How does a field armoury differ from a tool cabinet?

Through handling interfaces and stiffness. A tool cabinet has a thin base and no lifting eyes; a field armoury is checked as a lifted body, and its doors must close afterwards.

Does it need castors?

Not necessarily. If it never moves, anchors and shims are steadier; where both exist, unload the wheels after torquing.

Twin doors or a single leaf?

By clearance. Twin leaves halve the swing width in narrow aisles; a single leaf is stiffer but loads the hinge harder and removes one seam.

Is a thicker wall better?

No. Stiffness comes from edge folds, ribs and the base frame. Uniform thickness adds mass and castor load. ---

What Is a Field Armoury? The Cabinet That Anchors a Site

Quick answer: A field armoury is a free-standing, lockable cabinet that moves as one unit and gives a site a fixed enclosed volume. It differs from a case in form and siting, not capacity: the field armoury stands on the floor under its own weight, while a case travels by handle. Four checks identify one: twin doors, vertical tiers, castor or lifting points, lifting without dismantling.

Definition and boundary
Form and fixing
Doors, locks and shelves
Castors, lifting and moves
When a cabinet beats a case
FAQ

1. Definition and boundary

Steel hinge meeting a bolted latch keeper on the olive door seam

A field armoury is a protective cabinet that stands upright, locks at the door and moves as a whole without being dismantled. Three points can be checked: the door is full width, the body is used standing, and transport keeps the body intact. All three are visible on the unit itself.

Upwards it is not a fixed weapon cabinet, which depends on the building and loses its point once unbolted; a field armoury keeps castors, lifting eyes and pallet pockets so it can follow a site. Downwards it is not shelving, which is open and unlocked. The door seam shows it: a long hinge and a bolted keeper, against the short draw latch of a case.

2. Form and fixing

Both doors open, four shelves left, hanging soft sleeves right

Form decides the load path. A case passes load from cavity floor to handle to person; a field armoury passes it from shelf to upright to base to floor. Overturning and creep replace drop resistance as the design problem.

Open the doors: four tiers rather than one tray, with hanging sleeves using the depth. Shelves hand weight to the uprights, which gather it into the base. The back takes wall brackets, the base takes anchors: tipping and sliding.

3. Doors, locks and shelves

Three olive cabinets side by side on a pallet in a warehouse aisle

Four sub-systems make the cabinet: doors, locking, shelves and dividers, and the base. They constrain each other, so changing one forces a recheck of the rest. Each fails differently.

Part	Usual approach	Constraint
Door	Twin leaves, folded edges	Wider leaf needs a longer hinge
Lock	Recessed seam lock, three-point linkage	Lock points set gasket compression
Shelf	Cold-formed steel into upright slots	Span sets sheet thickness
Base	Pallet pockets, castor plates, eyes	A soft base twists the body

The base is most often skimped. On a pallet the load crosses four base edges, and a thin sheet base with corner brackets twists into a diamond, so the door gap goes out of square. Inside, fixed shelves give stable tiers; adjustable ones cost stiffness at the punched slots.

4. Castors, lifting and moves

A row of olive cabinets along a wall, numbered labels on the doors

Mobility means moving the field armoury whole, not in pieces. Castors cover short shifts on one slab, lifting covers steps and loading, pallet pockets cover yard transfer, each on a different surface. None covers all three.

Castor choice starts with the floor: hard nylon on concrete, large pneumatic tyres on gravel, or the wheel jams. Two fixed and two swivel stop the drift, and every castor needs a brake. Lifting is sized by the eyes, not the mass. Doors must be shut before the hook loads, or a swinging leaf tears its hinges.

5. When a cabinet beats a case

The test is dwell time and handling frequency, not volume. Height and shelf count do not decide it. A cabinet wins when most of these hold:

One spot is used for months without withdrawal
A single item exceeds any case opening
Tiered or hanging arrangement is needed
The floor takes anchors, or a wall is close
A forklift or pallet truck does the moving

Reverse them and a case is better: several moves a week, travel on foot, two-person lifts. A case left for months creeps at its stacking face; a cabinet moved weekly needs lifting gear. One buys position, the other buys travel.

Conclusion

A field armoury is a body that stands on the floor, moves whole and closes its cavity with one lock. The distinction from a case is load path and siting, and it produces long hinges, a recessed seam lock, shelves on uprights and a full-width base.

Check in order: dwell beyond a few months, equipment-dependent handling, clearance in front of the doors, then base interfaces and floor. If any step fails, reconsider a case.

This article covers container-side specifications and design implications only.