Homemade racket case

Yesterday I bumped into my former colleague who now is a partner in a small company which makes stuff from various plastics and while chatting got some strange idea. For some time I am struggling to find the racket case I like. (Don't be very judgmental, I know it's a little bit crazy, but I am somehow into luggage . I have maybe some 8 backpacks (or maybe more..) ). So inspired and being envious (in a good sense) of the craftsman who make their own TT paddles I though it would be nice to try to make my perfect racket case.

I think the case should be:
-with rigid outer shell (like the "aluminum" ones) for maximum protection, cause I tend to overstuff my backpack with way too much stuff
-should look nice (that's subjective, but I am not a fan of a boxy "gun case" look of aluminum cases, so I imagine it should look somewhat similar to a hard shell plastic luggage which looks quite nice
-should have foam for securing the racket and balls in place
-if possible it would be nice to fit 2 rackets in it while keeping the dimensions reasonable

So if we have time I will be meeting him next week to have coffee and to make some sketches.

I think it will be more expensive then the butterfly aluminum one, but I'll make it a Christmas present for myself.

Will post how my project is progressing

As the year is to the end I didn't have much time for my racket case project. Anyway, short update on my progress:


-Was planning to meet the friend who has a company which makes plastic stuff to talk about plastic hard shell for my case. Didn't find time that suits both of us. So postponed till the next year


-Some progress on the foam insert. After some research it seems there are a couple of ways to make a cutout for the racket case:
-moulding. The liquid poliurethane is poured in to the custom metal mold and left to cool. You get a uniform foam with the empty space of desired shape. The foam looks super nice, but the mold is super expensive (thousands USD). So not an option.
- die cutting. A custom die cutting form is made and then using a die cutting machine required shape is cut through the foam block. I guess this technique is used for mass production of foam for aluminum racket case. The price is from hundreds USD, so also not an option.
-Wire /knife cutting straight through the foam block using computer programmable machine (CNC). Also it seems that CNC machine could be used not for cutting straight through the foam but for milling the foam with a special drill bit and you should get one piece foam like using the mold. Unfortunately couldn't locate a company, which had such an equipment
-waterjet cutting. A computer programmable machine produces concentrated waterjet and cuts through everything except hardened glass..
-laser cutting Same as waterjet, but with laser.

It seems that the last 2 methods are the best and only options. And there are a lot of companies that have the required equipment. So had to remember my university days and draw a CAD file with the shapes needed for my racket and balls. After that I wrote a couple emails to the companies asking if they could do it. Not expecting to get the email soon, as before holidays everyone is in their low gear. Anyway, when I'll get the answer, I will update the progress

Found some time for my custom racket case project and started looking to buy foam for my case insert. There are plenty of places where you can buy some white foam (it seems it is used in DIY furniture restoration projects an so on), but the problem with it is that it gets yellow with the time. So the right thing to do is to buy a charcoal foam. So after some digging found the company which buys blocks with a size of a car of charcoal foam directly from the factory and cuts it into the required width. So after 2 weeks of waiting got my foam



That's the smallest amount I could order, so not sure what I will be doing with the rest of it. Good news is somehow (by accident) found a company which is willing to try and mill the shape of the racket and the balls into the foam with CNC machine. Although they are unsure if that's going to work as the foam is a very soft material. Will be going to visit them next week

whocarez said:

Another issue with foam is that it tends to fall apart and look very abused after a certain period of time. However, not knowing much about different types of foam, maybe some hold up better?

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Yes, I had the same problem. The foam I got seems of a very good quality- it is firmer then the standard one. Also I plan to use peelable tape instead of a glue so I could peel away the old foam and then glue in a new one after some time.
I have some spare foam

Simas said:

Good news is somehow (by accident) found a company which is willing to try and mill the shape of the racket and the balls into the foam with CNC machine. Although they are unsure if that's going to work as the foam is a very soft material. Will be going to visit them next week

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So got the answer from a company which tried milling the racket shape from PU foam, but it didn't work out as the foam is too soft. They were using the regular milling bits. So I did some extra research and it seems that there are some special ones for PU foam (extra sharp). I will try to locate one, talk with the sellers and see if it's worth to buy and give another try.

P.S. Maybe there are some experts in this field here?

So the milling company got the special super sharp drill bits and they tried cutting the racket shape into the block of foam:



As they described they were a second short of ruining a very expensive milling machine. So no more experimenting and trying to mill the insert from a single block of foam...

And laser cutting it is

Ranger-man said:

How about that black semi-foam semi-plastic thing that you often find in boxes of electronics such as gaming video cards etc. That is definitely firmer and yet soft enough to not harm the blade. In fact it is firm enough to help even a soft case retain its shape. I believe it is what we call anti-static foam. You think that would work?

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Not 100% sure what you are talking about, but in either case, there are 2 options. Polyurethane and polyethylene foam. Both foams can be anti-static, it depends on the additives when the foam is produced.

Polyurethane foam is the open cell less firm foam used in mattresses, sofas, sponges, and table tennis aluminum cases. I tried milling this foam, but it didn't work out as it is way too soft.






Polyethylene foam is a closed cell foam. It is much firmer, and not nice for a touch. When you brush your fingers it does not have a soft velvet feeling as polyurethane foam has, it feels harsh, sharper. It is used for packaging heavy objects and isn't that easily compressible. So as I want to use the same cut out shape for a couple of my blades with different head sizes, every time I would have to press hard and squeeze the bigger racket into the cutout and the foam would be exerting much bigger pressure on the racket






So if you are talking about a polyethylene foam IMHO it is not the best material for this case..

Ranger-man said:

Have you tried using a hotwire cutter?

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no, i did not, but I know this option.

I wanted to make a racket shape cut-out from a single block of foam, so this cannot be done by cutting with a hot wire, knife or laser, because with these methods you have to cut the foam block through and then glue the bottom from a separate piece of foam. So if you want to make it from one piece, it is either you make a mold and cast the foam for some 10k EUR (the car seat cushions are made this way) or try to mill it. But milling didn't work. Also I made a computer CAD drawing so for me there is no point to do it myself by hand instead of using some automated equipment, as the equipment using the drawing will make the cut much nicer, smoother and precise. When I asked about using the automated hot -wire cutter, the shop said, that the hot wire must have an entry path, so basically, there won't be a closed contour. So laser seems the best option

Loopadoop said:

Have you ever thought about buying a Double Padded Dragon Case at Zeropong for $6.25.

https://www.zeropong.com/accessories-c-52/double-padded-dragon-cover-p-406

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I have a similar stiga case for 2 rackets. It's my current case, cause I carry 2 rackets at the same time, and that's the only case that can hold 2 of them. But as I tend to overstuff my backpack and then compress some more stuff on top, I don't feel that it is the best protection I want, as it is not a hard case and it doesn't protect from some sharp or metal objects (like a metal coffee cup) pressing into the rubbers, or even breaking the racket by some bending forces for example at the point where the handle is glued to the racket head. Plus there is nowhere to put the balls. Currently, I carry my balls in a separate mini plastic case (attached to the Stiga case zipper):

Ranger-man said:

Simas, maybe this is what you are looking for? In fact, I am going to try this and convert my gun case into a racket case hehe. I just need to buy the foam because the foam in the case is already cut to the shape of my pistol.

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Ranger-man said:

I believe these are similar to what you are aiming for.

https://www.amazon.com/JOOLA-Alumin...rd_wg=JVaUC&psc=1&refRID=VHNS7J0F36MBYW19W464

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I have an aluminum case and it provides a really good protection for the racket and the balls. But I don't use it, because it is only for one racket, also I am not a fan of that boxy gun case look and the quality is very poor. The foam on my "aluminum" case got unglued and it seems that aluminum cases are actually made from a cardboard...

Ranger-man said:

I am wondering why you want it to be one piece, or why you would need to glue it if it is not one piece. Could you not just have a thin foam mat at the bottom - kind of like a mouse pad - and then fit the custom cut part over it. They would not be one piece but the top custom cut bit of foam would be a pretty snug fit and would not let the bottom piece move at all. I am just curious why this would not work just as well and if you feel there is a certain disadvantage to this?

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Hi,

no particular reason to make from one piece of foam, just it looks so nice (I have one case in which the foam is made from one piece and wanted to replicate that. If you are interested, I can take a picture to show how does it look). I need to glue the top and bottom parts because I want to glue foam inside the hard case, so when I take out the racket, I take out the racket not the racket together with the foam. To do that, I will have to glue the bottom foam part to the hard case walls and to the outer foam.

Also, if you will see in one of the videos I posted, he did not make an entry point for the hotwire cutter. He made a tiny hole in the foam, detached the wire in the hotwire cutter, threaded it through that entry hole, then reattached the wire and did the entire cut. You can see this at 13:30 in the hotwire cutter video.

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Yes, I saw that there was no wire entry point in the video. Just the shop which has a hot wire cutter said that their machine doesn't support this or maybe they didn't want to bother..

Ranger-man said:

I also asked the guy what kind of foam he used and he said it was the "Pelican 1721" 3-Piece Foam Set" which can be bought here

https://www.amazon.com/Pelican-1721...e1-20&linkId=6b3e8b82725250519406b25011de25fb

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I can't identify the foam from the picture and there is no technical data, but I assume it's polyurethane foam, the most popular for protective packaging. I'll be using the same.

Ranger-man said:

I hope I am not coming across as nosy but I like working with my hands and making stuff too so I am just excited about what you are doing.

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Quite the opposite, I like that you are interested and giving all the ideas. You motivate me I also like to do my own stuff. This project was inspired by guys like bobpuls and GinjaNinja and others who are making their own blades. I couldn't do a blade for myself in a million years, so I am trying to do what I can how I can. Besides, I failed to find my perfect case, so I'll make it myself

Ranger-man said:

If I had the wood-working skills I would make something like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2VnpByuyRc

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should be quite heavy. It's more like a showcase than for everyday carry IMHO. How did you find it? But it looks really nice and expensive. I think it's possible to mill it with a CNC milling machine, put on some varnish, screw hinges and a lock...