The National Maker Faire is coming up and I am super excited to be involved. This will be the first Maker Faire that I have been to that isn’t qualified with a “Mini.”
I’ve made some special preparations for this event, knowing as I do that I won’t have access to a car, nor would there be any parking on site anyhow. So, both myself and my printer need to make it to UDC by Metro.
At previous faires, I’ve always needed a monitor to plug into my Octopi to actually run the printer. Previously, I’ve lugged around a spare 17″ monitor that we had at home, but that’s heavy and large. I would also grab the wireless keyboard and mouse we use for our gaming rig, leaving that device without input methods for the duration, plus for the few days after each faire before I actually unpack things. The printer itself has been lovingly hand-carried to events, getting a whole seat in the car to itself, while all its accessories traveled in an undignified heap in canvas grocery bags.
To operate the printer on site, I purchased a very small monitor and a wireless keyboard with integrated trackpad. Touchpads aren’t my favorite, but they work, and this means I don’t have to find a mouse that would likely get lost between faires.
Fully packed case, with all the foam in place
Case and organizer, with all the foam in placeBut to transport all these things? I bought a Pelican case and lid organizer. I can now confidently throw my printer into a swimming pool, confidant that it will remain dry and operational (Try it and I will hurt you). In addition to making fantastic rugged cases, Pelican has the distinction of being based in my hometown of Torrance, CA. Anyways, this particular Pelican case is large enough to safely and comfortably house:
- Printrbot Metal Simple
- ATX PSU
- 7″ monitor
- Wireless Keyboard/trackpad
- 1kg filament spool
The lid organizer contains:
- Signs for the booth
- OctoPi in case
- Assorted hand tools including hex keys, screwdriver, clippers, digital calipers
- USB cable
- HDMI cable
- Assorted power cables
Underneath all of that foam is a printer!
So… I will still be bringing a canvas grocery bag, but only one, and it will contain the following:
- Desk fan
- Blue tape
- Demo models
- Power strip
There is one more thing… I’ve had a hard time keeping my printer cool at faires. Even indoors, it gets too hot and the electronics go on strike. While they cool down, I turn the printer on its side to show kids the printrboard and talk about how each component hooks up – gotta make the best of things – but I would prefer that it continues to print. I’ve purchased a laptop cooling rig, which may help. However, with highs looking to be about 95, it may only delay the inevitable. We shall see.
KT421 Is Not At Her Post 