OOops... I mean UPS dropped off a package today.....

[michael hurd]

Literally.

[michael hurd]

Ungainly Package Smashers at it again...... lol.[:S]

[kaiser SET say]

Gee Michael, I sure hope they at least gave you a big smile with that delivery[]

[michael hurd]

Another view, actually looks fine as it survived. Have not powered it up yet.... other things on the go at the moment.

[michael hurd]

Thanks GIL!!!! I will give you a shout maybe tomorrow evening if there is time, I have your #, it was on the info sheet.

[wuzzzer]

Good thing the styrofoam was in there. It probably was dropped off the back of a truck a few times to have that much damage. [:@]

[Dale A B]

Not all plastic is created equal; these days, it can be very fragile, and susceptible to complete destruction, by all things, cold weather!

A friend of mine bought 6 of these style containers for a work related issue, and when he got to work, found that 2 of them had shattered into

many pieces by simply dropping them on the ground. It was very cold outside, which turned a normally flexible item into complete junk.

Looks like the adhesive tape is the only thing holding it together!

[TheEAR]

Well at least FedEx did not drop my TC Sounds 15" TC-3000 from the same height! []

The worst part,UPS is far from doing the most damage,so far Purolator takes the cake. We have had monitors with broken CRT's and crushed boxes! LOL I think they stomped the boxes and use a 5000T crusher to improve tyhe contents!

SO Mike how is the build going,the build of your giant sub? Me ...drivers started arriving,orderred another today...[] These are the puny TC-3000 15",still around 50lbs per driver,and a heck of a good looking one.

[Fish]

That looks like a really bad way to send anything,ok for storage maybe.I'd suggest wrap in roll foam,then bubble wrap,then in snug box with stiff foam around and set in another shipping box.Glad the thing is still together.

[Daddy Dee]

Wow. From time to time I've wondered about using this type tub for shipping. I've seen some of the sterlite containers crack up. Rubbermaid types, which this one looks to be have seems sturdier. I don't think I'll try it after all.

[picky]

Yeah, those type of containers used to be very reliable. But in the past 5 years, the retail market has become dominated by a manufacturer named "Sterilite". Stores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target have been infiltrated by this brand and it is absolute crap! One local chain here in Michigan (ACO Hardware), sells nothing but Sterilite. There are other "copycat" cheaply-made brands, too. It appears to be constructed of very brittle material that contains what I suspect to be a high-styrene content (a stiff and brittle, usually clear plastic) and less nylon (a strong and pliable compound), thereby making the product look nice in the store, but vulnerable to even low impacts or flexing.

They've taken huge costs out of their molding process by cheapening the tooling costs on their molds by reducing corner and edge radii and allowing sharp angles, which become stress-risers that force stress cracks to quickly develop, even without impact. I suspect they've also reduced wall thickness and draft angles, too. The material gets more brittle as the temperature drops, too as someone mentioned earlier.There is actually a lot more science that goes into molding containers like these than meets the eye. But the stores love these because they can lower their prices to the customer a little bit to undercut quality products such as Rubbermaid, while selling more of the Sterilite, which has a much higher profit margin for them.

What's worse, probably feeling left out in the cold, I now am beginning to see inferior versions of the Rubbermaid products being sold! There were already cracks forming on the lid of one of Rubbermaid's containers because the design had sharp angles in the corners. The lids were JUST SITTING THERE! And they were cracking!

Corrugated cardboard is your best best for shipping heavy items, folks! -Glenn

[michael hurd]

I honestly believe that while it is a plastic tub, the styrofoam was tight around the unit, and that it was purely abuse from the shipping company. I have plastics experience as well, having repaired many different plastics used in vehicle construction. Pretty much everything from good old FRP ( fibreglass ) to SMC, PVC, ABS, and blends of plastics.

[WMcD]

I'm surprised, to say the least. This was, of course, the HP signal generator which appeared in another thread.

I was looking for something more sturdy than a cardboard box for shipping the unit. The tub from Lowe's seemed better to my way of thinking.

I was half thinking about banging together a plywood box from scraps. That seemed like overkill. Now I know better.

Gil

[jheis]

I recall seeing a "Frontline" show on Mall Wart's business practices awhile back. They, essentially, put Rubbermaid out of business.

Shame to see how their economic clout can be used to ruin what was a well run and well respected company. I, for one, will NEVER shop at Wall Mart.

James

[picky]

I honestly believe that while it is a plastic tub, the styrofoam was tight around the unit, and that it was purely abuse from the shipping company. I have plastics experience as well, having repaired many different plastics used in vehicle construction. Pretty much everything from good old FRP ( fibreglass ) to SMC, PVC, ABS, and blends of plastics.

Michael: You're probably right about the abuse factor. We'll probably never know for certain how much abuse the package endured. But, as you most-likey know; plastic can be made quite strong, even to withstand heavy impact and such, but then, the cost of the container is driven up considerably. Things such as uniform wall thickness, ribbing, insert-reinforcements and finally, fillers can all be added to the design of the mold and added to the plastic compounds to aid in strengh a durability. Of course, with fiberglass being the most obvious example; it is a very hard resin filled with glass fibers that are either arranged randomly, or if added strength is desired, in a woven mat configuration. Polypropylene is a rather inexpensive compound that does tend to suffer from creep, shrink and sink if not carefully designed. In the molding process, is critcal to control the mold temperature, shot time and cooling duration. Additives such as talc or fiber can be molded-into the plastic compound for increased strength. ABS can be made really impact-resistive, and dimensionally, it does not suffer from the control problems of poly-pro. However, cost of ABS can be proibitive. Hence, this why they now use such compounds like those found in Sterilite: No fiber, no talc and minor dimensional issues throughout the molding/cooling process. Trouble is: no strength, integrity or durability either. []

[michael hurd]

On a good note, I had a friend of mine open up the unit and check it out, he pulled all the tubes out of the sockets and tested them one by one. He also checked each range on the front and verified that it is working properly, and within spec.

As far as the plastic tub goes, if they had the forethought to include a loose roven fibreglass cloth into the plastic matrix ( inside the mold when injecting ) the resultant product would be near bulletproof. Canadian Tire has good quality shipping tubs, with lids that interlock and can be secured with a tie-wrap or long shackle lock. I think they are made by Scepter, the same company that makes gasoline cans here. In all my years at CTC, I have only ever seen one or two containers cracked! They had plenty of abuse, being ferried between distribution centers and the 400 + stores, dropped, kicked, punted, you name it.

I might have one or two just kicking around.....[:^)]

[mas]

It would seem that a reinforced container like that with a secure locking lid, especially if it came with a plastic bag and a container of enough some expandable foam to provide several inches of boundary...if it could be produced cheaply enough while meeting the major carriers (including airlines) size requirement limits, etc. - possibly in several size formats, they could make a very attractive storage and shipping container. And to my knowledge no one is supplying the market with such a product...

[LarryC]

I agree, Mark -- especially something more like Rubbermaid that won't shatter. My Joule monoblocs came without any problem whatever, surrounded by foam blocks inside a Rubbermaid shipping "tub," called the "Roughneck" I think. It may not be available any more. Shipped by FedEx. Doesn't Pelican make cases like that?

[picky]

LarryC: Exactly, Larry! That's why I was careful to make the distinction that Sterlite (and others like it) "ain't" Rubbermaid. The old Roughneck series were great units and quite affordable. But, now even Rubbermaid has thrifted a lot of the quality from their non-Roughneck units. I am having a hard time even finding Rubbermaid in the stores any more. Everything seems to be Sterilite these days. [:S]

mas: You've raised an excellent point. It seems that the minute container manufacturers claim their cases meet the Federal Aviation Flight Case specs; ZOOM! Goes the price! (even if unwarranted by the case contents or materials).

[Islander]

In Mississauga, just west of Toronto, there's a factory outlet mall that has a Rubbermaid store. It's called The Rubbery. Seriously.

Michael, I've got a few of those Canadian Tire red plastic tubs. They're pretty tough, but I was able to crack the lid of one of them by stacking a pile of stuff on it.

As for Rubbermaid, I had a couple of their Roughneck garbage cans and the lids broke on both of them in Toronto winter weather.