The Problem & The Spark
Standard cannabis consumption has a universal pain point: handling finely ground material. Using fingers leads to sticky residue, lost trichomes, uneven bowl packing, and wasted herb. Typical metal dab tools or guitar picks either scrape grinders, fail to hold a consistent volume, or don't fit inside compact herb chambers.
The concept for Terpscoops originated organically. While calibrating a customized 3D print job, a partial failure created a curved, ergonomic spatula geometry. After experimenting with it on a standard grinder chamber, the utility was immediately obvious: it provided the exact volumetric dose ("one terp dose"), a flat scraping edge to empty corners, and an ergonomic curve that nested neatly inside grinders without rattling or jamming.
Design for Manufacturing (DFM) & Tooling
Moving from a 3D-printed prototype to thousands of production units required a rigorous engineering redesign:
Wall Thickness & Draft Angles
Engineered uniform wall thickness (1.5mm) across compound curves to eliminate sink marks and internal stresses, adding proper draft angles for seamless mold ejection.
Polymer Selection
Tested ABS, Polycarbonate, and high-clarity Acrylic. Selected virgin medical/food-grade acrylic for optical brilliance, rigid scraping feel, and scratch resistance.
Gate Placement & Parting Line
Concealed injection gates along the rear bevel so customer touchpoints remain glass-smooth without secondary deburring steps.
Supply Chain, Tooling & Quality Assurance
I oversaw the fabrication of hardened steel injection tooling with overseas manufacturing partners. This included conducting mold-flow simulations, approving initial shot samples (T1 samples), tuning color masterbatches for custom vibrant neon colorways, and establishing strict dimensional tolerance checks (+/- 0.05mm).
Beyond the core tool, I engineered the entire product ecosystem: retail blister packaging with anti-counterfeit holographic seals, barcode / SKU logistics for fulfillment centers, and point-of-sale display trays for smoke shops and dispensaries.
Go-To-Market, DTC & Impact
Built a high-converting Shopify store featuring bundle builders, custom color selectors, and real-time inventory management.
Produced educational product demonstrations and memes generating over 3,000,000 organic views on Instagram (@terpscoops).
Secured accounts in dispensaries and lifestyle smoke shops across Colorado, California, and national retailers.