OBSESS3D with 3D Printing

Fifteen thousand applied but only 70 were selected to compete on Season 11 of the entrepreneurial reality show, “The Blox.” Edmond engineer, Josh Brown, was one of them and is now applying the wisdom he gleaned from the process to his 3D printing company, OBSESS3D.

The business is the fruition of Josh’s long-held goal of making 3D printing his profession. As the creative spelling of the name suggests, when it comes to 3D printing, he’s obsessed. “I first learned of 3D printing when I was 14 and made it my life mission to start my own 3D printing company,” Josh said.

His first encounter was during Francis Tuttle’s Pre-Engineering Academy in 2004. “It was captivating and fascinating to me,” he said. “It seemed to just click and I was able to understand how it worked, and what it could potentially accomplish.”

The product of hard work and a dash of kismet, Josh’s childhood dream became a reality in 2022. “It’s not often that people know what they want to do for the rest of their life. It’s rare that a 14-year-old had such a concrete vision and followed it.”

Customers now count on Josh for custom 3D prints. “When I first started, I had ‘analysis paralysis’. I wasn’t sure what people would want, and I didn’t just want to mass produce knick-knacks,” Josh said. He soon found a niche replicating lost or broken parts that people need, but fail to find elsewhere.

“I think my engineering background has set me apart,” Josh explained, “because I’m able to work with people to reverse engineer something to solve their problems. For example, I printed a part that a mechanic needed for his 1972 Mercedes. It was about the size of a thumb, and was otherwise going to cost him thousands of dollars on eBay.”

But Josh’s vision is bigger than just business. His goal is to give back. “I want to translate
the existing curiosity and skills that kids have for video games like Minecraft into real-world skills,” he said. In support of this goal, Josh developed an original 3D printing curriculum, offers 3D classes as an adjunct teacher at Francis Tuttle, serves on their Engineering Advisory Committee and Foundation Board of Trustees, and offers in-home tutoring.

He’s a busy guy. But not too busy to also establish Gizmo of the Month Club. “This monthly subscription sends kids a monthly 3D-printed object, and with every subscription comes an entry to win a 3D printer of their own.”

Through education and giveaways, Josh hopes to increase interest in and access to 3D printing and engineering. He said, “When you raise the tide of knowledge, everybody wins.”

Visit obsess3d.com to explore the hobby. It just may become an obsession.