As the penultimate exercise in a leadership development program at Google, each of us had to record our professional story. This is a great exercise in storytelling generally, but more specifically it crystalises in your mind why exactly you are where you are. When I look at this video, it reminds me of two passions I have – how technology can augment real life, and how people come together to create technology.
Year: 2018 Page 1 of 2
Owning a classic car is a great experience, particularly when there’s a huge community to help you solve problems and find parts. Sometimes however there’s a part that just isn’t made anymore, and one of those is the Porsche 911 Sportomatic Brake Pad (Part#: 905-423-511-00). Not even Pelican Parts can help me, and on forums second hand ones are selling for anywhere from US$90-175. That’s a lot of money for what should be a <$20 piece of rubber.
My work happened to purchase a Form2 3D printer, which has the option of printing in a flexible resin. So I made a 3D model of the brake pedal using my very well worn one as a template and extrapolating what it would have looked like pre-wear, and printed it!
Here’s a side by side comparison of the two pads, once I had trimmed off the support lattice. You can see very clearly how badly worn my old pad was:
I was very happy with the look and feel. The edges were a little more square than the original no doubt was, and perhaps it wasn’t quite as flexible – but the grip level was great and it was more than flexible enough. After some minor trimming with a Stanley knife of the back edge, it fitted perfectly!
In total I calculate it cost around $12 of resin (~50mL), so it’s a significant saving. Now I just need to see how it wears over time.
This year I had the privilege of attending Luftgekuhlt 5 in Los Angeles. The timing worked out well, as it was on the weekend before I was meant to be in the US for a business trip. Perfect Californian sunshine and a brand new lumber yard welcomed everyone to this sold out event, with classic air-cooled Porsche’s lined up between rows of freshly cut timber. The lumber yard in itself made my Bunnings trips pale in comparison, and the sheer number (100+) and variety of cars was almost overwhelming. Walking away at the end, I left exhausted and with a renewed obsession with air-cooled green Porsches. It’s amazing how energised this very niche community is.
