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.
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.
SO look out:
Houston
Humble
Austin
Dallas
Fort Worth
Plano
It will be a busy week for the Peridotians.