[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":138},["ShallowReactive",2],{"copy:\u002Fguides\u002Fcrating-machinery":3},{"path":4,"h1":5,"metaDescription":6,"kicker":7,"lede":8,"panel":9,"spec":22,"drawing":45,"photo":46,"sections":47,"faqs":117,"related":130,"sources":137},"\u002Fguides\u002Fcrating-machinery","How machinery is crated for shipping","Draining, bolting down, blocking and bracing, VCI and desiccant, skid sizing and marking: how machinery is crated for truck, sea and air.","Machinery","Machinery is crated by preparing the machine, fixing it to a skid, blocking and bracing it against movement in every direction, protecting its bare metal, and enclosing it in a crate sized to its weight and route. The steps are the same for a lathe or a press, but the numbers differ for each.",[10,13,16,19],[11,12],"Prepare","Drain, lock, remove loose parts",[14,15],"Secure","Bolt down, block, brace",[17,18],"Protect","VCI, bag, desiccant",[20,21],"Mark","Weight, centre of gravity, slings",{"rows":23},[24,27,30,33,36,39,42],[25,26],"Machine","Make, model, options as shipped",[28,29],"Inside dimensions","L x W x H, in inches",[31,32],"Gross weight","Pounds, with fluids if left in",[34,35],"Centre of gravity","Height and offset",[37,38],"Mode","Truck, container, air",[40,41],"Protection","VCI, barrier bag, desiccant",[43,44],"Treatment","HT and stamp if overseas","skid-base",null,[48,53,76,81,107,112],{"h2":49,"paragraphs":50},"Prepare the machine",[51,52],"Before a machine goes near a crate, make it safe to move. Drain or cap hydraulic and coolant systems unless the maker says they ship full, lock axes and moving carriages, and tie down or remove anything loose. Retract and lock quills, spindles and tool changers where the manual calls for it.","Take off what projects and can be removed without trouble: handles, pendants, antennas, guards that stick out. Label each part and pack it in the crate or in a separate box, with its location noted. A machine that arrives with parts in a bag and no list costs a day to reassemble.",{"h2":54,"paragraphs":55,"steps":57},"Crating sequence",[56],"The sequence below is the order we follow on the bench for most machinery. Heavier or special machines add steps, and the written spec for each load says which.",[58,61,64,67,70,73],{"name":59,"text":60},"Build the base","Construct the skid with runners and floor sized to the gross weight, with fork entry on the sides the carrier will use.",{"name":62,"text":63},"Place and bolt down","Set the machine on the floor and fix its feet with lag bolts or threaded rod through to the skid members.",{"name":65,"text":66},"Block","Fit blocking against the base to stop sliding in each horizontal direction, and padding where blocks meet painted or finished surfaces.",{"name":68,"text":69},"Brace","Add bracing to tall columns and heads, tied to the base so a jolt does not rock the machine.",{"name":71,"text":72},"Protect the metal","Wrap bare surfaces in VCI, bag the machine in barrier film, add desiccant and heat-seal the bag if it is going by sea.",{"name":74,"text":75},"Close and mark","Raise the walls, fix the top, apply the stamp and handling marks, and attach indicators.",{"h2":77,"paragraphs":78},"Skid sizing and lift points",[79,80],"The skid is sized from the machine's gross weight and the way it will be lifted. A machine with a short, heavy base wants runners close to the feet. A long machine wants a skid that carries it along its length, with a strongback if the span between supports is large.","Lift points must match reality. A machine with fork pockets can ride on its skid. A machine that will be craned needs lifting points on the crate or marked sling positions. Say how it will be unloaded at the other end, because a crate that cannot be lifted there is the wrong crate.",{"h2":82,"paragraphs":83,"table":86},"Truck, sea and air",[84,85],"The mode changes the crate. Truck freight puts the most stress on blocking and the base, as the crate bounces and brakes. Sea freight adds humidity, long storage and stacking in a container or on deck, so it needs the barrier bag, VCI and desiccant. Air freight needs a crate as light and compact as the load allows, because dimensional weight is billed by volume.","A machine that goes by more than one mode needs a crate that satisfies the hardest of them. If a shipment goes truck to port to ship, build for the ship.",{"head":87,"rows":90},[37,88,89],"Main stress","Crate emphasis",[91,95,99,103],[92,93,94],"Truck","Shock, braking, vibration","Blocking and floor strength",[96,97,98],"Container, sea","Humidity, long transit, lashing","Barrier bag, VCI, desiccant, treated lumber",[100,101,102],"Air","Volume pricing, handling","Compact size, lower tare",[104,105,106],"Rail","Impact at couplings","Bracing and end walls",{"h2":108,"paragraphs":109},"Marking and paperwork",[110,111],"Mark gross weight in pounds and kilograms, the centre of gravity on two adjacent faces, sling points and the pictograms that apply. Add the consignee panel and, for export lumber, make sure the IPPC stamp is readable on two opposite sides.","Keep a packing list inside a waterproof sleeve on the crate, and a copy in the shipping file. List the machine, serial number, loose parts and the desiccant count. Photograph the machine in the crate before the top goes on.",{"h2":113,"paragraphs":114},"A worked example",[115,116],"Take a bar-feed lathe measuring 120 x 36 x 66 in as shipped, with a gross weight of 6,500 lb. These are example figures only. The base is long and narrow, with the headstock end heavier than the tailstock end.","The builder would set the centre-of-gravity mark toward the headstock end, use a skid with runners sized for a weight in that range and a strongback at mid-span, bolt the lathe through the floor, block it at the base and add bracing at the headstock. If it were going by sea, it would be VCI-wrapped, bagged and sealed. The specification would be written down and kept on file for the next one.",[118,121,124,127],{"q":119,"a":120},"Do I need to drain the machine before crating?","Follow the manufacturer's shipping instructions. Many machines ship drained, and fluids left in change the gross weight and may be restricted on some modes.",{"q":122,"a":123},"Can you crate a machine that is already on a pallet?","Yes, but measure the machine with the pallet. We may replace the pallet with a skid built for the weight and the route.",{"q":125,"a":126},"What does the machine need to be bolted to?","The skid members, through the floor, with lag bolts or threaded rod, so that the load path is straight into the runners.",{"q":128,"a":129},"How do I get a crate for a machine I only have specs for?","Send the specs, the shipped weight and photos with your quote request. We confirm the numbers and write the crate spec from them.",[131,132,133,134,135,136],"\u002Fguides","\u002Fguides\u002Fhow-to-measure-for-a-crate","\u002Fguides\u002Frust-prevention-vci","\u002Fguides\u002Fdesiccant-sizing","\u002Fcrating\u002Fmachinery","\u002Fquote",[],1794178337024]