There is a need for a protection/travel case for a guitar amplifier. The customer for whom the prototype is designed for is a guitar player, who owns a Marshall tube guitar amplifier. The customer is a college student who, throughout his college career, through no fault of his own, has had beverages spilled on the amplifier, has had the amplifier accidentally kicked and struck, and has had the amplifier generally mistreated by guests in his house. This type of amplifier has an uncovered back panel. The open back panel leaves the amplifier's speaker, tubes, and electrical components vulnerable to damage. Also, The amplifier is difficult to transport due to its weight and awkward carrying position relative to the body.

The requirements for the design are:

• 1) The case must house the amplifier (die amplifier must fit snuggly in the case).
• 2) The case must protect the amplifier (the amplifier must be protected from spills, the speaker and tubes must be protected when not in use).
• 3) The case must be portable (less or equal force must be used to push the case with amplifier inside than to just lift the amplifier).
• 4) The case must allow for guitar cords to interface with the amplifier (said cords plug into the back of the amplifier).
• 5) The case must allow for the dissipation of the heat created by the tubes during amplifier use (lack of back panel on original amplifier design for same reason).
• 6) The case must not interfere with the quality of the tone of the amplifier (the case cannot rattle or vibrate).
• 7) The case must not interfere with the level of the volume of the amplifier.

The basic philosophy of the solution is that if the tubes are covered during storage and transportation, they will be protected from damage and if they are exposed during usage they will be able to dissipate the heat that they create. If the speaker of the amplifier is covered during storage and transportation it will be protected from damage and if it is uncovered during usage the tone and volume of the amplifier will be equivalent to that of the tone and volume of the uncased amplifier. Also, if the amplifier is covered during storage and transportation it will be protected from spills.

The final design for the protection/travel case is a "box on wheels". The amplifier is housed in the "box", which is made of plywood. The entire box is insulated with polyurethane foam to protect the speaker and tubes from shocks to the case. The front and back panels can be removed for loading and unloading of the amplifier and for usage of the amplifier. The front and back panels lock in the closed position via latches. In the cased state the amplifier is protected from spills and impacts. Casters are attached to the bottom of the box for easy transportation of the amplifier. There are two handles located on the sides of the case for lifting.

The final design fulfills all of the determined requirements. The case allows the customer to protect the amplifier during storage and travel while letting the customer use the amplifier without sacrificing quality of tone or level of volume. Also, the amplifier is more portable in the case then out of the case, which is seen by the fact that it takes less force to push the cased amplifier than to lift the amplifier alone.