Configuring a pelicase for the glowforge would take a very big pelicase. Building a flightcase around it will result in a pretty big and heavy box. Preferably on coasters but it will be a heavy sob to haul into a car or truckbed. I’ve been pushing flightcases around for the last 10 years and I can come up with a pretty cool enclosure for the forge, but it would mean driving around a van or bigger for transport
I’ll wait and see the first couple of months of what others notice transporting the forge. I still have nightmares transporting PC’s. It would work, unplug it, move it 2 meters to another table, plug it in and total chaos would ensue. So I try not to carry around big electronics.
Curious - for those fortunates who are using the pre-release… any thoughts on this thread as to transporability for the units. Do you think they could be transported safely in a large “pelican-type” box with appropriate cushioning? Do they seem bigger than you imagined(smaller)?
Certainly they are much larger than the image most have in their heads. They are built very well. Everything seems tight, not loose, hefty. But in my head I have always assumed that 5% of them will arrive broken. Shipping equipment is tough. Multiply that for every time you pack and unpack it, bounce it, etc. Each time we shipped something large for a conference it was like Russian Roulette. But I could be surprised.
Depends on where/how you’re planning to transport it. If it’s local by car, I’d say no problem. If it’s long distance via airplane it’s definitely doable considering how the original box was packed. But I’d be worried about how baggage handlers would treat it. Not sure there’s a Pelican big enough - add 4" to the machine dimensions for foam padding and see if you can find a case that big.
There are a couple of Pelican cases that would fit it. I don’t know that you’d need 4" of foam though? Is that an arbitrary number or based on something?
I know the replacement closed cell foam is really expensive. But, all in all it’s cheaper than a new Glowforge. If you wanted to get really crazy, Pelican will even design custom cases with cradle suspensions.
Pricey ($600 to $750), but needed to protect the GF investment.
If you have any thoughts of traveling and doing setups (maker faire, product shows, special events), shipping or airplane methods would destroy the original shipping box (after a few trips).