# Reinventing Kids’ Eyewear with Additive Manufacturing…and a Touch of Disney Magic

- Show: [Additive Snack](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack)
- Published: 2021-05-18
- Length: 42m
- Episode: 1
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/33ecf4c8

## Summary

Katie Brandeau, Chief Product Officer at Fitz Frames, and founder Heidi Hertel explain how they disrupted the children's eyewear market by combining 3D printing with a face-scanning app to create fully customized, durable glasses. They detail the transition from Disney R&D to hardware, highlighting the development of a non-breakable snap-fit hinge and a proprietary scan-to-print workflow that enabled an 11-day product launch for protective eyewear during the pandemic. The episode offers guidance on assessing additive manufacturing viability, emphasizing that companies must redesign products from the ground up for AM rather than simply substituting processes, focusing on high customization, small batches, and complex geometries.

## Chapters

- [0:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=9) Introduction: Katie Brandeau and Fitz Frames
- [2:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=125) Katie Brandeau's Background at Disney R&D and Imagineering
- [4:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=292) Heidi Hertel's Origin Story and the Kids' Eyewear Market Gap
- [7:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=469) Validating Additive Manufacturing for End-Use Products
- [11:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=694) Guidance on When to Use Additive Manufacturing
- [17:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=1061) Reinventing the Glasses Design Process for Customization
- [21:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=1319) The Scan-to-Print Workflow and 11-Day Protective Eyewear Launch
- [28:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=1709) Designing a Non-Breakable Snap-Fit Hinge
- [32:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic#t=1927) Mistakes in AM Adoption and Designing for Additive

## Topics

- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Fitz Frames (company)
- Katie Brandeau (other)
- Heidi Hertel (other)
- EOS (company)
- Disney (company)
- iPhone (product)
- AR Kit (tool)
- Fitz Protect Frames (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [EMS@C-LEVEL Season #2021 Episode #7 with Mariana Kobal and Shane Hassett, WAZP](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ems-c-level/2021-08-09-ems-c-level-season-2021-episode-7-with-mariana-kobal-and-shane-hassett-wazp) (EMS@C-LEVEL)
- [EP 3: AI Smart Glasses | 16 Weeks to CES, 10 Months to Acquisition | Build 2 Create](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/build-2-create-hardware-founder-stories/2026-02-10-ep-3-ai-smart-glasses-16-weeks-to-ces-10-months-to-acquisition-build-2-create) (Build 2 Create: Hardware Founder Stories)
- [083: Benefits of Additive Manufacturing for New Inventions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2021-07-07-083-benefits-of-additive-manufacturing-for-new-inventions) (Product Startup)
- [174: Agile Product Development & Additive Manufacturing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-05-04-174-agile-product-development-additive-manufacturing) (Product Startup)
- [139. 3D Printing Saves Optical Sensors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-09-12-139-3d-printing-saves-optical-sensors) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/additive-snack/2021-05-18-reinventing-kids-eyewear-with-additive-manufacturing-and-a-touch-of-disney-magic. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Additive Snack.