The stuff I bought for lining a flight case is 1.5" thick, and the kind of stuff that you could stand on one-legged all day without it going completely flat, and when you hop off, within 5 seconds there'll be no sign that you did it. And that's not the densest stuff they make.
Upholsterers need and use all grades, often with lower density glued over higher density foam. I've seen the light stuff that miso talks about too, but a trade supplier - especially that supplies pleasure boat chandleries and trimmers - will have the good stuff.
But it seems you like questions more than you like answers... Find a proper trade supplier and don't take "no" for an answer.
Cut up some pink foam insulation board. This stuff that is sold under various names in various thicknesses. Make it fit your case, cut out the shape, seal the exposed pink edges with (insert drum roll) duct tape. If there are any gaps, use urethane foam in a can (heat leak patch or fence post compound) to fill the gaps. I think (not sure) that you can seal the edges with Plati-Dip (spray vinyl):
Vacuum forming. I place the objects on the vacuum table, cover with a sheet of plastic, heat, suck, and I get an instant mould. If you don't want a tight fit, or have a weird shaped object, temporarily cover it with padding and duct tape.
Expanding foam. This is availiable in a variety of forms. For example: The easiest way to "pack" something is to pour or spray the foam into a plastic bag. Before it hardens, shove the bag into your case, and shove your tools into the surface of the plastic while it's still soft. Keep the top flat by pushing down with a piece of scrap plywood. For the top part, do the same with another bag sitting between the first bag and the top of the case. Hint: Tools with pointed or sharp edges don't work well without additional padding.
You can cut the excess foam with a hot nichrome wire, or a sharp blade.
There are YouTube videos on how to handle expanding urethane packing foam. For example:
Note: You will make a mess, you will use too much and create a re-enactment of the blob, and you will get it stuck to something accidentally. It's a rite of passage for using the stuff and cannot be avoided.
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Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
The polyurethane foam is *intended* to be compressible. The stuff I have (see photo elsewhere) is not. It serves the role that "molded styrofoam packing materials" served in the past -- hold something in place.
The floral supply stuff that I am familiar with is brittle and flimsy.
This was the first approach I had tried. I've used "Great Stuff" (it comes in three? different "densities"/expandabilities, IIRC) to pack things for shipment. Again, "holding something in place".
[I also used it recently to insulate and *secure* some 1" copper pipes in the hollows of cinder-block posts I'd made -- not wanting the pipes to be able to *move* left/right yet not able to fasten each to the *inside* surface of the cinder-block voids! (I've since discovered a way to do just that ! :< )]
Among the cases that I have is a large one -- probably 3'x2'x1'. It's sort of like a piece of hard-sided luggage -- wheels, telescoping "handle", etc. This would be ideal for my electric "breaker" (think "jack hammer"). Similar to:
[I don't have a hand truck to "store" mine (well, I do but it is far too big to set aside for that role) -- hence the idea of the carrying case I was trying to make]
This thing is heavy. About 70 pounds -- not counting the attachments ("bits"). Anything compressible *will* compress and deform while this is *stored* in it (I don't use this "instrument of destruction" very often :> Makes me feel like I'm vibrating for hours afterwards!)
I wrapped the breaker with a plastic sheet (it's almost like vellum -- not polyethylene). Then, suspended it partially "submerged" in the case (i.e., so that it wasn't sitting on the back/bottom of the case). Then, sprayed *under* it with the canned foam letting it expand *up* to meet the wrapping around the breaker.
When it was clear that I had enough (almost 3 cans!), I misted the exposed surface of the foam with water (apparently, helps it cure? Not sure how but it did make a difference when I used it for the pipe insulation outdoors!) Then, walked away so not to disturb it.
The next day, noticed the foam had crept up *over* the top of the breaker. Lesson learned: *suspend* the item by the sheet that you wrap it with. I.e., so the item creates a convex hull in the sheet with "(near) vertical sides". So, the only place for the excess foam to go is over the edge of the case.
But, the real problem was the weight of the breaker had perforated the sheet and allowed foam to push its way through and muck up the breaker. Lesson learned: put something soft above the sheet between it and the item. The contours won't end up as tight but there's less chance of screws and other edges damaging the sheet! (probably find a thicker material, as well)
Thankfully, I had lined the *case* with a sheet as well so I was able to "clean out" the case completely after this attempt.
I've not pursued it any further ($25 for "half" a case means you want to know its going to work!) especially in light of "how am I going to handle the attachments 'in the cover'?" It seemed like a solution that I could *cut* with a knife would be easier to get right...
I've found noise dampening foam to work. It's what they use in music studios but also works like the carrying cases you mention (the diamond jutted foam).
Michael Lalonde Sudbury, Ontario - M&J Mining
Hi,
I have several "cases" that I'd like to convert into carrying cases for various tools that seem to keep multiplying around here. (primarily hand tools)
I figure all I need to do is find some reasonably stiff "foam" in which I can cut holes to set the individual tools in, then place these in the cases. Not as good as a case made *specifically* for a particular tool but a lot better than storing tools in generic cardboard boxes!
Most of the "foam" I've encountered at craft stores is just that -- foam. Spongey. It should be easy to manipulate but I doubt it will offer much support to the tools once the case is closed and carried off.
[Styrofoam is too "brittle" IMO. But, reasonably "firm"]
The carrying case for one of my LCD projectors has a "foam filler" that seems perfect. *Looks* like styrofoam (contrast that with the sort of foam with which you would stuff a seat cushion) but rubbery-er. And black.
I.e., unlike the "seat cushion foam", it has very little "give" (just like styrofoam). Unlike styrofoam, it doesn't fall apart when abused!
Suggestions as to what I could use and where I might find it?
--
???
I know perfectly well what it means; _you_ were the one who was
thrown for a loss, as evidenced by:
"OK, you've lost me there. What does my wife have to do with
packaging foam or optical benches?"
I was just goading you. I am too familiar with your male-organ obsessions. And with your lack of interest in electronic design topics. And with your Thompson copycat behavior.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology Inc
www.highlandtechnology.com jlarkin at highlandtechnology dot com
Precision electronic instrumentation
Picosecond-resolution Digital Delay and Pulse generators
Custom timing and laser controllers
Photonics and fiberoptic TTL data links
VME analog, thermocouple, LVDT, synchro, tachometer
Multichannel arbitrary waveform generators
Hmmm... a friend had said "insulation panels" which I took to mean styrofoam (which is what we put *under* stucco in this part of the country). I will have to look at this to see how rigid and dense it is (has to support a fair bit of weight without deformation)
Might work for smaller things. First thing on my list was an electric breaker (jackhammer). Kinda on the large side... (2 ft x 3 ft?)
That was the approach I initially tried for the breaker (see my description elsewhere). It didn't go well :< I think the size and weight made it impractical. Or, at least enough of a deterrent for me to want to explore other options before returning to that one!
When I've used this for *packing*, I just use a bare hacksaw blade (for small things) or a fine tooth had saw. The stuff cuts like butter so you don't really need much to get through it (OTOH, having a LONG "blade" makes it easier to get a level cut across the entire top!)
I'm a big fan of the stuff -- though NOT in its intended application! (e.g., fiberglass window frames, here. You *don't* use expanding foam behind their frames as it will warp the frames).
E.g., I ran some water lines above grade *inside* cinder block hollows and use the foam to hold the pipe in place as well as insulate it from the weather extremes. Delightfully easy to apply -- just squirt the stuff in until it starts bulging out both ends, let cure, trim to length!
Foam (all types) is great in compression, and miserable in tension. Design your packing accordingly.
Too heavy for vacuum forming. However, expanding foam in a bag will easily support it.
Practice makes improvement. Like I mumbled, you will make a mess, etc.
It's a side effect of my never reading the instructions.
It also make rework difficult. I just push in some pink fiberglass matting to fill in the gaps. It's more work, but it's easier to change later.
Thanks. I'll probably steal the idea.
I forgot to mumble something about routed wood cases with green felt padding. I made some of those cases as presents a few years ago. All that was needed was a pattern, router, router table, and plenty of spare time. Probably won't work for a jack hammer.
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Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Only works well if it doesn't deform under that compression. Whole point is to make sure the item can't move/shift position.
I think it's just such a *large* job and you can't really man-handle the breaker like you could a smaller item. *It* decides where it wants to be. *You* arrange other things
*around* it :<
Instructions should always be taken as *advisory* -- unless dealing with high explosives!
I use backer rod -- imagine extruded foam "ropes" (come in a variety of diameters).
Actually, *might* work for jack hammer as weight is less of a concern once you're in the ~80+ pound range! And, as the object is so large and has such large *features*, you could probably build up wood blocks cut with a scroll/jig saw instead of having to route it.
Dunno. This "black foam" sure seems like it's the answer. I just have to find a vendor who carries it! Got lots of empty cases that could suddenly see new life given that!
I don't believe that operating the jackhammer inside the case is a good idea.
The wood blocks is what I was about to suggest. That's similar to the spot welded steel supports found in steel most large electric power tool boxes. I've built similar shipping cases for my father's industrial sewing machines using the same principle. The problem is that with a wooden box, also known as a crate, using individual supports concentrates the load in a small area. If the sides of the crate are not up to the task, a shock load could easily smash the support through the side of the crate. That's exactly what happened with some of my early crates, when the shipping gorillas tossed it off the loading dock. I also had a rocker arm assembly shipped to me with one end of the crate blown out.
All that changes with the invention of expanding foam. Instead of concentrating the load on the supports, the foam distributes the load over the sides of the crate. Impact damage is much less and less sturdy crates can be utilized. In other words, expanding foam is better than carpentry.
Think again. The "hard" foam is nothing more than the spongy foam but made with stiffer urethane formulation. When crushed, it stays crushed because the stiff urethane matrix just crumbles and stays crumbled. In other words, it has no spring action, no cushioning benefits, once no resilience. Once crushed, the foam is useless for further cushioning. Styrofoam peanuts, paper packing, and some expanding urethane compositions have the same problem, but they also have a higher crush strength. What makes the black foam useful, for things like assault rifle cases, is that the cutout pattern for the rifle corresponds closely to the outline of the rifle. When the rifle impacts the foam, it does so over a large surface area, not over a small area, such as in the wooden supports. That reduces the pressure on the foam which hopefully is less than the crush strength.
Bottom line is that you have to select your cushioning methods and materials mostly by the weight load. One type of foam doesn't work for everything and the black foam is a lousy choice for an 80 lb jackhammer, even if you carefully carve it to a matching shape (which the expanding foam in a bag does automagically).
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
Well, you can use a molding technique to make a case, shooting GreatStuff (or similar insulating foam in aerosol cans) into plastic bags, then molding the plastic bags around your hardware or a model and in your case (before it sets, it's nicely squishy). Appearance isn't great, but function is good.
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