I like it, but I don’t fully trust it as shown. Would definitely want a crosspiece I could put in first thing to lock everything in place. (I would probably also build it out of wood. But otherwise, seriously cool and simple.)
You might also check your state surplus for an experienced hospital gurney…
Yeah, it definitely would need a better locking mechanism to trust it with GF. If you don’t have a helper, it could be made to the height of the floor of your vehicle for easy transfer, with a scissor mechanism incorporated into the top platform to put it at a comfortable working height for your demos. You could add shelving or clip on compartments for materials as well.
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Great for a mitre saw, not, by any stretch of the imagination, chic enough for my GF.
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Only suggested as a starting point.
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I couldn’t remember so I poked around a little bit just to validate my thoughts.
this is not a whole heck of allot of weight (some of the linked solutions though robust are over kill), something can probably be mostly easily fabricated to accommodate. tomorrow I will re read this post to get more detail of what you are trying to accomplish and I may try to sketch something
from what I gather so far something that you can roll on the ground but for all intents and purpose push into your vehicles and have the legs collapse and continue rolling into the back
anyway more to come
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What about a rolling mechanics tool cart? I know you can pick them up at some places for relatively cheap and in different sizes. Also if you want to spend a bit more you can get them with storage for materials.
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Well, 70 lbs for the Forge and filter, then some number of pounds for a nice tabletop (I can’t easily lift the one I am sitting at, but I am not really trying either since it has my computer on it… so maybe another 40?)
So at 110 lbs base, plus barely any weight for whatever I insert for cutting (significant weight if I have storage underneath to carry a nice stock with me though), and then the chance that I lean on the table while talking to a crowd… a 200 lb capacity is about where I am comfortable.
The primary aim is to be able to go Office->Vehicle->School with minimal need to move the Glowforge itself.
A cart that can collapse legs as I slide into my vehicle would be amazing.
A cart the same height as my vehicle where I can easily slide the countertop portion on and off of the cart would be a runner up.
And last resort would be a cart that can be wheeled up near my vehicle to allow me to lift the forge off, swivel around, and place it immediately in vehicle.
Since this would be what the Glowforge sits on while being presented, having a nice form factor is a bonus. But as long as there is a decent counter top I can put a black cloth in place to hide whatever is underneath.
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o boy that is a fair bit more then I thought at midnight. but ill take a swag at it but with all that maybe I end up joining the web search that I’m sure your already doing. if it was me I would have my brother the cabinet maker put something together in his CNC shop. but anyway in any event will give me a reason to play in fusion tonight
Just need a six-legged autonomous spider-table with auto-follow, collision avoidance, and legs that fold/retract into a protective cage for safe storage. Then just tell it to get in the car, wait, protect, attack, etc.
multiple spider units could sync and carry heavier/larger loads, including people (in a wheelchair, in a seat, standing, or in stretcher), ammunition, cameras lighting and sensor equipment, and other stuff.
This is what happens in my head after being around the robots at maker faire. I think really what I want for the glowforge would just be Terry Pratchett’s Luggage.
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Putting a moment’s procrastination toward figuring out what I would make if forced to design my own…
Really only one side of the legs/wheels needs to be able to do anything special for vehicle insertion. The main issue with having legs that can collapse/fold to get in a vehicle is making sure that they do not do so when wheeling around.
So… you can design the table to have space underneath for one set of legs to fold under the table. Put in some solid blocks which prevent this from happening until they are removed (stopping for a moment at the vehicle to remove them would not be a problem).
Blocks removed, the legs can now freely swivel under the table. So as you push the cart against the bumper they will do so. This is where you would really want to have the table top precisely at vehicle bed height, or have some other mechanism in play to ensure that the table comes down to the vehicle gently.
Once you collapse two legs and get the table top sliding nicely inside the vehicle, you are left with the rear two legs. So either you can remove them completely to set beside the whole assembly, or they collapse in the same direction, and then push under the table.
I really don’t like the fact this has both of the legs swivel in the same direction, which means if your blocks fail for some reason the whole thing crashes down too easily. So removable legs may be the best choice here. Though that means needing to lift one side of the table to pull the legs out from underneath. So having a more catastrophic worst case scenario may be preferable to having a designed every use nuisance and added risk to the machine.
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I don’t know why, but I am much more willing to give up on the all-in-one design. How about: folding base along the lines of that miter table (only likely in wood), initial locking brace, glowforge carrier with drawers and stuff. The base is sized to the height of you car/truck/van bed, and you pop it out and unfold it, then slide your GF carrier (which has UMHW skids on the bottom) out of the car and onto the base, where it has cleats/dadoes/whatever to lock it into place. You could even have a couple different bases (or a spacer drawer/shelf) for different vehicle heights.
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Yeah, that is my second option in the description to Clone. It is the most realistic approach.
But I tend to approach things with the philosophy that you should plan for the absolute best case, so that you know what compromises you really do have to live with in your final take.
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If you do want to get fancy with the auto-folding idea, put some wheels at just a hair below bumper height, and tie the release mechanism either to those wheels taking the weight or to the main front wheels being unweighted. I would recommend unlocking the front leg when the top-end wheels take the weight fully, which would eliminate the possibility of the leg unlocking as you drop off a threshold or something. Then, have the front leg far enough behind that wheel that when it hits the bumper and starts folding,you can be sure that the front end is already solidly supported by those upper wheels. Tying the upper wheels into the leg lock mechanism with a sufficient load-to-release value would mitigate the likelihood of it being triggered unintentionally. The back leg could use something similar, but perhaps triggered before that leg has arrived at the bumper but after the center of gravity is in the truck, so it can fold forward and under the table to avoid excess space requirements inside the truck.
For the extract, you would probably want to have some spring loading in place to ensure that the legs are fully deployed before the locks reingage.
This (or in fact any auto-folding mechanism would require some method to adjust the height to accommodate loading it from true ground level (like in your driveway), or from an elevated surface (like if you have backed up over a sidewalk in front of a school).
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I had thought about another pair of wheels to help in the transfer. But making those second wheels have a physical interlock to cause the folding would be nice.
Don’t forget the red eyes, it has to have red eyes for attack/inevitable turns evil mode.
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ground to floor of suv inches?
Yes!!! Where’s your kickstarter page??? 
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I’ll try to remember to measure. Cannot recall if it is even a comfortable working height. But since the filter and tabletop add some height, as well as the space for legs to fold away, i am hoping the SUV bed is pretty low.
Cannot find for my 2008 model, but for a 2015 it is listed as 35.9 inches ground to top of load floor. And about a 51.7 inch depth to work within.
how about the ‘stair case’ from bed to lip depth to bumper then depth of bumper then height of bumper need to know the gap outs to figure out the leg swing.
and really I have no clue what I am doing. I have a feeling this wont be small
that and well I’m a fusion newbie