Orion 675 FS production units

A pallet is a pretty big measure

Of course,, so a design might allow six boxed lights to take one layer of pallet.

And of course everyone works different especially when one set set of folk measures in mm and the other set in hands, feet,furlong, chains and ferkins
 
I designed rolling flight cases for the Orion 675 FS with the fresnel and extended base mounted, the same kitting as Rob has in his bin but this is a reinforced case with appropriate protective interior foam for shipping. A standard US/International pallet (48"x40") fits precisely 4 of these cases per layer and if you securely strap everything in place on all three axes you can stack three layers for a total of 12 lights.

BTW, even the humble pallet is not an agreed upon measurement.
US/International pallet is 48"x40" (122cm x 102cm).
Euro pallet is 120cm x 80cm.
China/Japan/Australia pallet is 110cm x 110cm.
Finland pallet is 100cm x 120cm.
 
Interesting and you see the thought.

Euro boxes are '600x400' which we see works on a euro pallet.

Of course my home of the UK chose to leave the EU and abandon many elements of logic and sensible!
 
rob norton said:
I think these might be locally made in Australia. I found them searching for large plastic crate but believe they're known as lug boxes in the plastics/storage industry, at least over here.

I haven't looked hard, but I'm not sure if there's an exact US equivalent but this at least gives dimensions:

https://www.richmondau.com/plastic-storage/food-storage/lug-boxes/
https://www.reflexequip.com.au/66l-plastic-stacking-crate-lug-610-x-419-x-312mm

I've seen similar "euro boxes" but they're all solid walls rather than vented https://au.rs-online.com/web/p/storage-boxes/1631907

When I was putting together a van lighting package a Gaffer here hated hard cases, so we eliminated as many as possible. Traditional milk crates for smaller items, then these larger crates for the second standard. Two of them fit perfectly on a rubbermaid cart top shelf (you can fit 2 more on the bottom shelf too but one has to be perpendicular because the vertical corner pillars of the cart get in the way. They can also hold M18s including ballasts with barn doors removed. It'd be irresponsible to stack them because they're not extremely rigid, but great for squeezing through a gate by the side of a house.
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So, when I started building out my van this year, I moved to milk crates for as much as I could. They're a "standard" and it really started to show when I started laying everything out and seeing how they just started fitting perfectly almost everywhere, even when I didn't necessarily try that hard. And a Pelican 1650 class case standing on end and three milk crates stacked on top of each other take up basically the same footprint and vertical space. And my Tenba bags for my 1x1 Gemini's are basically two stacked milk crates.

May be time for a new "Van"(transportation/organization) thread in The Cafe.

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Run&Gun said:
So, when I started building out my van this year, I moved to milk crates for as much as I could. They're a "standard" and it really started to show when I started laying everything out and seeing how they just started fitting perfectly almost everywhere, even when I didn't necessarily try that hard. And a Pelican 1650 class case standing on end and three milk crates stacked on top of each other take up basically the same footprint and vertical space. And my Tenba bags for my 1x1 Gemini's are basically two stacked milk crates.

May be time for a new "Van"(transportation/organization) thread in The Cafe.

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I know many people here in the US who live & die by the milk crate. It defines just about all of their gear.

BTW, reminder that if you use the quick-release to pop off the yoke the Orion 675 FS with its fresnel fits perfectly in a standard US milk crate. So one for the head and one for accessory bits.
 
Mitch Gross said:
I know many people here in the US who live & die by the milk crate. It defines just about all of their gear.

BTW, reminder that if you use the quick-release to pop off the yoke the Orion 675 FS with its fresnel fits perfectly in a standard US milk crate. So one for the head and one for accessory bits.
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I may give that a try. Then it would be riding around just like it’s three little brothers to the right. And it would open up space for one more milk crate on that shelf. Plus I wouldn’t just about pass out every time I open the case, anymore. Lol. Both mine and my buddies are still out gassing.

I remember working with an older guy many, many years ago and he had his gear in milk crates and I was thinking, “WTF is this guy doing putting his stuff in milk crates instead of Pelican Cases or PortaBrace bags/cases?”. Isn’t life funny…?
 
If it's just a matter of taking stuff on & off a truck, on & off a cart, etc., then a milk crate is perfect. Saves space, quick access, just enough organization. It's when people travel or rent to others that the equation shifts.
 
Moved the 675 to a milk crate by itself (fresnel sticks up above the rim of the crate) and all of the accessories (fresnel, barn doors, two reflectors, yoke and power cable) into a second crate that stacks on top. Takes up about 1/3rd less space vertically. So in the same footprint that only contained the 675 in its shipping case, I have the 675 and can add another milk crate that could contain another complete Aputure 600 series light, Prolycht 300, possibly another 675 (if I could fit another complete set of accessories into the same crate that contains the current accessories), a set of Hive 100C's just sitting in storage (I have a set of 200's already in a crate under the shelf) orrrr maybe a set of Astera Pluto's that I'm interested in (based on the published measurements, I think a set would fit completely within a milk crate).

Gotta say, I'm loving the milk crates and the space efficiency they buy you. I have 34 fixtures in the van at all times, right now (yes, some are very small, like the Astera AX-3's, but still, not bad...).

*Edit* Forgot I was also able to also ditch the case that the 675 fresnel and barn doors were in.

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Very nice. I don't recall -- did you get the Extended Base for your 675? I consider it a must-have for people who use the light primarily with the fresnel, which is most of 'em. The base reaches two inches down from the bottom of the light so the fresnel won't touch bottom when the light is packed in the milk crate. As with Rob, I suggest you tape a piece of foam or other soft material to one interior end of your milk crate to protect the front surface of your fresnel.
 
Nice one Run&Gun, the van set up looks extremely organised, that must feel pretty good. I like your self-shelving crate set up rather than wasting too much space with individual shelves. I've got a tower of five stacked vertically and it's just held by three straps. The split apart 675 in milk crates sounds really handy.
 
Mitch Gross said:
Very nice. I don't recall -- did you get the Extended Base for your 675? I consider it a must-have for people who use the light primarily with the fresnel, which is most of 'em. The base reaches two inches down from the bottom of the light so the fresnel won't touch bottom when the light is packed in the milk crate. As with Rob, I suggest you tape a piece of foam or other soft material to one interior end of your milk crate to protect the front surface of your fresnel.
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No sir. I don't have the extended base. I do think I will put a piece of foam in with the fresnel in the accessory crate, because it's actually less secure than if it was with the 675, itself.
 
rob norton said:
Nice one Run&Gun, the van set up looks extremely organised, that must feel pretty good. I like your self-shelving crate set up rather than wasting too much space with individual shelves. I've got a tower of five stacked vertically and it's just held by three straps. The split apart 675 in milk crates sounds really handy.
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Thanks, Rob. It's been a continuously evolving project since I got it in January. I kind of started slow and went section-by-section or "idea-by-idea" so I could make sure it was working and I wouldn't be married to a wholesale install if it didn't work. I was seriously contemplating doing folding shelves, but the more I looked at them and thought about it, it wasn't going to be a good idea for someone that has as much stuff as me. They would have severely limited how much I could have carried and made it less versatile, too. The ramp(swung to the left in the first pic) is a true game changer and worth every penny.

I keep telling myself I'm going to start a new van/gear vehicle thread over in the Cafe...
 
Run&Gun said:
Thanks, Rob. It's been a continuously evolving project since I got it in January. I kind of started slow and went section-by-section or "idea-by-idea" so I could make sure it was working and I wouldn't be married to a wholesale install if it didn't work. I was seriously contemplating doing folding shelves, but the more I looked at them and thought about it, it wasn't going to be a good idea for someone that has as much stuff as me. They would have severely limited how much I could have carried and made it less versatile, too. The ramp(swung to the left in the first pic) is a true game changer and worth every penny.

I keep telling myself I'm going to start a new van/gear vehicle thread over in the Cafe...
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Enviable set-up, man. How do you keep the stacks of crates from falling over when turning?
 
It might be hard to tell in the pictures, but the aluminum band on the left creates about a 1/4" lip all the way around the milk crates with the A/C in them and on the other shelf it's a raised lip that's just enough to keep the bottom crates captive. Couple that with the weight of the contents, the crates nest in/on each other, they're tight up against the wall and each other, and missing in the picture is my Inovativ cart that fills up a lot of that empty space and acts as kind of a safety net if they would start to tip over. But I will eventually get some more L or E track up on that side so that I can ratchet strap them, if need be.
 
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