HCC designs cookie cutter for Houston Marathon Foundation
Jan 10, 2018
When it comes to innovation, a Houston Community College design has found the sweet spot with a cookie cutter created by a 3D printer for the Houston Marathon Foundation.
The 3-inch cookie-cutting mold, which mirrors the design of the HMF logo, will be used for a Jan. 12 luncheon for middle and high school students in the Houston area, said Alyson Whitaker, a coordinator at the Houston Marathon Foundation.
“We have an after-school running program for students, and our goal was to make cookies for their luncheon,” she said. “We wanted a brand of cookies to have our name out there.”
3D printing is a vital part of the high tech-infused HCC Advanced Manufacturing Center of Excellence, with its heavy emphasis on the application of high technology.
With confection perfection in mind, Whitaker contacted HCC, its community partner, to design the cookie cutter for the Chevron Houston Marathon.
Fred Lemme, senior technician at HCC Southwest College’s Innovation Lab in Stafford, said he jumped at the opportunity to design the kitchen tool. 
“I looked at the (Marathon) logo and I said, ‘I can design it for you. I can make it,’ ” said Lemme, who began with the basic logo design and added the needed digital axis points to create the 3D rendering.
The digital information was inputted into a 3D printer at the fabrication lab, a process that took about eight hours to create the new cookie cutter. The baking tool was designed to accommodate different cookie sizes.
“It feels good to contribute,” Lemme said of the project. “Any contribution I can make to help out the community, I’m happy to do it. We at HCC are more than willing to work with anybody in the local area.”
HCC Southwest President Madeline Burillo-Hopkins called the project a win-win for both HCC and the Houston Marathon Foundation.
“HCC Southwest College is proud to support the Houston Marathon Committee through the HCC Center of Excellence Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Lab 3D design and printing resources,” she said. “It’s another example of how 3D technology impacts every aspect of our daily lives.”