Shock protection is an important concept for your custom cases and its cargo.
Whether you are transporting delicate medical devices that easily knock out of calibration or sensitive electronic devices that are a drop away from certain death (okay, maybe that’s dramatic)—shock protection is incredibly important when it comes to choosing the right custom packaging or case. How exactly is shock protection measured and why is it so important?
Shock Protection: Controlled Deceleration
Much of what shock protection is is controlled deceleration. The custom case you use will protect against sudden impacts or shock by keeping the object in the center of the case and away from the corners and sides. When the case undergoes an impact, the suspension system should lessen the g-force that the object experiences. In order to get maximum shock protection, the suspension system used needs to correlate with the mass of the object. The size of the case needs to be such that the object can sway or move and come to rest again without bumping up against any walls or corners.
Shock Protection Testing: The Instrument Drop
So now that you know what shock protection is, how can you tell whether or not your case design and suspension system will do the job? First off, this can be estimated by using your knowledge about the object the case will be carrying and the suspension system. Once you have a rough estimation, you need to actually test it out (before ordering hundreds of the case and suspension system, preferably). Use instrumented testing as a starting place. Accelerometers are mounted in a manner similar to the size and weight of the object, secured using the suspension system, and attached to a data capturing system. The case is then lifted and dropped onto a hard and unforgiving surface. The accelerometers measure the g-force that the object would’ve experienced and can then be used to adjust the suspension system and packaging. Typically, this test is repeated using a variety of different scenarios.
Packaging Strategies Incorporated for All of Your Shock Protection Packaging Needs
Packaging Strategies Incorporated specializes in making custom packaging for whatever product you sell. Whether you need custom shipping containers or custom shipping packaging, we have the expertise and years of experience to deliver a quality product at a price you’ll love every time. We are exceptionally skilled at creating unique and innovative solutions for all industries. For more information about what we can do for your business, contact us online or give us a call at (410) 547-7877. For more packaging tips and ideas, follow us on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.