About the Author
Christopher Maddalena
Christopher is a husband, father, uncle, and maker based in the Pacific Northwest. He grew up in the Midwest building tree forts and Pinewood Derby cars-anything he could construct from scrap wood with a hammer, Swiss Army Knife, and a power drill. When he wasn't trying to make a sword out of boards from an old pallet, he enjoyed biking and hiking the woods and beaches and Michigan
.Today, Christopher is a cybersecurity consultant specialized in offensive security and tool development. He is a combination of an open-source software engineer, educator, consultant, and hacker. His profession has brought him in contact with many like-minded hackers and engineers over the years, furthering his interest in hardware, 3D printing, and design. With so much of the software and hardware being completely open-source and wide-open for customization and tinkering, it's no wonder 3D printing pulls in people like him.
Making things has always been a hobby of his. For years, weekend woodworking projects were an outlet for his creativity and a release valve for anxiety. Over time, Christopher started getting more ambitious and learned he could do so much more-even with just a shop in his garage. He started experimenting with metalworking, plastics, resin, lasers, and other new materials and tools discovered through other makers and their YouTube videos
.Now, it is a rare day that he is not working on something new. Making-especially 3D design-overlaps with his professional and personal life in many ways. Christopher uses these tools to design and print accessories for his bike, make organizational tools for his shop, or manufacture gear for his coworkers. One of Christopher's greatest joys is showing appreciation for his team by minting unique challenge coins or building custom team badges for a conference.
3D printing still feels like magic and has permeated much of his life. Judging by how much his son enjoys the printers, Christopher doesn't see that changing any time soon.