Pickett, marketing director for AAR Mobility Systems. “We are always looking for lighter weight, lower cost materials that support mission requirements.” At the same time, AAR is working side by side with customers to address their growing desire for alternative energy and energy generation/storage in shelter systems. “We are collaborating with industry partners that complement our mobility platforms to leverage a strong integration experience” for green energy, Pickett said. The push towards lighter weight and increased durability is affecting containers of all sizes. In response to a call from special operations and others for lighter cases, Cases2Go, a distributor of top quality shipping cases, and partner Dynamic Innovations created Carbon Armor cases, a line they rolled out in mid-2011. The cases leverage the unique characteristics of carbon fiber reinforced plastics, an advanced composite using continuous fiber in a thermoplastic matrix. Carbon Armor is half the weight of aluminum with six times aluminum’s torsion, tensile and strength. It is twice the strength of steel. “When I look down the road, I don’t see anything replacing this technology,” said David Root, president of Cases2Go. In addition to the growing demand for lighter weight, Root said his customers, like the customers of shipping container manufacturers, are increasingly requesting EMI/ RFI shielding on Cases2Go products. While it isn’t yet possible to integrate an effective EMI/ RFI lining during the production of plastic or fiberglass, Cases2Go’s Carbon Armor cases offer an optional expanded metal mesh that is co-molded with the carbon fiber case wall to provide EMI/RFI shielding. “Case design is in a constant state of movement with the evolution of technology,” Root observed. Today, cases are lighter, stronger and more technologically advanced than ever before. At the same time, they are shrinking. “There’s a trend toward smaller,” said Root. “Everything is compressing in size.” Smaller size, unmatched durability and electronic equipment protection are the hallmarks of Pelican Products Inc.’s new Pelican HardBack Series, cases made to protect devices such as laptops, tablets, e-readers and other small electronics. “We are targeting digital survival with this series,” said Dan Klepacz, product manager, worldwide government market for Pelican, a leading manufacturer of reusable transport cases for all environments. “The HardBack Series is travel armor for computing devices.” 10 | MLF 6.5 Answering a call from customers for sleeker, more stylish products, Pelican worked in a design partnership with BMW DesignWorks to create the cases. They combine BMW’s design prowess with wellknown Pelican features such as crush resistance, a watertight seal and an automatic pressure equalization valve that prevents vacuum lock, making the cases easier to open at any altitude. They also include anti-scratch foam inserts to protect delicate electronics. As cases and containers get more technologically advanced and the equipment inside them becomes more advanced, the military is taking a harder look at how to keep track of everything. While many cases already include passive RFID tags, Klepacz said the past two years have seen growing demand for GPS and active RFID tags that can reveal case contents at a distance and/or enable a case owner to pinpoint the geographic location of his case. In response, Pelican “is looking into this capability more, trying to figure out how to integrate it, investing more money in it and working with outside companies to figure out the best solutions,” said Klepacz. The capabilities of these advanced tags go far beyond inventory and location. “If there’s a shelf life to a part, you could tag it and it would send out a signal when it’s coming to its end of life,” explained Klepacz. “Or if you have weapons in storage, the tag could signal when there’s too much humidity. Or if you are transporting medical gear that is temperature sensitive, the tag can send a signal when interior temperatures are nearing their limits.” Advanced tags also can measure shock, vibration and other motion for sensitive electronic equipment. In response to another military challenge, the problem of stacking cases of different sizes, Pelican last year launched its Inter- Stacking Pattern (ISP) Case. The system is compatible across six different case sizes, from 4 to 25 cubic feet of storage. “Normally, case ribs prevent containers of unlike size from stacking. We came up with a pattern that, no matter what size case, it will stack,” said Klepacz. Undercuts also make the case useful once it is deployed. For instance, a printer shipped in one of Pelican’s ISP cases can be removed at its final destination and the case David Root Dan Klepacz transformed into a table for the printer. This multi-use functionality cuts down on shipping requirements, ultimately saving the military on inventory and shipping costs. “The business of military cases definitely has evolved with all the green initiatives,” said Klepacz. This year, Pelican will roll out 45 new cases and lighting products, a sharp increase from the dozen or so it typically averages. The military’s search for green shipping solutions goes all the way down to the packaging on the products it uses. Brian Koester, vice president of engineering for Advanced Military Packaging, a division of AD Inc., said last year he received a letter from TACOM that explained how the military was going green and asking suppliers like AMP to evaluate the packing materials they are using. “We can’t get entirely away from polymers,” said Koester, “but we are now trying to use more corrugated products.” Koester explained that polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene provide the best cushioning but don’t break down in landfills. Corrugated products, though they break down in landfills and are effective in some cushioning applications, don’t rebound once compressed and so can’t entirely replace the environmentally-unfriendly polymers. Take an 80-pound hydraulic pump, for instance. “We have to put it in a vapor-proof bag, like a bag of potato chips,” he explained. “In the bag, we have to cushion the pump so it is protected from impact and at the same time won’t puncture the bag. We are trying to look for more corrugated solutions to accomplish this.” Currently, Koester is examining a new corrugated product similar to cardboard but with a thin wood facing. “It would add extra strength and would be disposable,” said Koester. If the material passes Koester’s evaluation, he will seek to get it TACOM approved, further boosting the command’s percent of green packing. O For more information, contact Editor-in-Chief Jeff McKaughan at jeffm@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mlf-kmi.com. www.MLF-kmi.com
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