Have you ever done a suspension pack?
Suspension packing, or “packing in air,” is a fantastic, simple technique that we teach in AMBC’s RSi® certified packing classes. It’s not a method to use every day, but one that comes in quite handy for uber-delicate items and those for which you don’t want packing material to come in direct content with a sensitive object.
The concept is simple: secure the delicate item inside the inner carton so it’s immobilized and leave a buffer of empty space between it and the inner carton. (Hence, “packing in air.”) Then no wrap or filler actually touches the item causing abrasion or pressure that could harm it.
The visual I use when I teach our certified classes is that of a giant model ship my mom packed years ago when she and my dad had their chain of mail and business centers. The ship was so delicate that it simply couldn’t be wrapped in anything or filled with anything. And there was a giant glass display case that it was enclosed in. So what does one do to get that from point A to point B safely? They suspension pack it, of course!‘
We secured the ship to its base with tough ribbon, and when the glass case was put over it, it tightened the ribbon and kept the ship secured to its base–immobilized. Then we simply packed around the case, double crated it, and it got there in stellar condition!
This past week, my mom, whom I consider the world’s finest suspension packing guru (in addition to being the world’s finest mother), joined me at my shop to do a suspension pack on a very delicate balsawood structure. The Cornell University EERI (Earthquake Engineering Research Institute) Seismic Design Team builds a structure every year that they ship to their competition. I’ve partnered with Cornell on this shipping job annually for the past few years, each time successfully getting the balsa behemoth from New York to points in California and even Alaska! This year’s conference is in Oregon.
The EERI structures are designed to withstand vibration and stress, as is the point of the competition, but are made of thin balsa that is not designed to take impact or be touched directly on the outer shell. And this year’s structure was much more delicate than in past years, with the outer layers composed of the thinnest balsa I’ve seen yet–basically like a house of match sticks.
Looking at the balsa structure and thinking about shipping it would make most people’s stomachs churn. But Mom and I don’t shy away from a good challenge. We knew we’d do a suspension pack, strapping the wooden base of the structure securely in the bottom of the inner carton, but the structure is just glued to that base and I’m never confident in that glue’s ability to keep the structure attached to the base when the carton gets turned on its side, upside down, and tumbles and bumbles down the conveyor systems at the hubs it encounters on its coast-to-coast journey. So every year prior I also bagged the structure and filled around the bag with peanuts inside the inner carton to keep the structure from pulling apart from its base. And that worked well in the past.
But this year, bagging the structure wasn’t a possibility because the outer frame was too delicate even to have a plastic bag touch it. Though it had one distinct feature that was quite beautiful in our eyes: small holes through the stronger inner frame into which dowels will be inserted at the competition to test the structure’s ability to hold various amounts of weight. So we took advantage of those dowel holes and secured the structure inside its inner carton with a couple of crossed dowels. It was brilliant!
This year’s EERI structure was truly packed in air. And curious customers watched all day as Mom and I worked on it. With just four straps on its base, a small piece of polyurethane foam on its top platform, and two crossed dowels holding it solidly in the center of the inner carton, it was immobilized. Then the inner carton got over-boxed with peanuts between the cartons and we sent it on its way, more confident than ever that it will get there safely.
If you’ve never suspension packed anything before, why not consider it for your next seemingly impossible packing challenge. It takes a lot of thought, some engineering, and a leap of faith. But, if done right, can solve some shipping conundrums that you may have struggled with in the past. And the look on your customers’ faces when you say you’ll just “pack it in air” is priceless.
*To check out a detailed photo album of the balsa structure packing process, please visit facebook.com/unclemartys.*
**Always check with your insurance carrier before packing anything in a non-standard way to ensure that the technique you plan to use is approved for coverage in a worst case scenario.**
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For more information on Marty, please visit unclemartysoffice.com.
Source: AMBC Blog