Maybee OT: Tips/Advice on shipping crate building for machinery

620 lb graphics printer.

Dimensions : 84" x 57" x 30"

All the weight is supported by 4 casters at the ends. Going to use rubber pads between printer and pallet, as that his how Canon/Oce ship these printers.

What I would like to know is: what size lumber should I use to make the pallet ; keeping in mind all the weight is going to bear down via the 4 corners where the printer meets the rubber pads. ?

2" x 4" , 2" x 6" ??

Machine is going to NJ then Russia.


Below you see a similar printer on a proprietary Pallet the manufacturer (Canon/Oce) uses. Yes I will ask Canon what size lumber they used but would like to build pallet this weekend.


Below is my machine





Per Milacron's advice I won't be using OSB for the crate sides but rather Plywood. So 3/8" thick plywood suffice or need to go thicker?

2x4 should e more than enough for 620 lb.

I'd go with at least 1/2" plywood on the sides and brace all the corners really well. The sides will take a lot of abuse. You really need to make it strong enough where the crate could be turned on it's side and everything still stay in place. You would not believe how much abuse takes place at warehouses and shipping docks. You've also got to be prepared for extremely rough seas if going by boat.

Another thing to think about if going by boat is salt water. Salt spray and salt air can wreak havoc on sensitive components and bare metal. Most stuff prepared for overseas shipping is sealed in a air tight plastic bag inside the crate and several moisture absorbing packs added. Even in a overseas container, salt will still get in there.

m16ty said:

2x4 should e more than enough for 620 lb.

I'd go with at least 1/2" plywood on the sides and brace all the corners really well. The sides will take a lot of abuse. You really need to make it strong enough where the crate could be turned on it's side and everything still stay in place. You would not believe how much abuse takes place at warehouses and shipping docks. You've also got to be prepared for extremely rough seas if going by boat.

Another thing to think about if going by boat is salt water. Salt spray and salt air can wreak havoc on sensitive components and bare metal. Most stuff prepared for overseas shipping is sealed in a air tight plastic bag inside the crate and several moisture absorbing packs added. Even in a overseas container, salt will still get in there.

Click to expand...

Yeah I was going with 3/8" plywood but changed mind to 1/2" .

The crossmembers are 4x4 (3.5" x 3.5" in actuality) and there is 5 of them.
The screws are Spax German made powerlag star drive washerhead
The top deck is 2x6 (1.5" x 5.5") and there are 7 boards total
The bottom boards are 3/4" x 6.5"
Framing for plywood is 2x4