Glowforge in the wild...another way!

So, for anyone in the general West Michigan area, I am expecting to have a Glowforge in the wild at East Kentwood High School on June 1 for a track event there. Lacking a filter, I will be needing to keep it to low/no fume stuff like anodized aluminum and stone. I am actually planning to be doing relay batons and possibly slate coasters on site. Stop by and say hi if you are in the area.

Now I have to clean it and install blast shields beforehand.

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I did one last year at a local college’s MakerFaire. I was in a courtyard outside but under a balcony. I had the GF on a table with a full tablecloth that went to the ground - ran the exhaust hose under the tablecloth and did PG Ply for luggage tags & such that were engraved using the visitors’ drawings that I scanned and laid onto the tag. Didn’t really notice any smell and no one commented at all. You might try a similar setup in your garage or driveway and see how it works out - you might be able to do more materials than you think.

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It is an indoor event, so outdoor venting will likely not be an option, and I wouldn’t trust under table to diffuse it well enough. I may take some wood, but I wouldn’t really trust wood, acrylic, or leather.

yeah, acrylic or leather would likely be more of an issue. Small quick projects (I had a steady stream of people drawing their tag customizations) which ended up being only a minute or two of actual engraving worked well. I had blanks already cut. They also used some of my other freebies like earbud holders as the base for their artwork :slight_smile:

Probably do a lot of school logo stuff, but I was planning on prepped wood stuff, if I have any, engraved ahead of time. I may try a little bit of creative work there, but we will see. Maybe I can feed the vent into a cardboard box with a towel or odor eaters for a minor diffusing effect.

One thing I need to get is truly vertical text in Inkscape. (@Jules! Help!)
:wink:

After you select the text tool there are a few little control icons on the top right. One of them is for vertical text.

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I will have to look at that again when I get home. I seem to have some fights with Inkscape about functions and features. Thanks.

I’m really glad you knew that. :smile:

UPDATE: Will be somewhat outside, so the gloves are off on materials. I will probably bring a little bit of everything that I have.

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And the school is discussing a bulk order of slate coasters for their spirit store. Has anyone found a reliable source for large slate orders?

glasscoasterstore.com

I get them 50 at a time. Good price. They have both round and square versions.

What I am burning at this event may change a little, but it is still on. fingers crossed as temps are expected to be in the mid-70’s.