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Makerbot Carrying Bag
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Published on April 15, 2011
Description
Lugging a Makerbot around can be a bit tricky. It is possible to grab it in one hand around the top edge, but that doesn't leave much hand capacity for the other little bits like spools of filament, toolbox full o' gear, sample print collections and other stuff.
Some people are using a Pelican case to carry their bots, but that seems a bit too big and furnituresque for my tastes. With the rigid case, you can definitely bring it on a plane or other formal transportation system, and it will be very protected. Mostly, I want to bring bots from the building to the car and to another building. It would need to be for carrying less than 200 feet and for less than 5 minutes of holding. A big fabric bag would be ideal for this, since it folds up pretty small in between relatively infrequent uses.
Back at World Maker Faire 2010, there was a rumor about some really big bags being given out by one of the yarn suppliers. These mythical Makerbot sized bags were long gone by the time I got around to asking. Since then, I've been wanting a roomy canvas bag for my bot. Sometimes I travel with two, and they're definitely an armload.
Recently, I came into a sewing machine, and after a bit of repair, have been showing my students how to use it. They've been doing some great projects, and I have been looking for a project of my own with the sewing machine. The Makerbot Carrying Bag seemed like a good way to build my skills at sewing while creating a functional Makerbot transport system. While designing and making this bag, I learned a bunch about how to do it, and what I might do differently on the next one. There were a few moments when I could have started it all over, but getting it done was more important than the pursuit of perfection.
Here are the photos:
flickr.com/photos/connors934/sets/72157626507111364/
Some people are using a Pelican case to carry their bots, but that seems a bit too big and furnituresque for my tastes. With the rigid case, you can definitely bring it on a plane or other formal transportation system, and it will be very protected. Mostly, I want to bring bots from the building to the car and to another building. It would need to be for carrying less than 200 feet and for less than 5 minutes of holding. A big fabric bag would be ideal for this, since it folds up pretty small in between relatively infrequent uses.
Back at World Maker Faire 2010, there was a rumor about some really big bags being given out by one of the yarn suppliers. These mythical Makerbot sized bags were long gone by the time I got around to asking. Since then, I've been wanting a roomy canvas bag for my bot. Sometimes I travel with two, and they're definitely an armload.
Recently, I came into a sewing machine, and after a bit of repair, have been showing my students how to use it. They've been doing some great projects, and I have been looking for a project of my own with the sewing machine. The Makerbot Carrying Bag seemed like a good way to build my skills at sewing while creating a functional Makerbot transport system. While designing and making this bag, I learned a bunch about how to do it, and what I might do differently on the next one. There were a few moments when I could have started it all over, but getting it done was more important than the pursuit of perfection.
Here are the photos:
flickr.com/photos/connors934/sets/72157626507111364/
Instructions
In making this carrying bag, I made one, and recorded the process in photos. I hope to make another, and maybe lots more. Whenever you make something for the first time, you always make mistakes that you wouldn't the second time. If you were going to make 10 in one session, you would also make different choices about measurements, materials and techniques. In this case, the materials were a free dropcloth, and thread that came along with the free sewing machine.
Gather some supplies:
Paper grocery bag to use as a pattern reference.
Cardboard to put at the bottom (and possibly the sides) of the bag for rigidity.
Heavy canvas, such as a used or new drop cloth
Sewing machine
Ruler or measuring tape
Marker/pencil/chalk for marking up the fabric
Scissors
Carefully open up the grocery bag and fold it flat.
Check the measurements of the bag, put the Makerbot on it to see if the folds match.
I found that the folds were close, and used the bag to record my measurements of the Makerbot.
Add up the measurements of the sides to determine how long the fabric will need to be. Add at least an inch or two to each side for seam allowance and to give some room to get the bag around the bot. I cut mine to 56 inches wide.
Measure the height of the bot and add several inches to allow the bag to fully cover the bot. This will help for rainy day transport. I cut mine to 26 inches. The dropcloth I used came to me for free, and does show some evidence of weekend projects by its' previous owner. A free material like this encourages experimentation. After building some skill and developing a solid design, splatter free fabric will be nice to work with.
Cut the fabric to the size of all the sides added up with an inch or two added to each.
Sew a hem to the top edge of the material of the wall loop.
Sew this along the vertical edge. This will give you a loop that is wide enough to fit around your Makerbot. On mine, I reduced the size of the loop and created a pocket. The pocket isn't sized right for most of the tings I might use it for, so I'd either make it much bigger to fit the toolbox, or eliminate it.
Once the side wall loop is closed, it needs a bottom. For this, I cut a double thickness square that will fit the edge of the material wall loop. The bottom panel is sewn while the bag is inside out. This hides the seam on the inside when it's in use. Once the bag is turned right side out, you can get the dimensions for the cardboard panels at the bottom. The cardboard helps strengthen the bottom and decreases the likelihood that one of the corners of the bot will poke through a seam or the fabric. Coroplast would be a more durable material, and less likely to get mushy when wet. This can be gotten at the end of the political season when the vanquished candidates have no more use for many signs bearing their names and aspired positions.
The handles were made by taking a scrap of the material, cutting it in half, folding it over itself in thirds and sewing the open edge. Each end of the handles is sewn with a square around an X for increased durability. When I pick it up, the handles seem about right in my hand. The bag hangs down, but not so far that it drags on the ground. A longer strap would allow for shoulder carrying. Two longer straps would lend themselves to a backpack carry.
Gather some supplies:
Paper grocery bag to use as a pattern reference.
Cardboard to put at the bottom (and possibly the sides) of the bag for rigidity.
Heavy canvas, such as a used or new drop cloth
Sewing machine
Ruler or measuring tape
Marker/pencil/chalk for marking up the fabric
Scissors
Carefully open up the grocery bag and fold it flat.
Check the measurements of the bag, put the Makerbot on it to see if the folds match.
I found that the folds were close, and used the bag to record my measurements of the Makerbot.
Add up the measurements of the sides to determine how long the fabric will need to be. Add at least an inch or two to each side for seam allowance and to give some room to get the bag around the bot. I cut mine to 56 inches wide.
Measure the height of the bot and add several inches to allow the bag to fully cover the bot. This will help for rainy day transport. I cut mine to 26 inches. The dropcloth I used came to me for free, and does show some evidence of weekend projects by its' previous owner. A free material like this encourages experimentation. After building some skill and developing a solid design, splatter free fabric will be nice to work with.
Cut the fabric to the size of all the sides added up with an inch or two added to each.
Sew a hem to the top edge of the material of the wall loop.
Sew this along the vertical edge. This will give you a loop that is wide enough to fit around your Makerbot. On mine, I reduced the size of the loop and created a pocket. The pocket isn't sized right for most of the tings I might use it for, so I'd either make it much bigger to fit the toolbox, or eliminate it.
Once the side wall loop is closed, it needs a bottom. For this, I cut a double thickness square that will fit the edge of the material wall loop. The bottom panel is sewn while the bag is inside out. This hides the seam on the inside when it's in use. Once the bag is turned right side out, you can get the dimensions for the cardboard panels at the bottom. The cardboard helps strengthen the bottom and decreases the likelihood that one of the corners of the bot will poke through a seam or the fabric. Coroplast would be a more durable material, and less likely to get mushy when wet. This can be gotten at the end of the political season when the vanquished candidates have no more use for many signs bearing their names and aspired positions.
The handles were made by taking a scrap of the material, cutting it in half, folding it over itself in thirds and sewing the open edge. Each end of the handles is sewn with a square around an X for increased durability. When I pick it up, the handles seem about right in my hand. The bag hangs down, but not so far that it drags on the ground. A longer strap would allow for shoulder carrying. Two longer straps would lend themselves to a backpack carry.
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I like it... but are you not concerned about the vulnerability of the electronics?
That could be an issue.
I may add a liner to the bag to improve weather resistance.
This bag will definitely protect the electronics much better than my previous technique of carrying it bare in my hands.
I keep a plastic bag stuffed inside the power supply cavity, but I wonder about static buildup when using the pla
stic bag.