P1 Technologies Project Manager Neal Pascaretti Finds Fascinating Hobby in 3D Printing

Technologies Project Manager Neal Passaretti has always been interested in what he calls the “nerdier” things in life, and this interest in technology and his zest for learning has set him up with a great career - and an interesting hobby.

Neal grew up in Michigan and joined the Marines shortly after high school.

He served five years and during his time in the service, he did two separate tours of duty in
Afghanistan while being stationed in Hawaii.

After the military, he moved back to the Detroit area for about a year working for Dish Network, installing satellite dishes. Then he and his wife, Stephanie, moved to Kansas City.

“Stephanie is from Kansas City and the job market was better, so we decided to make the move.” Neal said.

He worked for Comcast for a little bit and then was hired to be a service tech for an alarm company.

Working at the alarm company for several years, he learned all about troubleshooting and repairing the alarm systems. He later took over as the warehouse and purchasing manager and eventually went into sales.

“I wanted to progress my career, so I became a sales rep. I enjoyed selling but soon realized that there wasn’t going to be a lot of career growth with this,” Neal said.

With this realization, he and a partner ventured out with their own alarm and camera systems business.

They got started in 2019 and business was booming.

“We set up at trade shows and got a ton of business from those. Everyone needed some sort of security,” Neal said.

Then the pandemic hit, and the trade shows closed.

But Neal and his business partner discovered something: the Lake of the Ozarks area in Missouri was still booming.

“The Ozarks had a huge influx of business, because when nothing else was open, everyone was going down there in the summer to party. It brought money to that area, but also theft problems,” Neal said.

“The businesses needed security systems.”

Neal and his partner worked in 2020 and 2021 going door to door to the small businesses and ended up doing very well.

Then one day on the job, Neal tore his shoulder.

While recovering from his injury, he decided it was time to get a job that would get him out of the field.

That’s when he found an opening posted on LinkedIn for a technologies professional at P1 Construction.
Neal’s transition to Project Manager for P1 Building Technologies was seamless due to the skills he had acquired as a technician running his own business.

He now administers access controls and video surveillance in buildings for P1 customers.

Neal said after working for himself, he really appreciates the atmosphere and culture at P1. He said he loves the diversity of the work he does and the new challenges that each day brings.

But his interest in technology goes beyond his career.

It has also become a fun hobby during his free time: 3D printing.

Neal said he became interested in 3D printing because it looked cool, but it seemed difficult, so he was hesitant to really get into it.

“I’m kind of nerdy and geeky,” he said. “I like robots and technology and I would regularly go to Micro Center with my kids and look at the 3D printers, watch them, and read about them.”

His wife kept encouraging him to buy one, and one day she just went and bought one for him.

He said that first printer took him about eight hours to build and activate.

“I learned a lot building it. It took me awhile, but one day something just clicked, and I was able to grasp the idea of what the machine was trying to do,” Neal said.

Neal explained that the printer is just a machine that has 3D modeling software. 3D files are load-ed into the software and then you can modify the size and structure to your own specifications.

It wasn’t easy at first.

“My first printer had third party software that wasn’t completely compatible, so the models came out a bit rough,” he recalled.

His new system has printer-compatible software, so it has made the process a lot cleaner.

Neal said he has also learned a lot about plastics engineering, and the different melting and cooling points of plastic. Some plastics he uses have different tensile strengths, and some are more malleable, like rubber.

“3D printers can do both, but since they all can’t be printed at the same speed and temperatures, I had to learn how to manipulate the machine - and the software - to get specific models out of specific plastics,” Neal said.

Neal said he tries to make items that are worthwhile, so he ends up making a lot of toys for his kids, so that the creativity and the process are things they can enjoy together.

Going forward, he says he is also interested in finding ways to create useful household items, like clothes hangers and other things we use every day.

FROM TIME IN THE MILITARY TO FAMILY TIME AT HOME: With wife Stephanie, two sons Teddy, age 10 and Tom, age seven, and the family pup, Bella Rose.