Matt Petros and co-founder Payman Torabi with metal 3D printing technology developed by 3DEO
Back when Matt Petros PhD ’15 was pursuing his doctoral research at the CRAFT lab (now CAM, the USC ViterbI Center for Advanced Manufacturing) he remembers feeling a touch of imposter syndrome.
“There were around 20 or so PhD students in our lab, and they were all wicked-smart,” he reflects. “I was working on developing technology for metal 3D printing, and being surrounded by geniuses encouraged me to raise my game.”
Petros’ game, it turns out, wasn’t only electronics and programming. It was entrepreneurship.
Matt Petros PhD ’15
He was inspired by his PhD advisor Behrokh Khoshnevis, Louise L. Dunn Endowed Professorship in Engineering and Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Astronautics, and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Globally recognized as a pioneer of additive manufacturing (3D printing) technologies, Khoshnevis has numerous inventions and over 100 US and international patents to his name.
“He’s a true Renaissance man,” Petros reflected. “An engineer, an artist, inventor, entrepreneur – he really allowed me to see what was possible.”
Khoshnevis was just one of the mentors and exemplars that guided Petros on his way to starting his own company, 3DEO, in collaboration his USC lab-mate, Payman Torabi. Now, as part of the Startup Stories event series hosted by the USC Viterbi Office of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE), Petros is setting an example for other students.
During the talk, Petros’ explained that the hands-on work building 3D printers from scratch had given him the insight that 3D printing technology was only one piece of the puzzle – instead, a more holistic approach was needed. “Metal 3D printing was good for expensive, complicated parts. But it wasn’t really a production technology that could build anything repeatable,” he explained. “Payman and I realized that if we wanted to get to production, to scale, to quality, we had to control the end-to-end production process,” he explained.
Metal 3D-printed components produced by 3DEO
The next step was to successfully monetize that insight, to turn an invention into an innovation.
“We set about building a repeatable, scalable 3D printing process,” said Petros. “At 3DEO, we develop the 3D printer itself, the process, the raw materials, much of the software that integrates the machine with robotics and automation, and quality control technologies as well. By allowing companies to outsource the design capabilities for 3D printing and the ‘know-how’ of the manufacturing, the goal is to simplify the workflow so that our clients can focus on their core product.”
By controlling the end-to-end process, 3DEO quickly became one of the largest producers of metal 3D printed components, shipping millions of parts to companies around the world. What’s more, by collaborating with designers and R&D engineers, Petros realized that 3DEO could better serve clients by designing components specific to a desired application – from general fluid flow to thermal transfer, and even medical devices. Within a few years, the team had moved from a 1000 ft office in Downtown LA, to factory of more than 30k sq ft in Torrance.
Petros now looks back on his early imposter syndrome as part of the learning curve. “Most of our boundaries are self-imposed,” he reflects. “It was important to me to come back to speak to USC students about my experience, because I was once where they are now. I’m a firm believer in creating your own luck, and pursuing a vision in the knowledge that you are the right person for the job.”
Click here to learn more about the USC Viterbi Office of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE).
Published on December 17th, 2024
Last updated on December 17th, 2024
