Scissor lift tables

I was just thinking about life with a GlowForge. I really want to take mine around to local schools at every possible opportunity.

Lugging it in and out of buildings and vehicles will eventually result in dropping the big guy.

But today I imagined having my table on a scissor lift cart. Like the beds used in an ambulance.

Anybody know where a guy could find such a table? It may have to be the first thing I make, but I would trust a purchased metal cart over my own wooden one any day.

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Amazon.

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Perhaps one of those portable miter saw carts would work. Delta used to make a really good one. Here’s a DeWalt

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I’m not sure if a scissors lift table is what you’re looking for. Those things are generally very heavy, and you can’t deploy the scissors lift until the entire thing is on the ground. Removing the cart will still likely be a two-person affair from the back of a vehicle.

I bought something similar for a miter saw for my Dad (it’s amazing how awkward a 10" sliding compound miter saw is):

http://www.cpotools.com/bosch-ts2100-gravity-rise-table-saw-stand/bshnts2100,default,pd.html?ref=pla&zmam=31282435&zmas=47&zmac=724&zmap=bshnts2100&gclid=CInIiZPz88wCFUlufgodgdsPqg

Recently I borrowed it back to transport the setup to a job site to help a friend with his new house. If you are strong you can get it out of the back of a truck by yourself - but it’s quite awkward. I would not risk it with an expensive and more delicate Glowforge attached.

What you really need is something that’s built on / based upon an automatic ambulance stretcher / loader, where you can unfold one set of legs at a time:

Pull the cart out partially, unsnap the first set of legs, pull it out further, and unsnap the other set of legs. Ideally without dropping the “patient”.

-=- Terence

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I know the GF is nifty looking and compact. But do we really think we can transport it on the regular?
We’re talking mirror alignment within .001", cross rails, a freakin glass tube, some mystery internal liquid cooling method ( to which bubbles are BAD) vs. traffic, parking lots, elevator doors that won’t stay open, floor transitions, slippy fingers, and um… students.
Hate to say this, but NO. Not until these are way down the road in development.

Scissor lifts are cool though. My kid loves it.

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The only time I have ever been to the hospital involved a scissor type ambulance gurney while moving some glass bookshelves about the same size and weight as a Glowforge. Stitches and lots of blood up and down the hall. Seems like those things don’t like to be pushed over thresholds without two people.

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I like the miter saw table idea, purchased one for my dad for Christmas. Bought it at lowes on the cheap and works amazingly well.

I plan on transporting it quite a bit actually. I don’t see why it would be an issue if you take a few minutes to be careful. For 7 years I carried a $35k infrared camera around my neck in some of the most dangerous places you can imagine. Never once had an issue, but I respected my tools and took my time.

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The test will be whether the GF survives and stays in alignment with the initial FedEx style delivery. After that, anything an owner could do would be considered pillow talk.

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Dont know about the cheap china lasers and alignment but the Universal lasers I have are not easy to misalign…two lenses and two mirrors. they are factory set and only one mirror is movable. And you have to use a small allen wrench to move it…
The only reason I ever need to align the mirror was when I got a new tube…then minor adjustment was all it needed.
So…again, just because mirrors get misaligned with china lasers doesnt mean it can’t be different with the Glowforge…

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Lol love the analogy

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Odd comparison, but ok. Cameras have been perfected over the last millennium. It’s in a handheld machined aluminum box. The GF has 20+ inches of mirror movement across 2 axis in a big plastic scanner enclosure. Hopefully, there will be some sort of lockdown procedure and alignment check at startup.

And if you aren’t running PM, calibrations, and regular alignment on your $35k camera, you need to visit Nippon Photoclinic in NYC.

Don’t think the camera has been around 1000 years but I’m not an expert on that lol but if you had any experience with infrared cameras you would know how fragile they are. It’s a good comparison. I can’t send it to just anyone to have it maintenanced and calibrated. Doesn’t really matter now after economic downturn preventative maintenance isn’t exactly in high demand.

You do seem like a person who is an expert on every subject so probably my mistake for trying to help with a response earlier.

in the span of product lifecycles, the camera is well vetted in the handheld prismatic device world of things.

IR is pretty bulletproof in both the commercial end (which 70% are on aircraft), and in the consumer end of removed coatings.

Not an expert, just a guy that’s been around a lot of mechanics, optics, and pumps… usually repairing them

Scissor cart

Not much for shock resistance, but probably can take the weight. I think you would need the big one.

I’ve used industrial sized versions, that can lift 4-6k pounds, on steel casters. That was fun. Scissor lofts are cool.

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A van with a tommy lift might be the way to go for transporting to other venues. My biggest concern is the shape of the bottom of the GF. It looks like holes would have to be drilled somewhere in order to attach it firmly for a quick setup. I’m not sure I would want to rely on straps to keep it attached to a cart, at least not without some sort of supporting framework to help keep it from shifting. That would add more weight…

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I think you are underestimating the problem of transporting a Glowforge. Sure, getting it to and from your destination is one issue; but the Biggest concern you should have is that everyone will want it. Therefore, I recommend transporting it in this:


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I was planning on using the Force…just been practicing lifting my x-wing out of the swamp I made in my back yard. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Better to put it in box it was shipped in…then move the box with straps…

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Looks nice, and should hold the weight of the Glowforge and a nice looking slab of wood as a table top.

Yes, the ability to push it straight in and out of a vehicle is the main thing I am hoping for in whatever I find. The $1,000 pricetag is more what I was expecting than the $200 amazon link. Scissor lift was the only term I could think of, but I see now the issue with the actual scissor ones.

Consider me the test subject to answer that question. I believe that it can handle such abuse. And can fix it if I am wrong :slight_smile:

Actually the Glowforge only has one mirror that moves, the one strapped right above the focusing lens. So even that one doesn’t really move, it is the carriage around it that moves. The setup is quite nice, and should be resilient. This is one of the nice things about having the tube mounted on the moving gantry. 100% enclosed optical pathway for the first two mirrors.

I actually plan on doing an inset on a large wooden slab, as well as two straps along the sides of the moving lid portion. Ample room for some strapping down from what I saw. Though I may have to get creative if the connection for the filter pushes very far out from the chassis.

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