Specifications and Testing
Many cases that Cases-Cases can supply require rigorous testing and are held to specialized specifications for a wide variety of applications. There are three sets of testing and specifications that are common with shipping and transit cases. They are ATA 300: Specifications for packaging of Airline Supplies, Ingress Protection (IP) Ratings that describe how much solid objects or liquids can get into electronic equipment and their enclosures, and MIL Specs, which are various government-rated tests.
ATA 300 is a specification document that has been in place for many years. There are three categories for reusable containers. Category I is a container that is designed for over 100 uses. Category II reusable containers are designed for 10 uses, and category III is designed for a single use. A category I container can be constructed of metal, plastic or fiberglass. A category II container can be constructed of wood, fiberboard, or cardboard. The document specifies how the containers can be constructed, how many handles they need per volume, and how the interior needs to be designed. Lids must not warp, handles and latches must be recessed or flush, and skid runners must be present if the container is over a certain size. Cases need to be able to be stacked if they are over a certain size, and the markings must follow the specification for size and durability of the text.
MIL Specs are selected for the various environmental scenarios that cases will see in the field. Many are listed below:
MIL-STD-2073
MIL-STD-794
MIL-P-116
MIL-STD-648
MIL-HDBK-304
MIL-C-4150J
MIL-T-21200
MIL-T-28800
MIL-T-4734
MIL-STD-454
MIL-STD-810
FTMS-101
MIL-STD-130
MIL-STD-1472
MIL-I-45208
DOD Material Procedures for Development and Application of Packaging Requirements
Parts and Equipment, Procedures for Packaging and Packing
Preservation Methods
Design Criteria for Specialized Shipping Containers
Military Standardization Handbook, Package Cushioning Design
Transit and Storage, Waterproof and Water Vapor-proof
Test Equipment for use with Electronic and Electrical Equipment
Test Equipment for use with Electrical and Electronic Equipment
Transit Cases for Ground Electronics Equipment (USAF)
Standard General Requirements for Electronic Equipment
Environmental Test Methods and Engineering Guidelines
Federal Test Method Standard, Test Procedures for Packaging Materials
Identification Marking of US Military Property
Human Engineering Design Criteria for Military Systems, Equipment and Facilities
Inspection System Requirements
Most plastic cases have been intentionally designed to pass these tests. We have test results for many case manufacturers for the following requirements and conditions:
- Fungus resistance
- Free fall drop (140° F to -40° F)
- Handling test
- Chemical resistance
- Rain test
- Temperature shock test
- Flammability test
- Water vapor transmission rate
- Leak test (pneumatic & immersion)
- Humidity test
- Loose cargo bounce
- Water tight splash test
- Sand and dust resistance
- Sunshine test
Ingress Protection (IP) Ratings are set to describe and test how small of a particle or liquid can find its way into the container. The first digit describes solid objects, and the second digit describes liquids. For example, an IP rating of IP65 means that the container is totally protected against dust ingress, and protected against high pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.
The complete table is listed below:
IP#
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
First digit = Ingress of solid objects
No protection
Protected against solid objects over 50mm e.g. hands, large tools.
Protected against solid objects over 12.5mm e.g. hands, large tools.
Protected against solid objects over 2.5mm e.g. wire, small tools.
Protected against solid objects over 1.0mm e.g. wires.
Limited protection against dust ingress.
(no harmful deposit)
Totally protected against dust ingress.
N/A
N/A
Second digit = Ingress of liquids
No protection
Protected against vertically falling drops of water or condensation.
Protected against falling drops of water, if the case is disposed up to 15 from vertical.
Protected against sprays of water from any direction, even if the case is disposed up to 60 from vertical.
Protected against splash water from any direction.
Protected against low pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.
Protected against high pressure water jets from any direction. Limited ingress permitted.
Protected against short periods of immersion in water.
Protected against long, durable periods of immersion in water.
Depending on what field and environmental conditions are needed for your equipment, you can choose containers or cases that fall within the testing that is needed. If a case will be manually handled or wheeled, but never be shipped or taken on a plane, then it would not need to pass as strict a specification as if it were going to be shipped all over the world. If a case will be taken to the rainforest, it would need a different IP rating than if it were going to spend its time in a factory setting.
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