Owner - CEO - Certified Prosthetist
Joe Fairley is a Certified Prosthetist and entrepreneur with a decade of experience in applying additive manufacturing to the Orthotics and Prosthetics field. He is the owner of Ascent Fabrication - which distributes large format FDM and FGF 3D printers, premium materials, and provides installation training, ongoing troubleshooting, and product development services. Over the last three years, Ascent Fabrication has played an integral role in assisting the adoption of additive manufacturing and a digital workflow in the O&P field.
Joe is currently a Business Development Manager on the Digital Services team at PROTEOR, developing automatic workflows for 3D printing through their FlySHAPE software application, an extension of the ORTEN software suite. Their aim is to provide a powerful, yet simple solution to take a raw 3D scan of a patient’s limb and apply custom templated clinical modifications, then automate device design and .gcode creation for 3D printing.
Joe is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hiking (ADK 46er), camping, running (long distance - marathon), skiing, and kayaking with his wife, Kara. Their Am-Staff mix, Judah, is right by their side on many hiking escapades.
Operations Manager
Blaise Nugent is a mechanical engineer by trade, with experience in design prototyping and equipment commissioning in the automotive industry. He holds a MS in Systems Engineering from Oakland University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. During his years as a design engineer, he experienced firsthand how additive manufacturing can speed up prototyping, allow for easier creation of complex parts, and bring to life better products. He hopes to help Ascent Fab customers harness 3D printing to achieve these benefits and more!
Blaise spends his time outside of work exploring the outdoors, rooting for University of Michigan football and the Detroit Lions, and working on DIY carpentry and landscaping projects. He is working on completing a long checklist of National Parks expeditions, but also enjoys a walk around the neighborhood with his wife, Mariah and heeler mix, Pepper.
Sales Representative
Michael Fairley is a recent graduate of Harvard University with a BA in Biology and a minor in Earth and Planetary Science. While at Harvard, much of his time was spent training and competing on the lightweight rowing team, where he served as the team captain from 2023-2024. His academic and professional interests lie in environmental science and specifically in conservation ecology and wildlife management. Having just graduated this spring, Michael is enthusiastic about expanding his work experience and skills however he can, and is interested in learning more about the additive manufacturing industry. Michael enjoys spending as much of his time as he can outside, especially hiking, trail running, birdwatching, and reading.