Solar-powered Glowforge on Converted Bus (Possible First?)

[matthewhonor]

I live and travel out of an old link transit bus that I’ve been converting over the last couple years. It’d been my vision ever since I pre-ordered to be able to laser print my designs from home, wherever home may be. I installed a system which would allow me to run my Glowforge off of the solar energy. Here’s some pictures of my first trial runs on Magic the Bus. Is there anyone else doing something similar?

Instagram: @waiwardbound

[lcronkite]

Color me envious. I lived and travelled in a 35 ft Greyhound bus for ten years. I thought I was lucky to have a computer and printer on board.

[ptodd]

That’s really awesome! Nice way to use your Glowforge … anywhere and everywhere!

[AhnoldZ]

@matthewhonor

Here’s some pictures of my first trial runs on Magic the Bus. Is there anyone else doing something similar?

I remember two topics on this:

Traveling with a Glowforge

I’m wondering how the glowforge travels…? I had no idea what life would look like when I ordered, but now that the time is coming for a production unit, it looks like hubby and I are moving into a travel trailer for a while. Like the rest of you, I cannot wait to get my machine, and am not going to say “not yet” when I get the email. If there is a way at all, I would actually love to make a spot for it in the trailer, then I could take it with us, and it would be a way to make money on the road…

Anyone taking the Glowforge on the road?

I was wondering if anyone else will be taking the Glowforge on the road? “On the Road” could be weekend trips, shows, events or even all the time. I travel full-time in a large 5th wheel travel trailer and will be taking the Glowforge with me all the time. I plan on producing items for show and for sale as well as building replacement parts. I’m currently sitting in Tucson Arizona USA for the winter. If your near by, give me a shout! Cheers!

[cynd11]

Absolutely amazing! I love the idea of the traveling Glowforger. I suppose there is plenty of sunlight where you are.

[Jules]

Kewl!
(Wifi signal not an issue?)

[timtsuga]

@matthewhonor

run my Glowforge off of the solar energy

Tell us about your solar setup and specs!!! Those look like pretty long GF run times and I’m curious about the number and type of batteries, inverter, panel numbers and wattage, etc. Seems like the GF would produce a huge power demand that would be hard to meet with a mobile system with those long runs.

[Lux_Metallum]

Road ‘Forge! Pretty awesome, light to make energy/energy to create light.

[matthewhonor]

Wi-Fi is definitely one of the harder things to deal with. I’ve been looking into Wi-Fi extenders/repeaters.

[matthewhonor]

Yeah, I wanted to put my Glowforge through a real use test. Each of those designs ran for about 1.5 - 2 hours. For my system, I’m running off of a 2000 watt inverter and four golf cart batteries. I have a 400 watt panel set-up (four 100 watt panels). I was able to run my Glowforge during a sunny day with ease

[timtsuga]

That is really cool!!! Maybe I will beef up my inverter, add a couple more solar panels and batteries and load my GF into my camper!!! Thanks!!!

[Drea]

How cool! Your projects are beautiful

My friend Gary has been driving a solar bus for ages, doing education and community outreach at schools, festivals, etc… He doesn’t have a Glowforge (AFAIK anyway) but he might have some good suggestions for you on wifi, power and such … or he may be just be a kindred spirit. In either case, I’m sharing his link in case you’d like to connect with him.