Custom flight cases are a great solution if you need secure, reliable storage and transit.
Flight cases (also known as road cases) are heavy-duty, highly durable shipping containers custom-designed to securely store and transport valuable, fragile, or heavy equipment. A key benefit is that they are typically manufactured to order, allowing for bespoke sizes, strength and features. They are particularly popular in live entertainment, broadcasting, medical, and military industries.
At Polyformes, we’ll manufacture your flight cases to the exact size and specifications you require. Our expertise in foam also allows us to add protective foam inserts that help keep your equipment organised, secure, and protected against impacts, vibration, moisture, and other potential hazards.
The benefits of using Polyformes custom flight cases include:
Both flight cases and road cases are essentially the same thing – custom-built transit cases. Historically, manufacturers built flight cases using lighter materials like aluminium or thin plywood to comply with airline weight limits, while road cases used heavier, thicker plywood (being popular for touring musicians and broadcasting equipment). Now, however, the terms are generally interchangeable.
Most custom flight cases are constructed from plywood (typically 6mm to 12mm birch) and laminated with a tough plastic coating, such as ABS or phenolic resin. Heavy-duty cases may use lightweight plastics (e.g. Astroboard), while the frame uses extruded aluminium profiles and steel ball corners.
Standard custom flight cases are weather-resistant but not completely waterproof. While the laminated plywood and aluminium edges are resistant to rain and splashes, water can eventually seep through the rivets and tongue-and-groove joins. For a completely waterproof solution, a custom foam insert inside an injection-moulded plastic case (like an Explorer case) is required.
An ATA 300 Specification Category I rating means a flight case has been tested and certified by the Air Transport Association to survive a minimum of 100 round-trip flights. Testing involves rigorous drop tests, water-resistance checks, and penetration-resistance testing to ensure maximum cargo protection.
We don’t just supply protective cases – we gain a detailed understanding of our business and challenges before proposing a cost-effective solution that does exactly what you need.
Understanding
We discuss your requirements with you, gaining a full, detailed understanding of your project.
Develop
Using your products or CAD data, we develop a solution using appropriate materials.
Test
We provide pre-production samples for testing and assurance on fit and quality.
Manufacture
We manufacture your products in-house at our specialist foam conversion facility.
Support
We forge long term relationships, providing ongoing support and assistance.
Although at Polyformes we specialise in foam conversion, we have long supplied protective cases and similar industrial packaging solutions to a wide range of businesses.
In-house manufacture
Customisation
Official Explorer Case stockists
Expertise
Custom inserts
Part of Macfarlane Packaging
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If you need high-performance foam inserts, packaging, products or materials, we can help. Please contact a member of our team for a free consultation and quote.
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Our experts
The information on this page was written and checked by our team of experts. You can contact them to discuss your requirements, or for any questions you may have, using the details here.
Sales Enquiries
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01525 852 444 (option 1)
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01525 852 444 (option 2)
