Road cases refers to a certain kind of shipping container that is designed specifically for protecting lighting and audio production equipment, motion picture equipment, and musical instruments. There are many other pieces of equipment and instruments that are shipped using road cases. The instruments are usually sensitive and need extra protection to prevent damage. The protection is necessary when the equipment is being moved from one place to another or mishandled.
These containers have many other names they are referred by. ATA case, flight case, and roadie case are among common names that are in use. Different types of professionals in the entertainment industry are the ones who commonly use these containers. A person can have these containers in numerous numbers based on the quantity of the equipment one needs to transport.
A large number of these containers are manufactured by joining together molded plastic, metal extrusions or plastic to make panels. Each panel making up a container is made of two layers. Fiberglass laminate or ABS makes up the outer layer which is in turn attached to the middle layer made from plywood of cabinet grade. The thickness of the middle layer may vary from 3/16 to 1/2 of an inch.
Maple, birch, and poplar are among the cabinet-grade plywood in application. The name laminate panel is used for these two layers. Composite materials are applied in making the laminate layer in high-grade cases. There is shock-absorbing filler inside case. Varying types of fillers exist, including polyurethane and polyethylene foam. In the filler, there are cavities designed to resemble the shape of the instrument that is placed inside the case.
Instead of using shock-absorbing filler, the case may also be mounted with racks or panels that hold the equipment in place inside the container. The panels or racks are attached to the walls of the case and are equipped with shock insulators. The corners of these containers are reinforced using stamped sheet steel cases corners. The reinforcing corners are then finished using chrome, nickel, or zinc.
Prior to the production and distribution of these containers to buyers, it is mandatory that they are tested. Among the tests carried out are, impact or drop, penetration, vibration, water resistance, stackability and vibration tests. From the mentioned tests, drop tests, stackability and vibration are the most emphasized. A case weighing 50 pounds when stacked up will be dropped 160 times from a raised platform of 30 inches during drop testing.
Also, drop test comprises of 40 corner drops performed from 36 inches high while 80 edge drops are done from 36 inches. There is a reduction in height to 21 inches where cases are 100 pounds. The distant is adjusted to 18 inches for the cases that weigh 150 pounds. As the case weighs more, the distance reduces.
For the stackability test, a weight of 135 kg is mounted on each container face for a 24-hour period. The penetration test sees a 6kg weight dropped on the weakest point from a set height. The aim of each test is to achieve certain results without any damage. The containers are fitted with casters to ease their transit.
These containers have many other names they are referred by. ATA case, flight case, and roadie case are among common names that are in use. Different types of professionals in the entertainment industry are the ones who commonly use these containers. A person can have these containers in numerous numbers based on the quantity of the equipment one needs to transport.
A large number of these containers are manufactured by joining together molded plastic, metal extrusions or plastic to make panels. Each panel making up a container is made of two layers. Fiberglass laminate or ABS makes up the outer layer which is in turn attached to the middle layer made from plywood of cabinet grade. The thickness of the middle layer may vary from 3/16 to 1/2 of an inch.
Maple, birch, and poplar are among the cabinet-grade plywood in application. The name laminate panel is used for these two layers. Composite materials are applied in making the laminate layer in high-grade cases. There is shock-absorbing filler inside case. Varying types of fillers exist, including polyurethane and polyethylene foam. In the filler, there are cavities designed to resemble the shape of the instrument that is placed inside the case.
Instead of using shock-absorbing filler, the case may also be mounted with racks or panels that hold the equipment in place inside the container. The panels or racks are attached to the walls of the case and are equipped with shock insulators. The corners of these containers are reinforced using stamped sheet steel cases corners. The reinforcing corners are then finished using chrome, nickel, or zinc.
Prior to the production and distribution of these containers to buyers, it is mandatory that they are tested. Among the tests carried out are, impact or drop, penetration, vibration, water resistance, stackability and vibration tests. From the mentioned tests, drop tests, stackability and vibration are the most emphasized. A case weighing 50 pounds when stacked up will be dropped 160 times from a raised platform of 30 inches during drop testing.
Also, drop test comprises of 40 corner drops performed from 36 inches high while 80 edge drops are done from 36 inches. There is a reduction in height to 21 inches where cases are 100 pounds. The distant is adjusted to 18 inches for the cases that weigh 150 pounds. As the case weighs more, the distance reduces.
For the stackability test, a weight of 135 kg is mounted on each container face for a 24-hour period. The penetration test sees a 6kg weight dropped on the weakest point from a set height. The aim of each test is to achieve certain results without any damage. The containers are fitted with casters to ease their transit.
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You can get a summary of the things to keep in mind when ordering custom road cases at http://www.encorecases.com right now.
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