In 2010 I quit my Dilbert-like government contractor job and started a business doing laser engraving. Now every time someone says ‘oh, so you don’t use your mech. engineering degree anymore?’ I just laugh at them.
Now I’m in a retail/studio space, have two different types of lasers (CO2 and Fiber) and a flatbed UV ink jet printer. A lot of the jobs that come in involve customizing of iPads and iPad cases for corporate clients, but I also love taking on projects that require testing to figure out how to customize different materials. This is where the engineering background really comes in handy, doing R&D, and composites and plastics are always the most challenging. The only big no-no is vinyl or other materials that contain chlorine, everything else is fair game.
There’s also a half-built wooden + fiberglass kayak in my garage… now that the business has moved into its own space, it is time to revisit that project. The inside of the hull of the boat was fiberglassed back in 2003 (yikes) but the deck still needs to be assembled.
I found this forum from a google alert for ‘laser engraving’ but please don’t think I just signed up to spam people with my services! I’m here to learn what I can and happy to have found this resource, and if anyone has any questions or projects I can help with, please just drop me a line.
Thanks for reading! :o
Sara Gould
In A Flash Laser
http://iPadLaserEngraving.com