Prototyping the First Solo Plaque
We started Etchellence to create laser-etched aviation-themed products because we could not find a commemorative plaque that captured the information we thought important for a first solo flight. Existing plaques had basic information but we wanted more because memories fade. At the same time, we did not want to overwhelm the viewer with too much information because it would be difficult to read and understand.
Designing and creating our First Solo plaque was interesting but, while our overall experience was fun, we had a few challenges we would have preferred to avoid. Here’s how we did it.
We started with ideas of what the plaque should contain and created an initial design in PaintShop Pro. We then did a series of tests, enhancing our ideas and approach each time, until we reached the point we felt we had a product that satisfied our original needs.
As we progress through our testing, you’ll notice that the layout changes between the initial design and our go to market product.
What should we capture?
For Etchellence, receiving a commemorative plaque is more than celebrating an event, it’s about capturing the moment in time to remind the aviator about the details of the event in later years. It also needs to tell the story of the event for people that were not there. We think the following details will accomplish this:
- Make it clear what, and who, it is commemorating
- Include the airport name so people know where the event happened
- Include a representation of the plane they flew in, if possible
- Include airport information like the ICAO airport code, the latitude and longitude, runway layout and numbers, and field elevation.
- Record the date and time of the flight, along with the METAR weather report.
Starting off
Our very first laser etching test was to create the local Cobb County International Airport in Kennesaw, GA. As you can see, we used a little too much power.
Second round of testing
We thought that dialing back the power a little would fix the problem and we would be ready. We were so confident that this would work that we created a full plaque, but we we wrong. While the power is not quite right, it is getting close, but the image is a little out of focus and there are smoke stains around the image.
Third round of testing
Researching “laser etching smoke stains” we found that using transfer tape to mask the wood should eliminate them. After waiting a week for the tape to arrive, we masked the wood for the third round of testing and the plaque came out very nice. We felt that we were so close.
Notice how we changed the design a little to keep the airport and flight information together, where before we had the airport name at the top of the plaque and the day of the flight below the airport outline.
We thought it was getting so close that we used our friends information for the plaque so we could start to see how it might look.
Fourth round of testing
Although printed on spare wood, which had knots in it, the fourth attempt came out well enough for us to sand it down and varnish it to see what a product might look like.
Although we used varnish and we thought it looked nice, a woodworking friend suggested we use ‘Danish Oil’ to finish the wood for a more natural look. As you’ll see, we took their advice.
We have a product!
We were so pleased with how our fourth round of testing came out that we created our first product, by etching the design on to an 11″ x 14″ blank pine plaque. After lightly sanding it, we gave it two coats of Danish Oil to seal the wood and, as our woodworking friend told us, it brings out the grain in the wood very nicely.
You’ll also notice we went back to our generic ‘Ensign Kirk’ for this plaque because it is going to be the show case product and we did not think our friend would want their details all over the place.
It was our desire to find something that suitably commemorated the first solo flight of our aviator friend that started us down the path of creating Etchellence. We have created the product we were looking for but could not find. We hope you agree that it makes a great memento and that you’ll order your personalized plaque to commemorate your first solo flight or that of an aviator friend.
