Posting this question here since apparently I’m not allowed to create topics in the A1 category.
I’m just curious to hear from owners of the A1 as to how viable it would be to have the A1 as a portable printer. Long story short, I travel a lot for work and often spend time at the same location. I was thinking about getting an A1 and breaking it down to store in a pelican style case when I’m not there. It could also actually travel with me at other times.
My understanding with the A1 is there’s just a few screws to attach the gantry and that’s about it. Should be fairly easy I hope to even repurpose the foam that is used to ship it into the case for a nice fit.
It could be done, though you should consider its size (LxWxH) 347 x 315 x 365 mm, and weight (about 6kg, without AMS). If you plan to bring along the AMS for (eventually) multi-color printing, you’ll have to consider the later’s size and weight (the necessary filament rolls weight and size not being considered).
Thanks. Not planning to need an AMS. This is mostly just so I can print prototypes and pass the time while stuck in a hotel room. On the dimensions, if I remove the gantry for packing it should break down pretty flat I’d think.
You’ll have to consider also the continuous change of your internet connection (each hotel → different connection), unless you plan for your A1 to work on LAN only or through the sd card for your print files.
I thought about a mini but I think I’d like to keep the same bed size as my X1s. While I don’t use the full bed all the time, as soon as I got a mini I’m sure I’d regret not having the extra space.
Yeah, I had considered that too, but if I am traveling with it, I would likely prefer the smaller size. And since traveling, probably not as likely to attempt a large print that would take a lot of time and/or filament.
Fair points. Most of my travel is to the same location and I’m there for a week or so. My plan would actually be to leave it there and not actually travel much with it until I hit lulls in the travel and I could bring it home.
I wonder if a Mini would fit in one of those Pelican 1510 that you can use as a carry-on…
Interested in this as well. Perhaps we should all put our heads together and design a case for this. Is anyone interested in collaborating on a project to make this a reality? I’m traveling a lot as a remote worker and I would love to prototype on the fly. This would be ideal for mobile product development
Oh, I’ll probably do it. I want to get by my local Micro Center to see an A1 in person though just to get a good feel for the dimensions. Looking at specs just doesn’t let me visualize the true size.
I’d also like to reuse much of the foam that it ships in since it’s already cut to fit everything. Thinking that’s going to be the primary factor in the size of the case along with squeezing in a couple rolls of filament.
I have a few Pelican and Pelican-style cases lying around and I’m sure it would fit in one of them. Not the cheapest option but if someone is buying a “mobile printer setup” I’m guessing a few extra bucks (read: more than the cost of the printer) may not be the biggest concern to keep it protected.
