Question: have u ever sent so long on a piece of work then broke it

Dominic Eggbeer answered on 9 Mar 2016:

I have been known to break expensive bits of kit, but I’ve always managed to fix them myself! I’ve not broken many things that I’ve design myself, but have had other break or drop them at critical moments. There was one memorable case a few years ago where I’d designed a complex implant for face surgery. We had one part fabricated using 3D printing in titanium. Just before he used it, the surgeon dropped it on the floor! Needless to say, he couldn’t dust it off and implant it, so a back up bit of plate was quickly fabricated, which was adequate, but not ideal This taught me the importance of designing devices that can be handled easily when your gloves are covered in body fluids like blood!