FLINT – Are you a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy? Maybe
you’re fascinated by the characters or drawn to the power of the Star Lord
Infinity Orb? Andre Ray wants to bring you closer to the characters and stories
through his start-up Grandeur Studios.
Grandeur Studios specializes in making movie and video
game replica props. The Star Lord Infinity Orb is now on sale at ebay. A replica SMG plasma gun from the upcoming Halo 5 video
game and exotic weapons from the video game Destiny will also be available in
the near future.
“I’m a movie and video game guy and an aspiring
collector,” Ray said. “That’s how I get a feel for what people want and what
they are interested in. People want to have something that represents their pop
culture experiences.”
Ray himself is a huge film and video game fan which is
what propelled him to visit fan sites online. He noticed that fans were
uploading models of items from their favorite movies.
“I saw that other people wanted to print these items,”
Ray said. “Then the idea came to me. I can print and make the items that people
wanted.”
So Ray bought a 3D printer and housed it in his
bedroom near Dupont Street and Welch Boulevard, a few blocks north of
Kettering’s campus, and began printing 3D objects upon request. He then
expanded his operation from 3D printing to creating custom objects such as the
Infinity Orb.
His process: first construct a CAD drawing of the
object in question; then use it to 3D print a master; lastly, mold the master
with silicone and construct resin casts from it.
“Right now I’m doing replica props but I want to expand on
that in the near future,” Ray said. “I always had a vision to have an art
studio. I want to create my own art with 3D printing as a medium.”
Ray is one step closer to his vision after he was awarded
$2,100 in seed funding from the Kettering Entrepreneurship Society (KES)
earlier this term. He was also given an office in the T-Space in the C.S. Mott
Building on campus.
“With the funding, I was able to buy my own 3D
printer, an airbrush and a vacuum chamber,” Ray said. “These are all things
that are expensive and I intended to purchase from future profits made by the
company.”
The T-Space opened in December 2014 and is an open
laboratory space that provides students access to 3D printing, laser cutting,
soldering and other utilities to work on small electric and mechanical
prototypes. Ray is one of the many users of the space during his personal time.
During his professional time, Ray is a mechanical
engineering major completing his co-op at Key Safety Systems in Sterling
Heights, Michigan. While living five minutes from campus for the majority of
his life, Ray didn’t consider Kettering until his eighth grade teacher asked
him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Ray replied an engineer because
it’s the only thing he wanted to do. She suggested he attend Kettering because
Ray “reminded her of her husband and he was an engineer that went to Kettering.”
“I knew it was a great engineering school and I’ve always
been involved in engineering – taking apart stuff and putting it back
together,” Ray said. “My grandpa got me into circuit kits when I was really
young. He would take me with him on electrical and carpentry jobs.”
Now, many years later, Ray is excelling as an engineer
and artist at Kettering. He’s fusing his childhood passion for engineering with
his dream of creating an art studio. He plans on pursuing full-time work after
graduating while still keeping his office in the T-Space to grow Grandeur
Studios.
“I definitely still love engineering,” Ray said. “There’s always a split between art and engineering which can be two opposites
at times. With my business, I get to keep the engineering aspect and still do
the art too.”
Kettering University is a national leader in experiential
STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, integrating an
intense academic curriculum with applied professional experience. Through this
proven approach we inspire students to realize their potential and advance
their ideas by combining theory and practice better than any institution in the
world. Kettering University is dedicated to achieving the extraordinary through
technological innovation, leadership and service, built on values that foster
respect, integrity, creativity, collaboration and excellence in growth, global
leadership, community outreach and an engaged community of stakeholders. Visitwww.kettering.edu.
Patrick Hayes handles public relations for Kettering
University.
