In this episode of The Better Product Solutions Podcast, we speak with Bret Ludwig, the Senior Product Development Engineer at 3M. Brett gives us a breakdown on Medical skin tape including the application of it, the different types of adhesives used in different types of situations, skin trauma, and insights and considerations for commercializing a wearable product.
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Transcript:
- In this episode, we talked to Bret Ludwig, Senior Product Development Engineer at 3M. We talk a wide-ranging conversation with medical skin tapes on applications, different types of adhesives to use in different situations, skin trauma. And pretty much anybody who's looking to commercialize a wearable product, don't miss this because we're gonna cover all kinds of questions that are relevant to product teams. So enjoy this podcast. And I bring you episode two. Thanks. It's really good to have you on board, really appreciate you taking the time. And I guess, just to give you a quick introduction, Bret Ludwig, not to be called doctor, he who doesn't like it, but Bret Ludwig, Senior Product Development Engineer of 3M, PhD chemist by training, developing products at 3M for 25 years. And I'm really just kinda like lately living all the challenges with regards to sticking to skin and some of the applications there. And, of course, from a Tapecon perspective, it's exciting to have you on the podcast just because of what we're seeing in terms of new applications coming in in wearable, particularly on the skin. So welcome to the podcast. And I guess my first question is just tell us about yourself, 3M, your role at 3M Medical Materials and Technologies?
- Yeah. Thanks, Steve, so much for the invitation to join you today. As you mentioned, 25 years at 3M developing products, got my PhD in Polymer Science from North Dakota State, in Fargo. So, when I moved to the twin cities in the southern half of Minnesota, I was actually moving to a warmer clim. That might be a surprise to some people who aren't familiar with the Upper Midwest. 25 years at 3M, started in the signage business, making materials that go into signs. Jumped from there to the abrasives business. And then, most recently, for the last six years, I've been in the Medical Materials and Technologies group, part of our Medical Solutions division. In those six years, I've primarily been developing solutions for stick to skin. And was hired into the group just as this concept of wearables came, started pounding on our door. And it didn't start with a knock, I swear. It went from nothing to a pounding. It's like the industry needs this. And it's been
