Progress Report on the Expedition134 Boxes

A Quick Update

In following on from our last update, we’ve finally got our hands on the first samples of our waterproof, dustproof, breathable boxes, from the mould, and are excited and relieved, to say the least.  These are our first decent prototypes and are providing a whole lot of real-life feedback with every hour that we use them.

The feedback and support so far have been fantastic and has given us a lot of confidence to take things to the next stage, which is production.  This is no easy choice as we are starting to get into a niche where we are competing with the big boys, and that comes with risks, and the need to be certain we are going to be producing something better.

First up we are focusing on getting the 55-litre box out on in the market before we complete designs on a number of other potential sizes and accessories.

A bit on Injection Moulds

One of the greatest benefits of injection moulding, and why we selected this process over Rotomoulding, is that it can produce high-quality, precision parts.  Although injection moulding is a simple enough process, the mould itself has quite a few moving parts as well as cooling chambers and hydraulics and in this case, weighs in excess of 3 tonnes.  Apart from precision, injection moulding can save a lot of weight if engineered well, and if we get the end mix of materials right, we should have the strength and the weight saving that we are looking for.

The Plan

If everything goes to plan, we hope to finalise testing of materials and structural integrity in the near future, which should see a production run as soon as we have our moulds ready!  In the meantime, we have decided on a custom seal, after the failure of the many various off the shelf versions to live up to our expectations.

Below is a short video featuring the Expedition134 boxes.  It shows a bit of our initial testing failures and a bit on how to use some of the features that we have built in.  In short, we aren’t quite there yet, but we are bloody close, and with a new custom seal combined with the right mix of raw materials, we are damn sure we will soon be introducing something a lot better than the alternatives.