Blog

Peridot News

Sample Case for Texas Swing

I had to recently give up my sample briefcase I have carried around for years to the new guy. This was the case I would carry to meet with engineers that contained years of the trickiest components and devices Peridot has tackled through the years. The old case was modified from a Hideo Wakamatsu Skeleton case I found at Flight001 in the Hayes Valley of San Francisco.

Skeleton Attache

I replaced the PETG panels with custom engraved acrylic panels with outlines of typical ortho instruments but the inside was just boxes of parts. It served me well but I have passed the football onto the new guy.

Since Debra and I will be headed to Texas next week on the Peridot Texas Swing 2013 I needed to make a new attache to showcase our wares. I could not find any of the HW attaches so I ordered a clear acrylic briefcase from a Canadian company. Took a couple of weeks to arrive and I am not too impressed with the quality of construction but pressed forward. First I assembled all of the Peridot produced components and devices out on a bench to visualize how I would pack them into the case.  I grouped and arranged them by type shape etc. I ordered some 1/2 inch adhesive backed foam in 2 ft squares from McMaster Carr.  I fired up Solidworks and began to draft the different layers of foam to hold bins and tubes of parts that I would then cut on the laser and stick together. I scanned in instruments on a flat bed scaanner and traced their profiles in Adobe Illustrator for the final layer. About 1 hour of design and  two hrs of laser work garnered all foam lasers ready for assembly. Took about an hour to assemble. Budget around $350. I am still  a Maker at heart and thoroughly enjoyed the project. Very happy with the finished product. Some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Layers
Bottom layer loose parts in bins
Cannlua style longer products in 2"12" tubes
Instrument layer
Finished product
Looking good

SO look out:

Houston

Humble

Austin

Dallas

Fort Worth

Plano

It will be a busy week for the Peridotians.