Ideas for trade show demo unit shipping case 7

[btrueblood]

I've been tasked with the lucky job of designing the next trade show "demo. unit" for our sister company. The demonstration unit itself is mostly designed already, and will break down into two roughly 30 inch cubes. Easy enough.

But the boss wants the units to be easily moved, and easily loaded into a rental minivan, and to withstand shipping by common carriers. The latter implies a protective case, and it has to look professional - ok, I can find some good looking custom cases online, and plan to contact some of these people. The first requirement, however, implies casters, as one of the units will weigh upwards of 400 lbs. To load such a thing into the back of a typical van, it has been suggested to have collapsible ramps (which could be shipped along with the units), or jacking casters on the sides of the crate, or a portable lifting device (like a collapsible mini forklift if there is such).

Wondering if anybody else has had experience in designing for the above set of requirements, and how you handled it. Website links greatly appreciated.

 

[KENAT]

What about a scissor lift cart with a bit plate of UHMWPE or similar on top of it - plus maybe some sheets for in the back of the van.

Of course lifting the scissor lift itself off & on the van may be an issue but...

Sliding motions from/to scissor lifts is how we handle most of our stuff. We even have some with additional scissor actuators set horizontally on the main table to help push items off etc.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#mobile-lift-tables/=s2ct12

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[ctopher]

I have never designed such a case. We have always purchased some.
One option: Link

Chris, CSWA
SolidWorks 14
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[btrueblood]

Thanks for the replies Kenat and Ctopher. Kenat, have you ever seen a lightweight (aluminum?) version of the scissor lift tables? We have a scissor lift here, that sucker is heavy.

 

[KENAT]

No, hence my comment about getting it off & on the van etc.

What about an old ambulance stretcher or something? I'm guessing to take care of avid Fast Food fans they may hit your weight limit.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[MikeHalloran]

Ramps here:

http://www.magliner.com/product/ramps?p=1

Magliner also makes super hand trucks.

Be sure to engrave some identification into whatever you buy from Magliner; everyone likes their products, a lot.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[KENAT]

I googled:

lightweight scissor lift cart

And got several results - a lot of the first ones were English interestingly.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[dvd]

Why doesn't the common carrier carry the cubes all the way to where the show is?
Who is the intended stevedore of this 400 lb cargo? a guy in a suit?
Are your 400 lb cubes going to need to hop curbs?
Casters on a case traveling by common carrier ought to make the caster companies happy.
Travel over gravel?
How are you going to restrain the 400 lb cube when it is inside of the minivan and has wheels on it?
How are you going to horse a 400 lb cube out of the back/side of a minivan onto a scissor lift?
The scissor lift has to cantilever into the minivan putting the 400 lb load outside of the wheelbase of the lift - meaning tipover, or some means of locking the lift at the edge of the van while wheeling the cube onto the stage of the lift needs to be devised.
How to lock the cube on the scissor lift during raise/lower and rolling, possibly on a slope?
At the OSHA recommended 50 lb/person you need to get eight people clustered around the case to lift 400 lb if it can't be rolled.
etc, ad nauseum....

Non-professional material handlers usually do stuff that jeopardizes someone's safety.

I recommend that the boss either spring for the right equipment which is not a rented minivan and some ramps or an off-the-shelf scissor lift, or have the cubes delivered to the show. This thing seems ill-conceived.

 

[prex]

I used a lifter like the one in attachment.
The legs go under the floor of the van so you can easily reach the inside of it. Then the legs can be disassembled and the lifter manually put inside the van.

prex
[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.xcalcs.com[/url] : Online engineering calculations
[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.megamag.it[/url] : Magnetic brakes and launchers for fun rides
[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.levitans.com[/url] : Air bearing pads

 

[btrueblood]

Mike, prex, thanks for the links.

We found a lightweight "forklift" in the Grainger catalog that may work, and Kenat's idea is still a contender (found one that weighs about 130 lbs, with steel frame, so it seems feasible that a lighter one could be had in aluminum).

Dvd, yes these are the questions I've been tasked to answer. A demo unit may need to be transported to offices by sales people, and there may not be sufficient time for the usual logistics of moving companies to get it there and back and keep said sales people on schedule. Thus, in the hopefully uncommon event that a sales person needs to move the thing, how can we best accomodate that and minimize the number of hernia operations the company has to pay for.

 

[KENAT]

btrue, my quick search found some very lightweight aluminum ones but not quite up to your load.

The concern I have using lift carts and sliding is that although they get you off the van, I'm not sure they help much at the other end unless you have some kind of stand/table/bench to slide them on to (or they are just left on the lift cart.

"The scissor lift has to cantilever into the minivan putting the 400 lb load outside of the wheelbase of the lift - meaning tipover, or some means of locking the lift at the edge of the van while wheeling the cube onto the stage of the lift needs to be devised."

Potentially an issue but depending on geometery and other factors not a significant problem. We slide 300lb microscopes from this type of cart to air tables & benches etc. on a regular basis. All the carts I've seen have a brake on them - for safety of sales people a dead man break may be better. Also the carts won't work on too rough a surface which may be a limitation.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[racookpe1978]

OK. You've got 2x packages (relatively small, but high density!) that cannot be made smaller nor lighter than mush be regularly shipped and unpacked at trade shows. If done properly, you can also bring these to meetings and demonstrations and to clients. Trade shows will not be your only application, but shipping and unpacking are actually easiest for trade shows BECAUSE everything is done "behind the scenes" with fork lifts and workers BEFORE any "civilian" gets to see the "show and tell" unpackaged product assembly.

That weight package is slightly more than a conventional refrigerator. Keep that in mind!

How are you going to get the package INTO the shipping container? You CANNOT lift it and then lower into the shipping container by hand (bending over the walls of the container??) no matter how many people you have available. requires a crane and hook and riggers, or a very, very skilled forklift operator and a hook on the fork lift tines. A method that is often done improperly and unsafely, by the way.

Rather, make the shipping container setup so it can be either permanent to the bottom of the package, then the cover lifted off. Or the bottom of the shipping container slipped under the package after it is raised (by forklift or a an screw lift mechanism) THEN the upper part of the container with its walls and top placed over the package.

Ramps work into a low U-Haul type truck (people load refrigerators and freezers and gun safes and cupboards tens of thousands of times daily. Into a "van" type truck? No. Raised shipping platforms are found at EVERY trade show/convention center/display area EVERYWHERE. Conventional truck, long-haul, even FedEx ground and UPS ground shippers will accommodate that type package. No overnight-type delivery on forklift-type loads unless you want to pay for it, but you don't want those high a fees anyway for any planned event.

Add fork-lift compatible slots into the lower part of your shipping package.

I blew out my back in the 90's (before laptops!) moving much, much lighter 60-70 lb PC monitors and Unix-box high end monitor boxes through airports and to show-and-tell demo's nationally trying to "save money". Don't do it to yourself or your company.

 

[Timelord]

btrueblood,

Check out the people who supply crates for touring bands. There are outfits that specialize in this field. They have a lot of experience in exactly what you seek.

Timelord

 

[TenPenny]

Timelord, that was exactly my thought process, that stuff is designed to be hauled around and moved in and out quickly. That's where I'd go first.

For a scissors lift idea, I'd look at gurneys for ambulances for ideas.

 

[tbuelna]

400 lbs in a 30 inch cube is quite a dense package. Besides considering how you will get the 400 lb plus container/package up and into the back of a transport van, you might also think about how you will get the 400 lb package into the shipping container itself. OSHA regulations usually limit the amount of weight a single person can lift to about 40 lbs. So your 400 lb package would require 10 people to manually place it into the shipping container. Otherwise, you will need some sort of lifting device like a hoist or a forklift. And if you have a forklift available, it should be no problem to place the loaded container into the back of a transport van.

 

[MintJulep]

http://web.powermate.info/powermate_solutions/?Tag=appliance+dolly

 

[geesamand]

We have trade show items that fit in a 60"tall x 60"long x 40"wide wooden crate. It has small casters to reposition it but is generally moved distances by forklift. We Velcro on a skirt that hides the rollers and bottom. The bottom of the display stand forms the bottom of the shipping box, and there is a roll-off cover that makes up three sides and the top. Then there is a final door for the 4th side.

It holds up ok but you definitely can't roll it from the airport into the front door of the convention center. This is the stuff you pay the setup team to move to your booth location and we break down the crate for the show and reassemble it for the return shipment. The cost adds up.

Our engineering team did not design this crate or any others like it. There are shops that specialize in this sort of thing and know how to make a container that is tough enough to handle the rigors of shipping.

David

 

[sreid]

Possibly Pelican Cases. Top of the line products. For example;

http://www.pelicancases.com/0550-p/0550.htm

 

[btrueblood]

Mint, thanks - good link.

Sreid, thanks for the link, star even though it was one of the first places I looked - they don't seem to have customized stuff, though.

 

[StoneCold]

What if you started with a trailer concept. We get a few vendors with some nice walk in trailer displays that work well. Even if you unload it sometimes you are much closer to a solution than a rental van.
Just a thought.

Regards
StoneCold