Small Inflatable Air Bags

Just a thought John..but how about laying them on a sheet of bubble wrap?

Firestone, Goodyear, and Airlift all make a variety of air springs, mostly for automotive use, but also for other load bearing applications.

I expect you could find an inflatable craft maker who would make you something usable at a custom price. Avon?

OR

You could buy a few small pneumatic inner tubes, and thread them inside and outside a protective box. The hose and tees to connect them to a mini compressor would not be an overwhelming engineering challenge. The cost would be considerably cheaper than any custom order.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Brian Whatcott wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

An hours experimentation with a temperature controlled soldering iron and an old cheap airbed would probably provide a custom solution.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Four ideas

1. kids party ballons inflated to first stage only ie. not to full diameter

1. bicycle inner tube - cut to desired length - glue and sew the cut ends airtight. - use airvalve portion if desired

2. How about some 1 inch thick rubber sponge material from the grocery store? - I am assuming you want something to distribute the weight of these objects.

1. How about "rolling up" some indoor/outdoor carpet into a 2 inch diameter circle. The number of carpet layers will determine the stiffness of the roll.

John, You want to look for companies that manufacture inflatable "bladders". there are a number of good companies that make these products. Some of them may have an off-the-shelf product that will meet your needs. Try:

Good Luck, Paul D Oosterhout (from SAIC)