# Ian McEachern | Artificial Hearts, Times Square LED Displays, & Engineering Freelancing

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2022-03-04
- Length: 47m
- Episode: 9
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/ian-mceachern-engineering-freelancing/

## Summary

Ian McEachern, founder of the engineering consultancy NerdyIn, discusses his work on complex medical devices like artificial hearts and large-scale public installations including Times Square LED displays. He details the technical challenges of designing high-brightness outdoor LCDs with custom cooling and the rapid prototyping of continuous-flow blood pumps using 3D printing and automated test benches. McEachern also shares insights on his transition from corporate engineering to freelancing, emphasizing the importance of failure, mentorship, and leveraging modern business tools like FreshBooks.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=0) Introduction: Ian McEachern and Engineering Origins
- [1:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=84) Education at Colorado School of Mines and Pragmatic Learning
- [7:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=457) Designing High-Brightness LED Displays for Times Square
- [17:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=1078) Developing Artificial Hearts and Continuous-Flow Pumps
- [25:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=1512) Rapid Prototyping and Automated Test Bench Innovation
- [27:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=1632) Starting NerdyIn and Freelancing Business Model
- [36:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=2196) Advice for Freelancers and Business Tools
- [43:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin#t=2604) Learning from Engineering History and Dieter Rams

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Medical & health devices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/medical-devices)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- SynCardia (company)
- Oregon Heart (company)
- NerdyIn (company)
- SolidWorks (tool)
- FreshBooks (tool)
- 3D Printer (tool)
- Raspberry Pi (chip)
- Arduino (chip)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [An Interview with Mike Harrison - X-ray Examining Xenogogue](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2013-03-05-an-interview-with-mike-harrison-x-ray-examining-xenogogue) (The Amp Hour)
- [023 - "The Best is Yet to Come" with David Albert](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2022-03-09-023-the-best-is-yet-to-come-with-david-albert) (Let's Combinate)
- [Medical Electronics Education with Mark Palmeri](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2025-12-22-medical-electronics-education-with-mark-palmeri) (The Amp Hour)
- [445: I Do Not Like Blinking](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2023-03-16-445-i-do-not-like-blinking) (Embedded.fm)
- [An Interview With Dave Young](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2016-07-01-an-interview-with-dave-young) (The Amp Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-04-ian-mceachern-artificial-hearts-times-square-led-displays-engineering-freelancin. 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 Being an Engineer.