I’m Elijah Pedriani, a young adult in pursuit of a mechanical engineering degree with a career path focused in all things related to designing and building roller coasters.
From a young age, I’ve always had a passion for building and creating. It wasn’t until an elementary school book fair, where I purchased “Thrill Rides: Top 10 Roller Coasters in America”, that I fell in love with roller coasters. The support structures and track layouts in the pages of the book had me drawing and creating my own. From that point on, all of my creative energy has been exclusively focused toward coasters.
This led to designing and building K’NEX roller coaster models, which I began taking seriously after joining SSCoasters.net. This was a forum where K’NEX builders could share and receive feedback on their model roller coasters, which allowed me to improve my building skills by creating realistic layouts and accurately shaped elements. The improvements I made on each model earned myself a Builder Tag (a prestigious title, given to the best K'NEX builders on the forum), which further motivated my creativity and model building.
Now in college, with no space for large K’NEX models, I’ve shifted my focus to CAD modeling and 3D printing. This approach has allowed me to develop my CAD and manufacturing skills, while maintaining focus on the end result of a functioning model roller coaster.
I’m also the founder of Coaster Printing Central, a Discord server for 3D printed roller coasters. At the time I began 3D printing, there were many Instagram accounts for 3D printed roller coasters, but there was nowhere for these individuals to share their projects or collaborate. Recognizing the influence that SSCoasters.net had on my K’NEX models, I decided to create a similar space for the 3D printed roller coaster community. We now have over 100 members of varying ages and expertise, all working on creative, one of a kind projects.