Custom Flight Case - help needed!

Argus · Post by **Argus** » Wed May 07, 2008 1:31 pm

hey,
I'm looking into getting a custom flight case (a la NovaTRON) made for all my live gear. it would have interior dimensions of approximately 80x80cm and would include:

ESX
EMX
Behringer BCD 3000 (MIDI controller for the Macbook, which is outside the case)
Behringer DX626 (cheap 3ch mixer for all the outputs).

the idea is to have everything (except the laptop) in one case, pre-wired, so it's fully plug-and-play. now, I've already found a company who can make the case itself for me, but I'm unsure as to how to keep all the pieces in place within the case.

they need to be stable enough to be on a flight as a regular piece of luggage, but for instance, foam isn't really an option because of the heat that would be trapped in there (as you know, the 'tribes can get pretty hot). and I also need to be able to get to all the cables and plugs in the back. so what do you think I could use?

thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Wed May 07, 2008 3:17 pm

novatron's are completely padded with foam. He takes it on the plane all the time he's even got the drag marks to prove it.

the way he has it set up is he has two pieces of wood in there to support the tribes and then everything else is foamed in there.

Argus · Post by **Argus** » Wed May 07, 2008 5:40 pm

you mean, pieces of wood underneath the tribes, or where? because the heat is a serious concern for me, and I'd really like to have some kind of system that allows for airflow or some kind of cooling at least from underneath.

Blankman8503 · Post by **Blankman8503** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:00 am

Right now I'm building custom cases, one for my R3 and one that holds my EMX-1, KP3, and KM-2 Mixer. If you or someone you know has basic tools such cases can be custom made cheaply with a little bit of labor. I'll post pics when I have them all painted (I have to wait on artist friends to finish tops of cases, which can take a while). Once done, my equipment will be held securely in place and protected with foam when closed, as well as being hooked up. Cables can be ran between the two cases to connect equipment and plug in to power/sound systems. The tops of the cases come off so that they can be placed on a table, opened, equipment plugged in and played directly out of the case.

Argus · Post by **Argus** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:08 am

I'd be really curious to see what you put together. it's funny you should post this now, I've actually just re-discovered that idea after over a year, though with different equipment. the heat issue is still a concern for me though, since the ESX and my macbook tend to get uncomfortably hot and I'd rather not take any risks.

what materials are you using to make your case? I'm thinking, wood would get very heavy. good luck with it, and make sure to post pictures when you're done!

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:16 pm

Although the electribes get very warm, they cannot get too hot... I mean I can see it happening in the sun while totally enclosed in foam but even than it's a long shot.

You gotta realize that it's just a circuit board... even the tubes don't really get too warm.

But yes Novatron has them completely enclosed in his box for HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS... he used to never turn off his gear at home.

Anyway you're safe to enclose them, what I would do is leave a little breather for where the grille is by the tubes because that's the only form of air circulation port the machines have.

Look at his setup:

you see the tops of them will still have air circulation because there are cables which you have to run....

He has vertical cross braces which are as wide as the box, so the front plate holds the weight of the box.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Blankman8503 · Post by **Blankman8503** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 10:25 pm

I'll be finishing up the construction next week and will post some pics before i give them to my artist friends to work on. As for the over heating issues the whole back side of my emx is open, except where held at the corners, so that i can access the outputs, input, MIDI, etc. The frame that holds the emx will be hinged so that I can angle it up slightly towards me.

m4m · Post by **m4m** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 2:52 am

i obught a dj coffin and remade the inside foam, and had the bottom rack custom made to fith the tribe and 2 kaoss (had i known i would have gotten a guitar pedalboard flightcase, exact same size lol(and half price since it's stock)

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:53 am

yes but a coffin case can be reconfigured as many times as you want

I run a full ableton setup out of mine now same coffin I used for the electribes....

m4m · Post by **m4m** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:57 pm

that was my point, a cofin ca be used for anything, you just need to cut your foam to spec

Ruso · Post by **Ruso** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 7:13 am

That's a bit of an awkward looking set up...

it would drive me nuts.

I like everything being on the same level personally