What is a good way to ship a robot? FedEx,UPS,USPS, airline extra bag or other? The 0350 Protector looks good?
Or what else to be aware of?
Most people bring it as checked luggage on planes. For storage there are several options
- Build your own plywood box
- Buy this https://www.robosource.net/robot-cases/347-robosource-robot-case.html
- pelican cases like you suggested
- cardboard boxes purchased at FedEx for 20$
I have done most of these techniques at some point or another.
Whatever you do, use lots of padding. Also, if you are using the regular diameter shaft on your chassis, be sure to pack the robot so that its weight is NOT resting on the wheels: instead, pack it so the padding is transferring weight to the chassis itself. The reason for this is to prevent shock loads from being transmitted through the wheels and into the shafts, which will bend when, say, the box is dropped or bumped up and down during transport.
We do this by adding a 3x35 c channel to each side to keep it off the wheels
We ship our robots using custom made plywood crates.
Our preferred shipping method is SouthWest Cargo.
As for protection, we pad our boxes with insulation foam boards from a local hardware store. Last year we made cutouts in the bottom piece for the wheels and it worked pretty well.
We use a Pelican case. It’s padded and protects the robot. There is absolutely no movement inside due the padding. We usually check it in while flying to competitions. The total weight doesn’t exceed the limit of the airline, so we only pay for a checkin bag to have it to follow us wherever we go. We will use the same system to go to Iowa for the US open from Canada.