What a year its been! I’ve grown a lot this year, personally and professionally. It’s probably been the most monumental year of my life! This February, my girlfriend Olivia and I welcomed our baby daughter Eleanor into the world. And man, she’s stole both of hearts for good!
Also it’s still fresh and new, being a dad has turned out to be one of the most fulfilling things that has ever happened to me. As a dad, I now understand what it means, emotionally, to have that attachment.
As for my professional life, my career at Delta has really taken off! What was a position of one, has now become two, as our programming department was approved to add another robotic programmer to the mix to help my efforts in multiple shops at Delta TechOps. Now our production and impact has doubled– and then some.
Some of the wins from the year included getting my first program source demonstrated by MTU aerospace engineers from Germany. The part was a LPT disk found in the Pratt & Whitney 1100 Geared Turbofan engine line. This source demo laid the foundation for many more repair industrialization’s to follow on many other GTF parts.
Along with completing that LPT disk, I also was able to convince my management to buy me RoboDK offline simulation software for our cells. Since getting the license, I have been able to model 4 different cells, both robotic and cnc gantry, with great success. Now programming is less of a disruption to the flow of production as programs can be done without of the parts present and without taking up precious machine time.
As for JAD, my priorities had to take a check up as I entered fatherhood. I wanted to grow in a big way in 2024, but time was simply not there for that to happen. I decided I needed to stay patient and keep things going along with the clients I already had and who needed my help.
Early in 2024, I had the privilege to help develop Vintage’s new Bronco build, which since its release has been a wild success. I did reserve engineering on numerous parts throughout the interior and a few on the exterior as well. It’s super gratifying to see celebrities showing off these bad to the bone rides, and know that they are interfacing with my work.
I also kept up my good relationship with Jay at Indaglow Productions, providing many renders for his clients to both prove out designs and get them approved by designers. By working solely in a digital environment this year, I was able to focus on improving my rendering skills in Rhino 8 and really creating beautiful images for Jay to show his clientele. I spent a lot of time experimenting with lighting and materials, that really took things to the next level for me.
Heading into 2025, I feel optimistic that my business will continue to flourish. I am happy to be in the role of a ‘freelancer’ and provide my services on a per job basis and take them as they come, and when they make sense for me.
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