Custom cradles to hold odd-shaped bomber fuselage skins
18 August 2023
A global aviation manufacturer approached the Larson Packaging Company with an interesting challenge. The plane’s fuselage skin contained contoured pieces of steel that didn’t fit a standard crate. They asked the LPC design team to come up with an effective solution that protected the fuselage skin yet was still easy to transport and could be used multiple times.
Solution
Rather than change shape of the crate itself, the LPC team designed an internal custom cradle system to hold and protect the contours of the shaped fuselages.
Outcome
The end result was a multi-use crate with an internal cradling system that held the unique shape of the fuselage in perfect position during transport. The cradling system itself was made from cost-effective materials, helping to keep costs down.
The crate and internal cradling system successfully passed all the shock and stress tests and the aviation manufacturer was delighted with the final solution.
