Bryan Delodder in the workshop between two 3D-printed telescopes, with the print farm behind

Meet the Maker

Designer, builder, astronomer, and the person behind every Tundra 3D project

Hi, I'm Bryan Delodder. I design and build things in Guelph, Ontario: trade show demo systems, telescopes, custom machines and mobility equipment. Tundra 3D is where that work meets the engineering filament I sell, because I print with it every day.

30Telescopes built in one batch for young astronomers
1,402People at our last Symphony Under the Stars
3 continentsWhere my demo systems are touring trade shows

The Accidental Telescope Factory

It started with one question: why can't a good telescope be something anyone can build? I designed one that could be 3D printed, shared the files for free, and wrote the manual so others could build it too.

One telescope became dozens. Through our sister project, Ten Telescopes, they're loaned out free from a community telescope library, used in high school science classes, and built thirty at a time for youth astronomy programs. That's the story I tell in my talk, "The Accidental Telescope Factory."

Close-up of the 3D-printed Skyward 200 astrograph with focuser, spider and filter wheel
The Skyward 200 astrograph: printed tube, focuser and spider, carrying a camera and filter wheel.

Designed for Real Life

I use a wheelchair, and I got into mechanical design partly to make that life easier, and a lot more fun. That's where the off-road wheelchairs came from, and why accessibility is part of how I think about every design.

It's also why I care so much about the people who'll actually use what I build. A booth staffer at a trade show, a student at a telescope, a rider on a trail: if it doesn't work for them, it doesn't work.

Bryan Delodder at the workbench with a blue off-road wheelchair drive prototype

Out in the Community

  • Speaking: RASC centres in Hamilton, Montreal and London, University of Guelph Physics, Starfest and Stellafane.
  • Stargazing at scale: Symphony Under the Stars with the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, music and telescopes for 1,402 people.
  • In the news: CTV Kitchener, CBC and GuelphToday.

Things You Should Know About Me

  • My printers have names. The Bambu farm is Bonjour, Shalom, Guten Tag, Namaste, Moshi, Ciao, Hola and Aloha: a hello in every language. Then there are the self-built beasts, HevOrange and Moose, whose toolhead has a glowing maple leaf.
  • I once designed a telescope counterweight that runs on dead batteries.
  • My biggest printer looks like a mad science experiment. It prints beautifully.
  • Coffee is a critical project input.

I Don't Do It Alone

A crew of volunteers and friends has helped build printers, assemble telescopes and test ideas, many of them on weekends, all of them with a lot of good humour. When a project needs more hands, I know exactly who to call.

Two volunteers assembling a 3D printer frame
Bringing new printers online.

Let's Build Something

Have a launch, a prototype or an idea that needs to become real? Let's talk. You can also see our work.