at Wall Drug, famous for their marketing efforts to lure travelers from all over the world to their now greatly expanded enterprise. After our meal Jeanine corralled a giant Jackalope for a quick ride.

We entered the Badlands from the northeast entrance and drove west to the other side where we camped at Sage Creek. The ubiquitous prairie dog was a constant source of entertainment.

Today’s photos are courtesy of Maya who took her camera with her while tandem paragliding in France. This is something I have never done and from her description it is certainly an activity I will be adding to my bucket list.

Jeanine returned from a three-day writer’s retreat with her sister Susan this evening. The siblings enjoyed peace and quiet and the beauty of Sebasco Bay, Maine where they worked on their respective writing projects. I venture to say that the writing in this blog would benefit from such surroundings. On that note, Jeanine and I have decided to get away for the weekend and are off to South Dakota where I have business next week. We plan to do some camping while visiting the state’s national parks. Probably will not post again until next Thursday.

Driving in Cambridge and Somerville is a real challenge. You must constantly be aware of pedestrians with little regard for street crossing etiquette, potholes large enough to swallow small mopeds, and cyclist who think that traffic laws do not apply to them. I consider it a good commute when I only collide with one of the three. Occasionally one encounters bikes that stand out from the rest and although this one was resting at the time, I particularly liked the selective use of yellow paint to enhance curb appeal.

I enjoy the fact that I am frequently called upon at MarkForged to make photographs for work purposes. My effort today was not up to my standards, however. This particular part was wet so I had to get the shot quickly before it saturated the paper background on which it was lying. Because the part was so dark, I missed the fact that I did not get the full depth of field focus until I looked at it on my large monitor at home. Although my artistic skills have a long way to go, I generally feel like my technical skills are right up there. Very humbling when you fail to get a simple shot like this right. The fact that it is a very dark image was intentional and thankfully that masks the focus error.

I encountered this fountain during a lunchtime stroll. I decided it best to wait till the flock of children playing in it took a break, even though it would have been a better photograph with them frolicking in the water. Parents these days, perhaps understandably, can become very concerned when someone photographs their children in a park. Sad it has come to this, but I have learned to be thoughtful of those concerns.

Nicolai turns 21 next Wednesday. This afternoon we had a small advanced celebration with his girlfriend Karuna and her parents at the Beehive in Boston’s South End. The Beehive is a cool little bistro cum jazz club buzzing with daily live entertainment. Featuring both an outdoor patio and a bi-level cabaret stage, it is equal parts theater and speakeasy. The food and music were outstanding but the highlight of our brunch was the opportunity to meet and get to know Karuna’s parents who are positively delightful. It is easy to see where she gets her great intellect, charm and beauty.

For the last twelve years, our family has attended the Metzold’s Fourth of July party. Tom Metzold was my high school wrestling partner and we have remained great friends ever since. After 15 years, however, Karen announced that this would be the last one. Tom seemed less committed to that decision and I for one will show up next year regardless. As usual, the food was fantastic and the company entertaining (I ran into the referee from my match last week and was shocked to learn he had 9 children). Also true to form, Jeanine’s desert was the first to disappear, this year a No-bake Strawberry Ice-Box Cake.

Last night for the first time in a very long time I stayed up all night. I had an idea for a new printer head design and once I started the 3D model for it I could not stop. Finally, at 7 am I went to bed. I was up again at 10 am and spent most of the day continuing with the work. I paused only for food and a nap and finally took a break to watch some tennis with Nicolai who is still taking it easy after having his wisdom teeth extracted earlier this week. The photo is of the Sudbury River which I took last night shortly after sunset on my return commute.

Thus far in my career, I have had minimal exposure to material science. At MarkForged we are into this in a big way. Every day the team is cooking up and testing new materials to improve the strength and utility of the parts we print. Pictured here are some of the guys, including founder and CEO, Greg Mark (on the left), after a successful experiment with an exciting new material.

Maya left today for a three week vacation in the French Alps near the border with Italy. There, she and her best friends Sarinnagh and Emma, will spend time with Emma’s  family helping to restore an old French chalet. They took advantage of a brief layover in Dublin for a quick tour of the city before heading on to Barcelona to visit family.

Motivated by the failure of my plywood prototype bike rack carrier bracket yesterday, I completed a design for a bracket that I hope to print at work when time permits. It looks nothing like my prototype because I wanted a design that would not require a left and right version and also one that would accommodate a wide range of bicycle handlebar grips. Only time will tell if the new design fares better than the wood model.

Very pleased with the bike carrier I created for my car, I decided to take my bike into work with me today for a noon ride. Less than 2 minutes into my commute, one of the two handlebar grip brackets failed catastrophically. The plywood I used to build the holders delaminated along a plane containing a wood knot. Fortunately, I had the foresight to add a safety strap to my design which prevented my bike from spilling into traffic. It was my plan all along to replace the rather crude looking prototype wood blocks with an elegant 3D printed part from a MarkForged printer. Looks like I will need to do that sooner rather than later paying particular attention to part strength which is clearly going to be an issue.

Today’s post takes the form of a short article I submitted to the Concord Journal.

In a dramatic come from behind win, the Concord United Over 50 Men’s Soccer Team won the New England Over The Hill Soccer League (NEOTHSL) Division 1 Championship in a penalty kick shoot out this past Sunday in Taunton. Concord trailed the Stoneham Spartans, last year’s champions, by one goal at the half. Minutes into the second half the Spartans scored again making the score 2-0. The Concord men remained composed and earned a goal late in the second half. With 30 seconds remaining in the match, Concord pushed everyone forward on a final corner kick including goalie, Rob Morrison, who scored the equalizer, forcing a penalty kick shoot out. Morrison went on to save three sudden death penalty kicks before his teammates won the shoot out 5-4 in the ninth round.

I started at left wing (midfield) and had a strong first half, playing with the intensity you would expect in a championship match. I did not play as well in the second half and was thankful I was not on the field for the penalty kick phase. A smart man of my age would graduate to the Over 56 division in the fall. I am not that smart. My last D1 championship was in 2008 as a member of the Concord United Over 40 team and I would like to win another before moving up another age group.

I have owned my BMW i3 for more than half a year now.  I love everything about it except two things; the coach-style rear doors and the fact that there is no decent way to transport a bicycle (no factory roof rack or tow hitch available.) As of today, I only hate the rear doors. Based on a product I saw on the internet, I fabricated a vacuum cup mounted carrier which looks like it is going to work perfectly.

Two weeks ago I had never done any engineering work in 3D. Last week I designed my first part using a 3D CAD program called Onshape after a couple of hours with their excellent tutorials. Today my boss sent an e-mail asking if we could figure out a way to help customers align our printing plate during installation. Five minutes later I had an idea for how this could be done. In less than an hour, I had an alignment guide designed in CAD (most of that time spent taking measurements and entering dimensions). An hour and 18 minutes after that, I had a physical part in hand ready for testing on the printer that made it (it is the white colored component in the photo below, taped in place). It is hard to describe the creative empowerment that comes with the ability to make prototypes so quickly. The time from concept to component has never been shorter and if I knew it before intuitively, I know it now concretely, that 3D printing is going to change everything.

Incidentally, the design worked perfectly and the part won second place in our regular Part of the Week show and tell, held each Friday afternoon over beers. On my drive home, I thought of a good way to attach the guide to the plate and will refine my design this evening.

This evening was my last soccer practice of the season. We play for the Division 1 Championship on Sunday and then we are off until the fall season begins in September. During competition I wear contact lenses but for practices I generally wear my glasses. While up for a header, a rather nice one at that, my glasses did not fare so well when I played a well struck ball off the side of my head. Play was suspended while the entire team combed the field looking for the detached temple which flew quite a distance from the crash site. Fortunately, I have a back up set of glasses and the damage looks like it can be repaired.

Note for my mother in anticipation of her next email:  No head damage was sustained by your son.

One of the things I appreciate most about living in Concord is the amount of open green space. Mattison Field is located just down the street from our house. It was particularly beautiful this evening as I passed it on the way home from work. For the first time in the 12 years we have lived here, the farmer who cares for the town-owned land has planted wheat, probably as a matter of good crop rotation.

While the commute to Somerville is a major pain, the neighborhood where I work is a very interesting place. The variety and number of places to eat are staggering. Jeanine quizzes me nightly on where I had lunch and what I had to eat. Everything is within walking distance of our facility and you never know what you are going to see along the way. MarkForged is growing very rapidly and we will soon be out of space. This afternoon I met with our commercial realtor to review options for a new building. We will probably move in November which gives me several more months to explore Somerville.

I have photographed many spider webs over the years. I am usually attracted by the beauty of their symmetry. This morning I discovered one which was remarkable for its lack thereof, but a natural work of art nonetheless. At work, the windshield wiper motor bracket from my BMW i3 partially pictured below was used as the model for a 3D print we will make to illustrate potential high volume automotive applications for our technology. One of our talented interns was working on a CAD model when I left work and I expect to see an actual printed part tomorrow morning.

Despite torrential rains this morning, my soccer team played against Napoli in the D1 Championship semi-final match. The game was scoreless until the very end of the first half when we made a very pretty goal which shifted the momentum for the rest of the match. We went on to win 5-0 against a team that scored 32 goals in their ten game regular season. We will face Stoneham in the finals next weekend for all the marbles. Jeanine and Nicolai joined me for “apres” at the home of Rob Morrison, our goalie. Nico’s soccer exploits are well known to my team and it is always fun to watch him interacting with them. In celebration of Father’s day, we picked up Maya from the library where she was studying for finals and went to see Inside Out, Pixar’s touching new animated film (highly recommended). We conferenced Kyle in on the car’s speakerphone while en route to the theater completing our family circle. The movie was a perfect choice for Father’s Day (see it and you will know why) as was the decision to head into Harvard Square for dinner at Felipe’s, one of Nico’s favorite restaurants.

Based on an earlier post I made regarding Janet Echelman’s aerial sculpture over the Rose Kennedy Greenway, my mother, a talented sculptor and painter in her own right, was interested in seeing the installation. When we visited this morning I did not have with me the circular polarizing filter which I used the first time to make the artwork stand out from the background. It was a very nice outing and gave my mom and I chance to catch up on the ride in and back.

I spent the balance of the day teaching myself a new 3D CAD program which I hope to make use of at work. My first part is nothing to write home about but a step in the right direction.

It is hard to believe that our little girl is now 16 years old. She is growing up to be a remarkable young woman but I am having difficulty watching as our last baby gets one year closer to leaving the nest. If ever there was a sweet sixteen year old, we can lay claim to her. She is also a very hard working and exceptional student. When it came time to select a gift for Maya, I knew in an instant what it would be (even if a busy work week forced me to acquire it at the last minute). I suspect that few other fathers would select such a present for their 16 year old daughter but then they do not have Maya. She received a toolbox (barely visible in the photo) containing a full set of high quality tools. When I left work “early” (6PM) to attend a family dinner birthday celebration at Besito in Burlington, I mentioned to my new boss that I would be giving Maya a toolbox, explaining that she had the makings of a talented engineer. He then remembered that Maya had built her own kayak and asked is she could CAD (i.e. design 3D objects on a computer). When I said yes, he said we should bring her in as a summer intern, a recommendation I intend to pursue. Maya learned to use SolidWorks in one of her high school engineering courses and now she will have a chance to put those skills to work.

My mother arrived today in advance of Maya’s 16th birthday and was immediately put to work altering a dress for the birthday girl. In engineering terms, I believe what we are seeing here is the use of a granite reference plane for validation of uniform hem length.  My mom is looking great and still has the energy of a woman half her age.

Now my third day on the job, I am still drinking from a fire hose. In addition to my responsibilities as head of engineering, I have also been asked to run operations and customer service. Our 3D printer, the Mark One, has been selling very well creating a challenge to keep up with demand for the consumables they use.

sNicolai has been back from Colorado College for a couple of weeks now but I have hardly seen him. Between my trip to Iceland and his camping, kayaking, and music festival excursions we have had little time together. This evening Nico was here with Karuna and a bunch of their friends to watch the Women’s World Cup match between the US and Nigeria. Jeanine and I joined the group as did Maya who for reasons unknown seemed quite intent on pulling the ears off of Nala.

Jeanine received nice coverage in the Concord Journal last week for her keynote presentation at the Class Act Awards ceremony. We are all very proud of her volunteer work for the community and it is nice to see that recognized in the local media.

I left the house at 7 am and returned by 9 pm for my first day on the job at MarkForged. I can tell already tell this is going to be a very fun ride.

Today was the last regulation soccer game of the spring season for my team. We had to leave Concord at 6 am to make an 8 am kick-off in Fairhaven, MA. We came away with a 7-3 win which secured our position as Regional Division 1 champions. The top two teams in each of the north and south regions will now compete for overall honors in a single elimination playoff tournament starting with the semi-finals next weekend. I missed last week’s game while traveling in Iceland. Apparently, the referee suspended play late in the second half when the game got out of control. Pictured here is the aftermath of an injury sustained by one of my teammates. Believe it or not, this was not the worst injury on our team. Three of our guys were banged up by the same opponent who was eventually red-carded and ejected from the game.