Portable 3D Printer-In-A-Suitcase Documentation
Portable 3D Printer-In-A-Suitcase
Towards a more rugged portable desktop 3D printer
Inspiration
This project was inspired by e-NABLE’s global mission to provide 3D printed prosthetic devices to children and the underserved, and as a means to fulfill that mission in remote locations.
It was conceived as a straightforward project, retrofitting an off-the-shelf printing platform with a well-established support community with hardware allowing it to fold or separate into transportable components.
The Creality Ender-3 Pro 3D printer is an inexpensive yet robust printer with a small footprint and a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250mm. The extruded aluminum frame can be modified with basic hand tools to accept a wide array of aluminum extrusion hardware. The Ender-3 is a workhorse, a very durable, inexpensive, and dependable machine.
Interior View: Creality Ender-3 Pro 3D Printer
Design Concept
An Ender-3, a Pelican hard case, and a Pelican hard case with backpack strap conversion kit installed.
To facilitate transport, the portable e-NABLE lab could be built into a wheeled hardcase fitted with a backpack conversion kit. It may include an additional sachel or saddle bag(s) for carrying additional 3D printer filament.
A Pelican™ 1510 Carry-On Case fitted with a RucPac Hardcase Backpack Conversion kit.
I was able to divide the Creality Ender-3 3D printer into 5 major components, and through trial-and-error found a configuration allowing all components to fit inside of the Pelican case in a nested fashion.
Closed Pelican 1535 Air case with Creality Ender-3 3D Printer inside.
When the case is opened, the 3D printer can be seen afixed to and held in place by a coroplast (corrugated plastic) sheath. The walls of the coroplast sheath extend high enough that they touch the inside of the lid when the lid is closed. This keeps the coroplast sheath (and thus the printer) from sliding around inside of the case during transport.
Open Pelican 1535 Air case with Creality Ender-3 3D Printer inside.
Aerial view of Pelican 1535 Air case with Creality Ender-3 3D Printer inside.
The whole unit can be lifted up and out of the Pelican Air 1535 case by grabbing where shown in the following figure.
Packed unit can be lifted from the Pelican case here.
After the sheathed 3D printer is lifted up and out of the Pelican case, a few extra items (including tools and the power cable) can be seen in the space that was underneath the coroplast sheath.
Empty Pelican 1535 Air case after packed Creality Ender-3 3D Printer is lifted out.
The 3D printer is loaded into and unloaded from the coroplast sheath outside of the Pelican case. The coroplast sheath provides excellent stability of the machine inside of the Pelican case.
Packed Creality Ender-3 3D Printer, with Coroplast
The 3D printer is suspended slightly above the bottom of the coroplast sheath, and thus above the bottom of the Pelican case. We experimented with lining the bottom with foam for further cushioning.
Packed Creality Ender-3 3D Printer, with Coroplast
Materials
A Pelican Air 1535 watertight hard case.
Back View: A Pelican Air 1535 hard case with attached RucPac Hard Case Conversion backpack straps.
Side View: A Pelican Air 1535 hard case with attached RucPac Hard Case Conversion backpack straps.
Printed Parts
Coroplast Parts
3D Printer Insert
Interior View: Pelican Air 1535 hard case.
Interior View: Pelican Air 1535 hard case.
Printer Modifications
By design, very few modifications were made to the 3D printer itself. No cuts were made to the extruded aluminum frame to change the form-factor, and no hardware (hinges, etc.) were added to the machine as has been added to other portable 3D printer concepts.
Assembly
Commercial or Large-Scale Manufacture
Laser Cutter
Corrugated plastic sheets are made from polypropylene and can be cut with a CO2 laser to produce clean-edged inserts, rather than doing it by hand.
Stamping
The inserts can be stamped out with an industrial die from corrugated plastic sheet.
Final Product
The final product is satisfactory, and in carrying by the handle or wearing the unit on the back, there is very little shift of the internal contents of the hard case. This speaks to the rigidity of the coroplast and how well the unit fits within the hard case.
Portable 3D printer loaded into the Pelican Air 1535 hard case.
Portable 3D printer loaded into the Pelican Air 1535 hard case.
Project Discussion
I believe we accomplished what we set out to do: find a way to put an Ender-3 3D printer inside of a hard case small enough the carry-on an airplane. We came in under-budget on materials as our understanding of the practicality of the unit evolved. As per the original proposal, we have space in the hard case for tools and supplies necessary to do 3D printing and prosthetic creation in the field.
If I were to use the rest of the budget, one purchase that could be worthwhile would be a Pelican lid organizer, offering zippered pouches to neatly retain additional tools and supplies needed in the field. I don’t think it’s necessary at this time to make such a purchase as the proof-of-concept and knowledge of the existence of these lid organizers should suffice.
Portable 3D printer loaded into the Pelican Air 1535 hard case.
Utility Discussion
In principle, the portable 3D printer would seem like a good idea. I submit three hypothetical scenarios:
- Short-Term Trip
On a short-term e-NABLE trip, a volunteer or group of volunteers would realistically have a good idea of the community/communities they will be visiting and the types of amputations they may come across. It is not realistic to assume a volunteer would be dropped into a country and have no clue or personal contacts for any communities in need. For the volume and weight of the portable 3D printer, I would say that it may make more pragmatic sense to fill the pelican case with dozens of already 3D printed parts — perhaps dozens of Phoenix Hand gauntlets and finger pieces, and enough hardware to build.
One might argue that bringing the 3D printed parts, as opposed to the 3D printer, limits the volunteer in the field. On a short-term trip I would argue the opposite. Bringing a single 3D printer means that the volunteer is limited to working in series, waiting many hours for one print to finish. As we know, that print may fail for many reasons or it may be that the size turned out to not be appropriate for the recipient. This is wasted time, especially if the intention is to help as many people as possible in the time that the volunteer is there.
Power is a significant issue as well. In my time in Africa I saw just how fragile the electrical grid is in certain communities. We would lose power for long stretches of time. Due to constant power fluctuations, the 3D printers needed to be plugged into an uninterruptable power supply (UPS). It fluctuated so much that any piece of electronics not powered through a UPS was in danger of frying with a surge. The computers at HVP-Gatagara, for example, would need to be rebooted several times an hour due to brief power cuts. All this is to say, for a portable 3D printer to be of practical use in developing communities, the volunteers would need to also bring a reasonably-sized UPS which can be almost as big and bulky as the Pelican Air 1535 hard case. This means another checked bag on the flight, and another heavy item to lug around. So, for the size and weight, why not bring two full suitcases of all sizes and colors of prosthetics we may be able to offer?
We also need to consider that for it to make sense to bring the 3D printer, we would also need to bring a laptop. Sure, we can store print jobs on an SD card and print from SD, but this limits the types of prints that can be done in the field to those we have already pre-configured. If we limit ourselves to a set number of prints anyway, why not just bring them already printed? One would be able to help many more recipients in parallel without having to wait for the part to print.
- Long-Term Trip
On a long-term volunteering trip, one in which the volunteer lives in the community for a time as I did in Tanzania and Rwanda, it makes sense to have access to the 3D printing equipment. Having access to the 3D printer allows for more personalization and iteration, a luxury afforded to the volunteer only when they have an extended period of time to do it in. In this case it makes far more sense to bring the UPS, etc.
For the current cost of these workhorse 3D printers (under $200), relative to the cost of an international trip, I say it makes more practical sense to buy a new machine and ship it as checked baggage in the box it comes in. Or, simply save the box it comes in and re-pack your desktop Ender in it before taking your trip. I say this because in this project we set out to make few if any modifications to the printer itself, to make this project accessible to any volunteer. In so doing, we did not add any hinges or other fancy hardware to the system. In reality, we found a different way to pack the system into a slightly smaller form factor, but to what end? It would be nice not to have to put the 3D printer into checked baggage, but then we’d still have to check the UPS and the third suitcase full of tools and filament. So it doesn’t really save us money
I’ve been to more than 30 countries and have never had to walk a significant distance (beyond where public or private transport could get me) to get to a destination, except for Machu Picchu. The backpack straps make perfect sense if you are going to pack the 3D printer in the Pelican Air hard case, but packing the 3D printer in the Pelican Air hard case only really makes sense if it is so difficult to get to the destination that you would actually need the form factor of the packed box to be so small you could carry it. The 3D printer in the original box it comes in is packed very well in fitted Styrofoam and would go through checked baggage without issue. I submit that if you go through the extensive planning necessary to set up a long-term volunteering mission in some location around the world where, ultimately, the 3D printer will be set up in a room and used extensively as I used printers in Tanzania and Rwanda, then the smaller transportation form factor and backpack straps are ultimately not necessary as they would only be relevant in the time it takes to travel between destination and airport. And travelling between destination and airport will happen in a vehicle that will be able to accommodate the box that the Ender-3 originally comes in (as opposed to walking or taking a motor bike) because that means of transportation will also need to be able to accommodate the large UPS, additional tools and filament, along with all of the volunteer(s) personal baggage.
- Domestic Demonstrations and Conventions
The portable 3D printer in a Pelican Air 1535 hard case could very well be an interesting novelty to bring to a demonstration at a school or a convention. This may spark the next great idea in a child or convention-goer, as all great demonstrations have the potential to do. Packing and transporting in this small form-factor, with the ability to carry-on the printer, seems especially beneficial for domestic travel with the printer. But, if the goal is simply to transport a printer across town or a few hours away in a car, the Ender-3 travels perfectly well on the floor or on a car seat. The extruded aluminum frame makes this printer rigid and robust, and going through the trouble of reproducing this design just to transport the printer a few times per year would likely not be worth the effort.
Conclusions
It is natural to have pre-conceived notions about developing communities in far-off places. It is only after you travel there or speak to someone who calls that place home that you can truly appreciate what the community has to offer. Before I travelled to East Africa, I imagined we may have to run the 3D printers while plugged into a running vehicle due to lack of electricity. This was misguided, and in retrospect very silly. Communities around the world more and more have electricity, and internet, and satellite television. Yet we still must work within the confines of the systems they do have. That means using a UPS, etc.
If an e-NABLE volunteer goes somewhere so incredibly remote that there is no electricity whatsoever, they surely will not be bringing a 3D printer with them . This is simply not practical.
With that said, I set off on this project with incorrect notions about how utilitous such a portable printer would be. I think to the lay person it makes perfect sense, but consider realistically what is necessary for a particular scenario, and you may come to the same conclusion that there are far better uses or time, money, space, weight, and energy for most practical scenarios.