Server racks are often large, heavy, and contain sensitive electronic components. Racks can also ship with accessories that also need to be taken into consideration during packaging. Off-the-shelf server rack packaging or computer server shipping boxes may not provide adequate protection against shock, vibration, or movement during transit.

That’s why SmartShield engineers custom data center rack packaging around the equipment itself. Depending on your requirements, this may include custom foam inserts in a case or cardboard box, foam sets within a custom wooden crate, or a custom server rack shipping crate designed to provide a secure fit and greater protection throughout transport, storage, and installation.

We design custom packaging for a wide range of IT infrastructure, these items are often sensitive and high-value so packaging is important. Common ones we see include:

• Rack servers
• Power distribution units
• Network cabinets
• Server chassis
• GPU trays
• Telecommunications equipment
• Other high-value electronic systems

All of our solutions are engineered to provide the right amount of protection from deployment to installation.

When shipping components to a server farm there are many questions to consider, here are some of the things our team considers when we are working on these projects.

• Is ESD protection required? If so, do all of the components require it or can the items that need it be individually bagged?
• How fragile are the items and how far are they shipping? This will help determine what level of shock and vibration protection is required.
• Data centers often have high cleanliness standards, ensure your packaging aligns with this.
• Could your components be damaged by exposure to moisture during transport? If so, you should consider desiccant, moisture barrier bags, or VCI material.
• Do your components require UN certified packaging? For example, if you are shipping a battery cabinet you need to be using certified packaging.
• Are you shipping a high volume of the same component? If so, it’s a good idea to review reusable packaging solutions.

Yes. Our in-house design team creates precision-engineered custom foam inserts for server racks and wood crating for server racks that securely support and protect server racks and sensitive components. This reduces movement during transport and makes equipment easier to handle and unpack.

We typically work from CAD files, technical drawings, product dimensions, or physical samples. Our engineering team will review your requirements and develop a custom solution to meet your requirements. It is important that we gather all the details including things like whether you need the packaging to be reusable, how many items you are looking to fit into one pack, whether it ships with any accessories, and so on.

With over 20 years’ experience designing custom packaging solutions for high-value equipment across industries including aerospace, medical, defence, and manufacturing, we combine engineering expertise with in-house manufacturing to create data center component packaging that protects products throughout their journey, from storage and transport to installation.

Absolutely. A well-designed data center build out packaging solution will do more than protect equipment during transit. It can also improve organisation, make components easier to identify, simplify unpacking, and help installation teams work more efficiently once equipment reaches site. Especially when shipping larger components, it is critical you consider how the packaging is going to be unloaded at its final destination.