WGAN 3rd Party Service Provider
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WGAN-TV | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023


WGAN-TV Podcast | WGAN Forum Podcast


WGAN-TV Podcast | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023

WGAN-TV Podcast | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023

WGAN-TV Forum Podcast | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023

WGAN-TV eBook | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023


WGAN-TV Training U


WGAN-TV Training U in Matterport | Free Course | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: [b]MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023

WGAN-TV | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023


► Small ($219.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 (Master D2011-7 Case) (wheels)
► Medium ($194.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2 (Expert D1913-7 Case) (no wheels)
► Large ($264.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3 (Maestro D2116-7 Case) (wheels, more storage)


Use this We Get Around Network (WGAN) affiliate link to buy any hard case from WGAN.INFO/MyCaseBuilder and receive - free - 12 Months WGAN-TV Training U in Matterport.

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► Small ($219.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 (Master D2011-7 Case) (wheels)
► Medium ($194.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2 (Expert D1913-7 Case) (no wheels)
► Large ($264.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3 (Maestro D2116-7 Case) (wheels, more storage)
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WGAN-TV eBook | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam)

Hi All,

[WGAN-TV eBook (above) | Transcript (below) ...]

Are you searching for a Matterport Pro3 Camera hard case that ...

1. ... is much-much-better than the hard case Matterport offers ($199.99) for the Matterport Pro3 Camera?
2. ... has protection - from drops and vibration for an Apple iPad?
3. ... has has precision cut polyethylene foam for the Pro3, Pro3 Batteries and iPad?
4. ... has has precision cut polyethylene foam (that I can modify for my specific needs)?
5. ... is a better value?
6. ... is a better price?
7. ... has an upgrade option to include wheels?
8. ... has no Matterport logo on the case?
9. ... conveniently holds three (3) Matterport Pro3 Camera batteries?
10. ... has a large, secure compartment for Pro3's: charging kit; tripod mount; cables; door stops (and more)?
11. ... has had the input of WGAN Founder Dan Smigrod (into the engineering and design)?

On WGAN-TV Live at 5 on Thursday, 23 February 2023 will be MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway for show and tell:

WGAN-TV | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) and How to Customize Foam

Topics Include

1. Why MyCaseBuilder cases are better versus Matterport's case, including a discussion of:

► Small ($219.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 (Master D2011-7 Case) (wheels)
► Medium ($194.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2 (Expert D1913-7 Case) (no wheels)
► Large ($244.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3 (Maestro D2116-7 Case) (wheels, more storage)

2. accommodating various size iPads (with cases) and Android tablets
3. two MyCaseBuilder options for a case with wheels for the Matterport Pro3 Camera, iPad and accessories
5. Summary: why the MyCaseBuilder hard cases are better; why the MyCaseBuilder foam is better; and why the why the MyCaseBuilder hard cases are a better value.

In addition to showing the MyCaseBuilder cases for the Matterport Pro3 Camera, Hugh will show how to customize the foam for your specific needs.

Questions that I should ask MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway during this WGAN-TV Live at 5 show?

Special Offer for We Get Around Network Forum Members

► Free! 12-Months WGAN-TV Training U (in Matterport) with when you use one of these WGAN affiliate links to purchase your hard case:

► Small ($219.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 (Master D2011-7 Case) (wheels)
► Medium ($194.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2 (Expert D1913-7 Case) (no wheels)
► Large ($264.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3 (Maestro D2116-7 Case) (wheels, more storage)

Email MyCaseBuilder receipt to: DanSmigrod@WeGetAroundNetwork.com

► WGAN Forum discussions tagged: MyCaseBuilder | Pro3

Best,

Dan

P.S. Got a Matterport Pro2 Camera, DSLR or drone that needs a hard case? See this previous WGAN-TV Live at 5 shows:

Transcript: WGAN-TV | Four Hard Cases for Matterport & How to Customize Foam

87-WGAN-TV Four Hard Cases for Matterport Pro2 Camera AND How to Customize Foam for Hard Cases

WGAN-TV | How to Custom Build a Case for Your Drone + DSLR Camera | Guest: My Case Builder President, Founder and Owner Steve Holand | Episode Number: 114 | Air Date: Thursday, 5 August 2021

Video: Custom Foam Made Easy - MyCaseBuilder Custom Foam Quick Overview Tutorial | Video courtesy of MyCaseBuilder YouTube Channel 17 April 2020


MyCaseBuilderBrands

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Use this We Get Around Network (WGAN) affiliate link to buy a Matterport Pro3 Camera via Amazon - WGAN.INFO/Amazon-300 - and receive - free - 12 Months WGAN-TV Training U in Matterport.


WGAN-TV Podcast Play List: Pro3 | WGAN Forum Playlist: Pro3


WGAN Forum Discussion: WGAN Cheat Sheet: Cost Worksheet for Matterport Pro3 Camera


Join the WGAN List | Join WGAN Forum


Matterport Pro3 Camera | Matterport Pro3 Camera Acceleration Kit

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WGAN-TV | Three Hard Cases for Matterport Pro3 Camera (and How to Customize Foam) and How to Customize Foam | Guest: MyCaseBuilder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway | Episode: 175 | Thursday, 23 February 2023

In this WGAN-TV episode (above), we show and tell the Matterport-branded Matterport Pro3 Camera and how it compares to the three My Case Builder hard cases for the Matterport Pro3 Camera:

► Small ($219.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 (Master D2011-7 Case) (wheels)
► Medium ($194.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2 (Expert D1913-7 Case) (no wheels)
► Large ($264.99) | WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3 (Maestro D2116-7 Case) (wheels, more storage)

Transcript

[00:00:02]
Dan Smigrod: Hi all. I'm Dan Smigrod, Founder of the We Get Around Network Forum. Today is Thursday, February 23, 2023, and you're watching WGAN-TV Live at 5.

We have an awesome show for you today: Three Hard Cases for the Matterport Pro3 Camera and how to Customize the Foam.

And our subject matter expert today to talk to us on this topic, My Case Builder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway. Hugh, thanks for being our expert on the show today.

[00:00:36]
Hugh Conway: Hello, welcome.

[00:00:38]
Dan Smigrod: Hugh, before we jump into the three cases for the Matterport Pro3 Camera, how about telling us about My Case Builder, so we have some context for today's show?

[00:00:52]
Hugh Conway: My Case Builder is a custom foam hard case company. We're located in Paterson, New Jersey. We're about 50 people, so we're a mid-size company. We sell hard cases all over North America. We also have partners in Europe and Japan and New Zealand that serve those markets under the My Case Builder brand.

We've been in business for several decades, but My Case Builder has been our center of focus for almost 10 years now.

We got into the business originally as a packaging foam company and then it was an empty case and packaging foam company, and today we do primarily custom foam for hard cases and we try to focus on the more durable cases, the heavy-duty cases, and that type of product.

We're not limited to what type of products we work with, so we do drones, we do photography, we do fire alarms, we do computer devices and broadcast. We've sent cases to the Olympics.

We package relics and all sorts of unique items. It's a big variety of things we do. We don't find ourselves locked into any particular brand or any particular product type, so we do hard cases for all the major heavy-duty brands and many medium-duty and light-duty type cases.

But we also offer the foam only, which is one of the things that is most popular that we do. Because a lot of people will sell you a case and foam, but the heavy-duty durable cases, including the ones we're going to talk about today, well, they last forever.

When we say lifetime guarantee and all the three cases we're going to talk about today do have a lifetime guarantee on the case, that vastly outlives the contents that people originally get the case for. So the fact that we provide a foam-only replacement for any of the cases that we sell becomes a really popular thing. So people can really get a full life out of a case, not just the particular product at that moment in time that they were looking to.

[00:03:26]
Dan Smigrod: Awesome. I've heard of PELICAN™ cases. How many other hard case brands do you carry?

[00:03:33]
Hugh Conway: PELICAN™ is the big name in cases. Pretty much anyone that knows about heavy-duty cases knows about PELICAN™.

There are a lot of other brands. We talk mostly about the Doro brand, which are all three cases we're going to talk about today, which is our house brand; it is made by our partner in Italy.

We also do a lot of business with SKB, which is one of my favorite brands because they have a huge variety of sizes and combinations. SKB and PELICAN™ are both California cases... made in California.

We also do Seahorse cases, which are made in California, our Nanuk cases which are made in Canada. We do a couple of European-made cases as well like HPRC is an Italian-made case.

So there's a big variety of cases in the category and we work with all of them, which is a key tenant that we wanted to stick to is that we were agnostic about your brand loyalties and all that.

But what we call a heavy-duty case meets all the same criteria as the PELICAN™ case because of the historical gold standard that started in the '70s is when they came out, over the 1970s with the PELICAN™ brand and they set the gold standard for what is a heavy-duty case. So you might hear me at some point today talk about an IP67 rating.

That's a very popular rating about how waterproof the case is, but it ends up being a proxy for how rugged and durable that case is. All the cases we're going to talk about today, all will remain waterproof under a liter of water for 30 minutes.

That's the testing that they go through. Whether you need your case to be waterproof - underwater for that long, isn't really relevant to this conversation. What is, is that the case is that level of durability, it's that level of craftsmanship.

When we talk about a heavy-duty case, we're normally talking about something that can withstand those types of parameters, not just something light. These are cases that can fall off the back of trucks, they can be thrown on UPS trucks, they can be dragged around, they can be put on boats, airplanes, trains, they traveled the world.

[00:05:58]
Dan Smigrod: Awesome. I'm going to add to that Hugh, that We Get Around Network has a special offer for our viewers that if you use the WGAN affiliate link or any WGAN affiliate link for My Case Builder, we will provide free 12 months WGAN-TV Training U in Matterport, which includes 130+ hours of training from 75+ instructors on 10+ topics.

It's rather comprehensive, 12 free months WGAN-TV Training U, when you use a WGAN affiliate link such as WGAN.INFO/MyCaseBuilder to buy any hard case. Let's talk about the three cases. I'm going to pull up what I call a small case first from My Case Builder for the Matterport Pro3 Camera, and why don't you take us through this case? [www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1]

[00:07:11]
Hugh Conway: I'll just start by saying that particular case, this is a great example of when we partnered with WGAN on the Matterport Pro2 Camera case, it's the same case with a different foam insert.

[00:07:23]
Dan Smigrod: For context for our viewers, WGAN, actually, myself, has worked closely with My Case Builder to design a case for the Matterport Pro2 Camera. We did that a number of years ago, three different case options, and now we've worked closely with My Case Builder to create three new hard cases for the Matterport Pro3 Camera.

Here we're describing that this is the same physical case that we used for the Pro2 and now we're using for the Pro3.

[00:08:02]
Hugh Conway: Yes.

[00:08:03]
Dan Smigrod: Tell us about this case. [www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1]

[00:08:05]
Hugh Conway: This case it's one of my favorites. You have the handle retracted because it has wheels. It can be wheeled around pretty easily. It's a good weight for its level of durability. It's a very durable case.

This is one of the more rugged cases that we work with. It's made in Italy. The foam is made at our plant here in Paterson, New Jersey. We've taken a basic approach to what we wanted to do. We've looked at some of your WGAN members and their equipment and we said, "this is a layout that makes sense for a lot of people."

In the right side there, I guess it's my right hand. We're putting the Pro3 camera in the slot and we have a recessed area for a tablet to go on top of it.

[00:08:58]
Dan Smigrod: Let me point out, for that Matterport Pro3 Camera, that is the Matterport Pro3 Camera case. The Pro3 is nested in, and I want to say this is, if I get this right, polyethylene foam.

[00:09:12]
Hugh Conway: Yes, so the foam we're using in the base there - we call it TopGuard, and what it is, it's a combination of a particularly high-density polyethylene foam top quarter-inch and a standard density foam underneath it.

We put that extra density foam on the top and a pretty thick layer of it, we do that because it has the foam, and wears better over time. It's more sturdy, you don't have ripping issues and things. It also gives it a nice glossy finish on top.

[00:09:46]
Dan Smigrod: I should say for those that are want to follow along on your website, the affiliate link is: www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1 Do you want to talk a little bit about the slot for the tablet that goes above the Pro3?

[00:10:12]
Hugh Conway: Yes, so one of the things that you and I talked about, and a big takeaway was that no one uses the Matterport Pro3 without having a tablet plate. It's really it's essential tool, but different users; use different tablets.

We wanted to make a particularly big slot because a lot of people have those big cases with the hand slot [to hold the tablet], that was a big concern we had. Because a lot of users hold the tablet with a single hand in the back of the tablet.

We went with a pretty big space there because we were hoping to accommodate a big variety of those types of [tablet] cases on various-sized tablets.

We made a recess area right above the Pro3. The idea is you can put the Pro3 camera in that small soft case that comes with the Matterport Pro3 Camera and that case slides right into this big slot and then you can lay the tablet right on top of it. It should fit a big variety of tablets.

Then on the left side of the case we have... three battery slots and a cavity for other gear. [www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN1]

[00:11:24]
Dan Smigrod: The other cavity spaces?

[00:11:26]
Hugh Conway: Yes. Then on the left side of the case: three battery slots. We went back and forth about the right number of battery slots.

We said, well, most users are going to have two or three batteries with them. That's how we landed on three slots for batteries. We should have three slots for batteries. It's often important for various safety reasons to have those separate and not just thrown in there.

Then we have the big slot that's on the side there. We call it a catch-all slot. We thought about making little specific cavities for every type of equipment someone might have. What we realized was everyone carries different equipment with them.

They have their own setup. What we wanted to have was just a nice size compartment that people could fill up with their right set of gear.

[00:12:23]
Dan Smigrod: When we discussed this we wanted to make sure that there was enough room for the quick-release clamp, the tripod mount piece about that big, the charger kit, the doorstops, something else so that there's enough room to put something else in. But there's something else that didn't need to be physically protected; like the Pro3 camera.

[00:12:47]
Hugh Conway: Exactly. It's like your doorstop don't need a lot of cushioning around, but you do need to have some.

[00:12:54]
Dan Smigrod: Talk a little bit about these latches on here.

[00:12:58]
Hugh Conway: The latches are one of my favorite things about this particular brand of cases. All those brands I talked about earlier. One of the major differences between all of them are the latches. Doro has what I think is one of the easiest-to-use latches and it's a very reliable latch.

It doesn't get jammed up even if the case is wet or dirty, got mud on it or sand, it operates really reliably and it doesn't hurt your knuckles or anything when you try to lift it, it really gracefully lifts up.

If you're trying to get a little extra into that case, your table is a little extra wide or the contents of that catch all is little extra, those latches really just naturally close the case that little extra bit.

You're highlighting the automatic air release valve. In cases in this class that are heavy-duty and waterproof, you might want to bring it on an airplane or people bring them on submarines and things too.

[00:14:05]
Dan Smigrod: I want to meet a Matterport Service Provider that takes a Matterport Pro3 Camera on a submarine because I want to come with them. ;-)

[00:14:14]
Hugh Conway: But when you have big changes in air pressure and you have a waterproof case, you won't be able to open the case. It's impossible if you bring a waterproof case on an airplane, for example, when you get off it becomes impossible.

What Doro does and other brands like PELICAN™, they put a watertight pressure relief valve. That is a waterproof valve that's allowing the pressure inside the case, and the pressure outside the case to remain equalized. That way, no matter what atmosphere you're in, the case is going to open naturally regardless.

[00:14:57]
Dan Smigrod: If I live in an area where there's lots of moisture and a lot of humidity.

[00:15:07]
Hugh Conway: You're referencing the desiccant. We add it as a separate option on the checkout. That's because in certain markets desiccant isn't really needed.

For people that don't know what I mean by the desiccant. If you think about your vitamin pills that come with a little pouch in it or a wheel cylinder in it, that's sucking up the moisture.

That's what a desiccant canister is. The one we're providing a bigger canister, they call the can a piece of metal, but it can be re-used if dried out. But if you're in Phoenix, Arizona where they have 10 or 15 percent relative humidity, It's not that important. If you're in Miami, you might want to include a desiccant canister because whatever that humidity is when you close that case, it's a watertight case. You're locking in that moisture.

We like to recommend to people in high-humidity areas to include a desiccant canister in there. Or if you're using it for long-term storage. If you're putting the camera in the case and opening and closing the case every day, it's been exposed to the elements all the time. If you're closing this case and it's going to be closed for a month.

The humidity at the time you close it is going to be exposing your equipment to moisture. A desiccant canister inside the case can help "wick out" that moisture. It keeps your equipment in the best condition.

[00:16:29]
Dan Smigrod: Awesome. When you go through my case builder checkout process, that's an option if you want to add the desiccant canister. The second hard case to go over, and again, for those that want to follow along what I call a medium-sized case, the WGAN affiliate link:

www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2
www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2
www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN2

That's this case here. So this case here. Why don't we start with the inside first?

[00:17:05]
Hugh Conway: This case is a little bit smaller in some respects. [The lid foam is moving.] We did glue that one in. Normally the case lids are glued in. This is an early sample case. Here we put the camera on the left-hand side.

We put the catch-all and the batteries underneath the tablets over it. That's the recess on the right-hand side, it is intended to have your catchall cavity - is the big square, your three battery spaces, and your tablet on top of it. Now, this case is the lightest of the three.

The reason it's the lightest is because it doesn't have wheels. For some people that makes the most sense, they're concerned about weight. They're going to be carrying it. For some people the wheels are the most critical.

[00:18:03]
Dan Smigrod: I think partly what we talked about is to say, for a medium case, we really do want to provide more storage for the person that carries more stuff. We still have the tablet there. But it's over the space where you put your stuff. But there's still three slots for the Pro3 camera batteries.

[00:18:29]
Hugh Conway: That was what we came out of this processing is the fundamentals that people really need: they need their Pro3 camera. They want up to three Pro3 battery spaces. They need the tablet protected.

Then most useful is to give people the flexibility of generic space: what they're going to bring on a shoot. Some people bring two door stops to a job, some people bring four doorsteps to a job. Different people have different needs.

[00:19:00]
Hugh Conway: It's the same latches on this case. The small one is a dual latch. This is four latches on the sides as well, but it's the same latch mechanism. It's the same plastic. I'll just point out the rubberized handle. It has a particularly nice feel. It's a rubberized texture, which just carries nicely. It has the pressure relief valve, as well.

[00:19:33]
Dan Smigrod: I want to say the handles are the same on the small, medium, and large. Yes?

[00:19:36]
Hugh Conway: Yes. It's the same rubberized handle on all of them.

[00:19:38]
Dan Smigrod: But it does have a nice texture. It's not slippery, it's not sticky, and it's not slippery.

[00:19:46]
Hugh Conway: It's not sticky but it grips well even when it's a little wet. If you find yourself walking through the rain, for example, you're not going to be dropping the case because it's a high gloss finish handle. Also, having a BMI hinge, kind of lets it fold up and store away. There are some cases out there that it's a molded handle, it's fixed.

We wanted to go with one that was on a hinge, that way it's good for storage, good for travel. A lot of new users watching WGAN-TV are going to be transporting the case around a lot. That was the idea.

[00:20:25]
Dan Smigrod: I think you actually have an acronym that includes transporting.

[00:20:30]
Hugh Conway: I like to use the acronym: STOP! That's: Store. Transport. Organize. Protect. Which are the four principles that we're trying to accomplish with this.

Now, we want to be able to store this equipment in an organized way where we know where it is. Its transport becomes kind of the core, why a lot of people need a case and protection is obviously important is why we're doing it.

[00:20:58]
Dan Smigrod: We have a $6,000 camera, we've got a $1,000+ tablet. We're carrying around an investment we want to make sure is protected while we're transporting it.

[00:21:11]
Hugh Conway: On that point, something that people might not have noticed. We provided the Doro label for the brand of the case separately on a sticker inside the case. Optional to use or leave it blank, or put your own label or something else.

Sometimes different people have different approaches to this. Some people want to put their brand, their company, they want to wobble the contents in that label recess. But some people really don't want to advertise to the world what it is that's inside their case, especially if a third-party is the one transporting.

[00:21:51]
Dan Smigrod: Let me just introduce this. This is what I consider a large case. If you want to follow along on the My Case Builder website, the WGAN affiliate link is:
www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3
www.WGAN.INFO/MPPro3WGAN3

I think you were just pointing out where that label is that ships separately and I didn't put the label on the case. I liked it without any identification on it. But that's what you are talking about. That indented label space towards the bottom there.

[00:22:30]
Hugh Conway: That's a little recessed area. Some people really liked putting their company's name on it, some people use it for labeling: asset management they call it. But other people just want to leave it blank.

[00:22:43]
Dan Smigrod: That'll come up in a moment. We'll talk about that some more. I think what I wanted to show was that this one was also with the -- in fact I'll show you the wheel. Let's see if I can do that.

[00:22:56]
Hugh Conway: It's hard with the large case, but the wheels in this case have nice wide wheels, they're far apart.

[00:23:03]
Dan Smigrod: Was that different from the small case that has the handle and wheels?

[00:23:08]
Hugh Conway: The small case has handles and wheels and the large case has handles and wheels.

[00:23:12]
Dan Smigrod: They have identical wheels and identical handles?

[00:23:15]
Hugh Conway: Yes.

[00:23:17]
Dan Smigrod: There's that. Let's start with the inside, and then we'll go to the outside.

[00:23:23]
Hugh Conway: Yes.

[00:23:33]
Hugh Conway: So we're only seeing part of the case. You might want to pull back. Here the big difference with this case is the extra catch-all space.

We still have the Pro3 camera on the right-hand side, the batteries in the front left, the tablets laying flat on the top-left. But here we have two catch-alls. The one underneath the tablet is a nice big catch-all. You've got a nice deep catch-all on the front right.

This is for someone that is going to have extra gear. They're going to have more than what the average person needs to bring somewhere.

They're doing some special setups or maybe they have some special mounts they need, and it's just a bigger case that's more accommodating. We thought about making one really big generic space, but we said no, two would be better because you do want to have some protection on that stuff.

You don't want it just lying around a big empty space.

[00:24:30]
Dan Smigrod: All three of these cases have the same laches?

[00:24:33]
Hugh Conway: Yes. All the Doro cases have the same approach to latches. We call that an "up and over latch"... It has a nice molded grip, which makes it work really well, it's textured.

This is the same handle release for the small and the large case, which you can see, it's easy. You can operate it with the thumb and slide it all down.

It's hard to do it when it's on your lap ;-) but on the ground, it's very easy to operate and it's also a very durable latch. When you have it bent up. If you go to the store, you buy some luggage, and you pull that retractable handle out, and you lay it down on a flight of stairs and step on the case, you're going to bend that handle.

This one isn't going to bend like that. it's going to be sturdy, it's very durable. It’s a molded handle. It's not some hollow tube and it's pretty good. I'll point out on all the cases we have multiple locking points, at least two in the front.

Those are good for if you want to use a padlock to secure, you can just lock at one point or multiple points. Some people just want to secure their things and they just do zip ties, some people use locks.

[00:25:55]
Dan Smigrod: There is somewhere. Okay. In this case it's here, here, and then here, and here. Was it four on the two other cases?

[00:26:07]
Hugh Conway: No. The other two have two points.

[00:26:09]
Dan Smigrod: Two points?

[00:26:10]
Hugh Conway: The big case has extra.

[00:26:11]
Dan Smigrod: This is the largest case.

[00:26:16]
Dan Smigrod: I would say probably the two key things here are if you want a handle and you want to carry a lot of stuff. If you want a handle but you don't want to carry a lot of stuff that was the smaller one.

If you don't want the wheels and the handle, and you can get by with a moderate amount of storage, this has a little bit of extra storage. That's that meeting one. I actually have a fourth case: www.WGAN.INFO/Amazon-306 So this is the Matterport Pro3 Camera Case.

I thought we would talk a little bit about this case and how it's different from the three My Case Builder cases. let me open up:

www.WGAN.INFO/Amazon-306

as I open it, maybe you could talk about these latches here.

[00:27:04]
Hugh Conway: Yeah, so I mean, I don't want to say bad things about the latches.

[00:27:11]
Dan Smigrod: I'll say it. I just thought the latches were a little bit harder to open and I just think they're harder to open and I just concerned about that mechanism over time. Let's talk about the inside.

[00:27:26]
Hugh Conway: I'll just say the two things that I don't like about trigger latches, and some of my favorite brands have trigger latches, but in general, there's two concerns. One is that mud or sand or things can cause it to jam and be difficult.

The other is exposure to water over time, the spring inside can get rusty and it can make it difficult to operate. The trigger latches don't really perform as well over time as that up and overlap latch.

[00:27:54]
Dan Smigrod: Okay. Let's talk about inside the Matterport Pro3 Camera case. Matterport has slots for the Pro3 battery, then they have slots for door stops. They also have a slot for the quick release plate.

[00:28:14]
Dan Smigrod: I want to say one of those slots is for the charging kit though. I'm actually not sure. When I looked at this case, my concern was two things.

One is there's no room for a tablet. I thought that was really important because if you're a Matterport Service Provider and you do this for a living, you have a dedicated tablet and you're only using it to do Matterport scanning. It's not used for anything else other than scanning.

You have to carry your tablet with you and that's something to be protected and there's no place, in this case, to carry a tablet.

The other thing is I thought this was a lot of space protecting door stops. I guess if you want to be super-organized and you know that you've taken your door stops home at night because you have to fill up those slots.

Maybe this case is for you, but I thought it was like; there's a lot of storage that's used for things that don't need to be protected. You were going to say --

[00:29:27]
Hugh Conway: This gets a big part of the ethos of our company's custom. We want people to tailor products to their needs. What Matterport is doing here is they're saying this is what you need for your setup.

But you know that all of your users, they're going to have different setups. That's why we went with the generic space. We said give people the maximum volume, don't tell them what they need to bring to the job.

That's the approach and we'll get into it when we do the demo of My Case Builder's app as well. Bu our approach has been what people decide what they need in the best way.

[00:30:09]
Dan Smigrod: The other thing is the Matterport logo is on here. If you don't mind advertising Matterport may be calling to attention: "Oh! You use Matterport. Maybe I can go find somebody who charges a nickel less than Matterport."

Personally, I would rather not advertise Matterport. If I was going to put a brand here, it would be my company, not their company. That's not coming off. Again, I still have a concern about Matterport competing with Service Providers, with various capture services. All we're doing here is advertising Matterport. That was a turn-off for me.

[00:30:57]
Dan Smigrod: Could you tell from what I'm showing you? Is there a difference in the kind of foam that Matterport uses?

[00:31:03]
Hugh Conway: I can't tell you exactly what that foam is, to me it looks like a cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE): chemical process. Now, you might be able to tell if it has a slight ammonia smell to it or something.

[00:31:15]
Dan Smigrod: I actually have a cold today so I don't smell anything.

[00:31:22]
Hugh Conway: That's an okay foam. What we're doing with the TopGuard foam, I think, is my preferred way to package things. As a company, we sell all sorts of foam and we work with all foam, including foams like that.

But we selected the TopGuard foam, and it's named TopGuard because the top surface is that extra durability. When you're taking things in and out, like a lot of your users are going to do each day or multiple times a week. The foam wears around the top edges.

That's where you end up with a year or two down the road, you're saying I just got a bunch of debris in the case. The TopGuard prolongs the life of it. It's that durability, it is my favorite thing about it. It's also a nice attractive looking foam.

[00:32:21]
Dan Smigrod: Hugh, in a moment, I'm going to ask you to do a demo of how to customize foam with My Case Builder. But before we do that, I just want to add some of my impressions. I would say the Matterport case for the Matterport Pro3 Camera and accessories is fine.

You'll do okay. The challenge is, three years from now, you get a Matterport Pro4 Camera. It's a different fit. You may not be able to go find somebody to create foam for the Matterport case to reconfigure it. If you buy a case from My Case Builder, then you're going to have a template that can be used to reconfigure the case.

I think as Hugh has pointed out, your cases last forever and technology doesn't last forever. It's likely that at some point you're going to want to reconfigure the case for a different solution. Buying a case from My Case Builder gives you that flexibility. You'll show us the demo shortly.

[00:33:36]
Hugh Conway: That foam insert is going to be glued into the case. It's going to be there durably. But three years from now, five years from now, you might want to rip that out. You just go to our website and you don't have to buy a whole case and foam, you just buy a replacement foam insert. That can be a custom-designed insert or it can be a pre-made one for some future products that we don't even know about yet.

[00:33:57]
Dan Smigrod: Yes. Whether it's a Matterport Pro3 Camera, DSLR camera, a drone, some other form of photography. You want it configured differently. That's why I think it's really helpful to see the demo that you're going to do.

But before you do that Hugh, I still wanted to point out for Matterport Service Providers. How do you make a decision on buying a case?

We've given you a lot of information to help you decide. When I originally had the conversation with Hugh about designing cases for a Matterport Pro3 Camera, the things that were important to me were, first, options.

That's why there's three hard cases. Second was to have an option; at least one of the cases include wheels and a handle because that would differentiate for some photographers going to say, "no, I don't want to carry a case, I wanted on wheels." That makes Matterport's Pro3 Camera case irrelevant. You have two options on wheels.

The second was to be able to protect not only the Pro3 Camera but to protect the iPad and to have the iPad area large enough to accommodate whatever case is enclosed on the iPad so you don't have to keep removing the outer tablet case. A third was in terms of storage, which was to say, well, some people are minimalists.

I just wanted to take the minimum amount of gear within the case that I need. Some like to carry more stuff and maybe somebody like me likes to carry a lot of stuff and therefore I wanted to have that extra storage. If you want wheels and a handle, here's two options for My Case Builder.

[www.WGAN.INFO/MyCaseBuilder]

If you want more storage there's the medium and large cases with lots of storage.

[00:35:59]
Hugh Conway: I want to reemphasize how durable that retractable handle is. There's a lot of cases out there with retractable handles.

Lot of them are really sturdy and not all of them are. We wanted one that was really sturdy. I think you had said at one point, well, "someone might have a bag and they want to be able to put the bag on there and wheel the case and bag in together."

You have a nice big flat surface that you can press a box or bag against and when you're reading it, you can really transport a lot more than just the case with that. It becomes a dolly.

[00:36:38]
Hugh Conway: Having that solid handle, it's a very sturdy retractable handle.

[00:36:43]
Dan Smigrod: Awesome. You want to show us how to customize foam with My Case Builder solution?

[00:36:51]
Hugh Conway: Give me a moment to see if I can share my screen.

[00:36:54]
Dan Smigrod: While he's doing that, again, I've given you four different affiliate links that might sound a little bit confusing. If you just want to go to www.WGAN.info/MyCaseBuilder just below that where it says Contact Us, there's a little magnifying glass.

You can search for "Matterport" and what will pop up are three Matterport Pro3 Camera hard cases and three Matterport Pro2 Camera hard cases, and also a foam template example. You're going to show us an example of how to customize foam?

[00:37:38]
Hugh Conway: Yes. This is our landing page. If you go to the Pre-Made Designs tab and you can look up cameras, Matterport will be there or you can just search: Matterport When you find something, you can open the application. I've opened our application. I've just opened a design file.

[00:38:01]
Dan Smigrod: This one - I can tell just by looking at it - this is the Matterport Pro2 Camera hard case that includes in this example, I see the iPad. It was a smaller version of an iPad because this was done many years ago. Let's say you wanted to take that iPad and lay it flat as opposed to have it lay into a slot.

[00:38:26]
Hugh Conway: I forget. I think we did this in 2018, 2019. I can't remember. But this was the Matterport Pro2 Camera case we did. It was in an IM2620, which is a PELICAN™ brand. PELICAN™ has several different products.

This was the big shape for that Matterport Pro2 Camera, which was a much bigger camera. Matterport Pro3 Camera is a much nicer, compact size. We just had a generic storage space here, and we have that tablet sliding straight in.

[00:39:04]
Dan Smigrod: Those two little vertical slots, those are finger notches.

[00:39:07]
Hugh Conway: Those are finger notches to slide it out. This was your tablet. This was that relief for a back clasp and then finger notches to slide it out easily. This was our simple approach of handling the Matterport Pro2 Camera.

You can go in and say, "I don't want to buy that case as is, I want to edit it." Customize this foam with different gear. You might say, "I want to make this cavity a little bigger" or something like that. But perhaps what you really want is my tablet isn't going to fit in there. That's not how I want to store it. I'm just going to delete it and just click "Delete". I want to store it flat like we've done with Matterport Pro3 Camera cases.

I want to put it over my catch-all here. I said, "well, this case is 8" deep in the base. I can make this right here a little bit deeper. Maybe I make it 7" deep and I want to put my tablet on top of it." I can just say what size I measured. I'd get a measuring tape or ruler. I'm going to say my tablet is 7" by 11". Even though it's only three-eighths of an inch thick, I'm going to have it in a case with a handle on the back. I'm going to make my cavity 1" deep.

I'm going to have finger notches on the top and the bottom. This is my very unusual specialized tablet. I just line it up so that I'm over that cavity there. I'm going to just click this "Merge" button to make my shape real nice. I can just show you in 3D what it's gonna look like now. Now I've done the same thing where I've got a big cavity here and I've put a nice flat space to lay by my tablet that I just measured up and I put in finger notches to make lifting that tablet out a little easier.

Now, I can do other things with this. We could do lots of modifications. I can add circles and ovals. I could also go into my library and I'll just look at the public library here and say for some reason I needed to add this camera lens to it because this isn't just a Matterport case to me. This is going to be a photography case and I need to transport it with that lens.

In our library I'll just point out, we have 7,860 different shapes. They come in all different categories from audio, binoculars, cameras, camera lenses, drones, tablets, firearms. We see some of those down here. Lots of different types of equipment. Video game consoles, tools. Astronomy is a popular topic.

[00:42:35]
Dan Smigrod: Hugh, I'm going to stop you there. I think that the takeaway is you can customize the foam if you want.

[00:42:43]
Hugh Conway: Yes.

[00:42:44]
Dan Smigrod: There's likely an existing template for a lens or a camera or a drone. If there's not, there's a way-cool tracing tool also. But rather than really do a deep-dive on this, you can go look at the videos - training videos - on the MyCaseBuilder website: www.WGAN.info/MyCaseBuilder I want to say we've shown or teased how to customize foam.

But we worked really hard to come up with three hard cases that would really solve the needs of Matterport Service Providers using a Matterport Pro3 Camera of whether they wanted wheels and a handle or whether they wanted more storage, or whether they wanted wheels and a handle, and even more storage.

Or even for those that are price-sensitive, it turns out that one of your cases actually costs less than the Matterport case; not by much, but if you want something that I think is better and costs less, we've given you that option.

[00:43:59]
Hugh Conway: I just wanted to take a moment to highlight our customer service because that's something we really pride ourselves on.

We have a really customer-focused service team. Part of the reason I'm saying that is because if you have a special situation, you want this foam in a different case and you don't know how to do it, you can't figure out how to make our app work, there's a lot of options for you.

One of the simplest options is to just go to [www.WGAN.INFO/MyCaseBuilder] and in the bottom,-right, there's our phone number. If you call that, you'll be speaking with one of our customer service team members that are here in Paterson, New Jersey and they're very familiar with the app, are very familiar with our whole design team, our factory, our capabilities, all of our stuff. They'll take how much time you need with them.

They'll talk you through your product, your design. They'll answer your questions. If they don't have the answer, we'll take your number and we'll get back to you pretty quickly. Or if you really want to get even more help with a custom design, they can help you schedule a Pro Design Service, which is a free service we offer.

You can schedule it on the website or on the phone with someone: that's a 30-minute screen share, where you can share your screen with a member of our team. They will look at what's going on. They'll give you pointers, tips, they'll help you solve problems.

That's a really great service. It's not instantly available. It's normally booked for a couple of weeks out, the Pro Design Service. But the foam, if you just pick up and call, I find almost everyone can really get all their answers solved by calling or emailing. It's the same team that answers all of them.

[00:45:52]
Dan Smigrod: The foam that you've used for the three Matterport Pro3 Camera hard cases; this polyethylene foam. A lot of us have heard of Pick N Pluck™. Can you talk about the difference between the two and why we're using polyethylene foam for the Matterport Pro3 Camera cases?

[00:46:11]
Hugh Conway: Well, Pick N Pluck™, which people don't know, some people call it dice or acute foam. Some people call it Pick N Pluck™. It's a urethane foam. It's a soft foam, a spongy foam.

[00:46:27]
Hugh Conway: It's ether foam, which is different from the soft foam on the lid. We use a premium ester foam in our lid.

But the standard is this urethane foam, it's die-cut. We saw this too when people need it with little cubes that you can pluck away and it comes in layers.

We fill up the case with several sheets of these little cube knit together foam that you can pull away the pieces and outline it and you customize it yourself. I would say you want to do that, you can, but a better solution would be to go on our app and have it custom waterjet cut with precision curves and just foam fitting.

[00:47:20]
Hugh Conway: There's two types. There's an open cell and a closed cell. An open cell is going to behave like a sponge. You can put it in the sink, going to suck up the water. It's going to sit below the water level. While the closed cell foam, which is the polyethylene foam we're talking about. It's more like a life jacket.

If we put it in the sink, it's going to float. It's going to float above because the foam bubbles are close. They're not just the open pattern. There's lots of reasons that matter, but one of the most important ones is smell.

I talked about humidity before. Well, that open-cell sponge, what happens to a sponge that's just sitting it out on water, moisture goes in and out of it. It begins to get a little smelly over time. It also can tear really easy.

We've gone with the polyethylene, which isn't going to suck up moisture. It's not going to get smelly over time, it is a lot more durable foam. It's going to last longer, it's not going to tear. That was the thought process behind selecting that.

[00:48:23]
Dan Smigrod: I'm guessing when it came out, it was a good solution at the time. Is this stuff laser cut? This polyurethane. Is this laser cut?

[00:48:33]
Hugh Conway: It's water jet cut actually.

[00:48:38]
Dan Smigrod: That's amazing.

[00:48:44]
Dan Smigrod: If I go back to this case, this foam; it feels pretty stiff. Can you talk about what you're protecting, and what movements cause problems?

[00:48:58]
Hugh Conway: There's two main concerns that people run into. There's lots of different ones, but the two main ones are shock, that's if you drop the case, and there's vibration, that's if you're shaking the case. The best way to deal with shock is to hold something really sturdy.

You want to be bearing on all the points, you want it form fitting and you want a firmer foam to deal with. That's the polyethylene we went with. Now, we didn't put ester foam and the width and you notice and it's called convoluted; lots be call it egg crate foam.

Now we did that for vibration because if you have items in there and they're bouncing around a little bit, that's going to help soften the vibration, damping vibration and with electronic products you don't want a lot of vibration.

But when we were thinking about this case and the way photographers will use it - the most likely problem it's going to incur is a drop. It's going to be on the back of a truck or trunk is where it gets lifted up. Someone slips and drops it down.

It's going to be on the loading dock somewhere. Someone pulls it, drops down, it gets put on a FedEx or UPS vehicle and they're rough with it. Tossing.

Cases for lots of reasons end up getting dropped, and we wanted to pick a foam that was best suited for if a case was going to drop from about two feet - three feet - we wanted to optimize protecting that condition.

Because you don't think about that happening, but it will over the life of your Matterport Pro3 Camera, especially if you're a professional that's going out every day using this, especially if you're going to be at construction sites or job sites, so any kind of not ordinary environment. Your hazards exist and your likelihood of a drop or a fall are much higher.

[00:51:03]
Dan Smigrod: Correct me if I'm wrong, if I'm thinking, "Okay. I just bought a $6,000 Matterport Pro3 Camera. I got a $1,000+ iPad. I got at least $7,000 in gear. Oh! Maybe I can Google 'what's the cheapest case out there? '"

I think my takeaways from hearing you is, first, you want to protect your investment, and that means polyethylene rather than Pick N Pluck™ is going to do a better job. Second, overtime, that Pick N Pluck™ is going to smell because it's going to absorb odors.

[00:51:38]
Hugh Conway: It's also going to fall apart.

[00:51:39]
Dan Smigrod: And, three it's going to fall apart. You're going to just end up getting another case in short order. You're either protecting - help me out: STOP!

[00:51:52]
Hugh Conway: Stop. Store. Transport. Organize. Protect.

[00:51:55]
Dan Smigrod: I love that. Store. Transport. Organize. Protect. If you really want to - you're buying a case, you want to keep the Pro3 and tablet safe. I'm just concerned that some Matterport Service Providers might say, "I've spent every last dollar I got on my Matterport Pro3 Camera and my iPad. I'm just going to go look for the least expensive Pick N Pluck™ with the smallest camera case." It's likely that over the lifetime of your camera, you're not going to be happy, you're going to end up buying another case solution. Just buy the right case solution to start with.

[00:52:31]
Hugh Conway: Pick N Pluck™ was a great solution when it first came out. There wasn't an option. But as I said, My Case Boulder, it's been less than 10 years. It's really around 2013, the owner of the company had this idea - this vision that we could provide custom cut foam in a quantity of one to people.

[00:52:53]
Dan Smigrod: It's awesome. This is not a drop-ship. You have a factory – I saw a photo of it. How big is your factory?

[00:53:02]
Hugh Conway: I don't want to say the square footage, I forget it off the top of my head, it's a big plant.

[00:53:07]
Dan Smigrod: I would say it's at least 40,000 SQ FT. If not 60,000 SQ FT.

[00:53:11]
Hugh Conway: It's in the 40,000 SQ FT range.

[00:53:13]
Dan Smigrod: 40,000 SQ FT. It's a big manufacturing facility to do this precision water cut custom foam and store all the cases and be able to ship the cases out.

I wanted to say that because you're not like a drop-ship on Amazon or something where the person is selling it to you, is that the person that made it, you actually have a big factory in Paterson, New Jersey where you're doing all this stuff in order to take care of photographers like Matterport Pro3 Camera Service Providers.

[00:53:48]
Hugh Conway: Yeah. That's definitely the case. The case that we're making, it's our partner that's doing the molding of the case in Italy, we've been working with them for many years, it's a very close relationship.

[00:54:02]
Dan Smigrod: That's the Doro brand.

[00:54:04]
Hugh Conway: The Doro brand.

[00:54:05]
Dan Smigrod: You selected for the three Matterport Pro3 Camera cases, correct me if I'm wrong, but if somebody says, "Gee, I liked that configuration, but I still like PELICAN™."

[00:54:15]
Hugh Conway: We could do it in any brand.

[00:54:19]
Dan Smigrod: There are literally dozens, I want to say brands that My Case Builder could fulfill, but we picked an economic rock solid brand not necessarily somebody that was looking for the brand name, but was looking for the functionality of transport and protecting their investment.

[00:54:38]
Hugh Conway: We did. In fact, for the pre-made designs, since we have some economy of scale, we offer slightly better pricing. If you were to get a custom one in the same case. Similar; slightly better if you just go up the premium configuration.

[00:54:54]
Dan Smigrod: I'm going to recall-

[00:54:55]
Hugh Conway: [We configured great cases + foam for the Pro3.] We are marrying the case and the foam together as we fabricated here. We have a pretty big team of about 50 people here.

[00:55:05]
Dan Smigrod: Awesome. I want to reiterate that if you buy a hard case from My Case Builder and use a WGAN affiliate link such as www.WGAN.info/MyCaseBuilder you will receive 12 months - free - WGAN-TV Training U in Matterport. It's 130+ hours of training; 75+ instructors; and10+ topics. All you need to do is email me your receipt (www.WGAN.info/MyCaseBuilder). Just email the receipt to: DanSmigrod@WGAN-TV.com

[00:55:51]
Dan Smigrod: Hugh, is there anything that we didn't cover that we should talk about?

[00:55:55]
Hugh Conway: I feel like I've been talking a lot. I think we did a pretty good 'case' over here.

[00:56:02]
Dan Smigrod: Awesome. We've been visiting with My Case Builder Engineering Manager Hugh Conway. For Hugh, in Paterson, New Jersey.

I'm Dan Smigrod, Founder of the We Get Around Network Forum, and you've been watching WGAN-TV Live at 5.