MEMBER'S QUESTION;

I noticed your question & answer section on the AICC website and I was hoping you couldhelp me.  I’m trying to learn as much as I can about box strength for shipping purposes. I work for a global snowboard company and I’m trying to figure out shipping specifications that we can send to our shipping partners around the world.

We’re using large coffin boxes to ship the snowboards. The boxes have a top and a bottom that measure below:

Tele Top- 66-1/2 x 40 x 12 ECT 86 Kraft
Tele Bottom- 66-1/2 x 40 x 12 ECT 86 Kraft

I’m trying to figure out how much weight is ok in each box, as well as how much weight can be stacked on top. I’ve seen the charts for ECT and Burst Testing, but I’m not sure if I’m reading them correctly. I was hoping you could help.

I appreciate your time.

ASK!RALPH RESPONDS:

One of the critical elements in determining compression is flexural stiffness which
is best predicted by the caliper of the combined board.  Can you provide me with the board combinations, flutes and final caliper of the construction.  Thank you.  You can have your provider/member contact me directly.

MEMBER'S UPDATE MORE INFORMATION:

I appreciate your help. Here’s the additional information I was able to find
about the Board Coffin Box that we use to ship our Snowboards.

Box Maker: Confidentail
Top Box: 66-1/2 x 40 x 12
Bottom Box: 66-1/2 x 40 x 12
ECT: 82 lbs/in
Size Limit: 120 inches
Gross WT LT: 180 lbs
Flute: 86 AA
Final Caliper: Tough to know b/c it varies when it runs through the machine, but it’s
usually .4375 or 7/16
Board Combination: The combined board and box supplier said that this is proprietary information and they do not give it out

I believe this is all the information I have. We are hoping to become more efficient
in terms of how much weight can go in each Board Coffin Box, as well as the limit in terms of stacking. We ship the snowboards all over the world so we want to provide our shipping partners with the proper shipping guidelines.

I really appreciate your help. While there’s a lot of information online about the
subject of box strength, it’s hard to put it all together to figure it out.

ASK!RALPH FINAL ANSWER:

First,any corrugated BOX supplier should be able to provide you with the actual
top-to-bottom compression results of the top tube, the bottom tube, and the assembled structure. They may not want to give away the fibre combinations of the structure, but that can be determined in a lab and is not essential to predicting the BCT potential of the corrugated structures.

Second, the best source of the supply chain degradation factors are outlined in the
Fibre Box Handbook.  While it is $50.00 a copy your supplier can make copies of the appropriate pages or send you and actual copy.

The compression potential of each part is estimated to be 4,645 pounds.  If the two
components fit  together with no head space and both pieces supporting the compressionthan the total design could support 9,290 pounds. Please do validate my expected compression load with actual results from your supplier’s lab.

Let me know if you desire any additional information of clarification.