Pallet Rack Design

Written by editor on June 12, 2011 – 10:21 pm -

Importance of Good Pallet Rack Layout Design

Warehouse pallet rack design can be a complicated process.  There are a large number of considerations to make when designing and installing your pallet rack for your warehouse.  It is important to figure out the needs and physical limitations of your business before investing in a pallet rack system.  An efficiently designed storage rack system will also allow for easy placement and removal of inventory without damage to the materials or pallets and while making the best use of available space for storage needs.

Increase Storage and Available Space

Every pallet rack system should increase the amount of inventory that can be stored in the available space.  Pallet rack systems not only assure the efficiency of your inventory system but also multiply the surface area of your warehouse or factory. In fact, businessmen who have long been using a pallet rack system can definitely say the difference of having a pallet rack system because of the efficient product turn-around and assurance of the first-in first-out implementation.

Warehouse Organization is in the Design

The pallet rack system is comparable and perhaps more cost efficient than purchasing inventory software only. When great care and thoughtfulness is put into the design of the racking, it can enforce discipline in storing and organizing product in a way that both optimizes space and also reduces labor.

Different Types of Pallet Racking

artco pallet rack

Artco Pallet Rack

Racks of different styles and designs include selective rack, cantilever pallet, double deep rack, drive-in and drive-thru rack, push back rack, pallet flow rack and carton flow rack.  All these racks are designed to withstand heavy materials and require the least amount of maintenance from the warehouse operators.  These types of racking systems are generally known to increase storage density as well as allows easy transportation of goods.  As such, more industries are now using pallet racking for storing warehouse inventory.

Cantilever pallet rack structures allow for stacking longer items

 

 

 

Buckley Mastorak pallet rack

Buckley Mastorak Pallet Rack

that will not fit in one pallet space.  A cantilever rack is a rack with arms that adjust to hold bundles of long products.

Structural pallet rack is made out of structural steel and offers positives over other forms of pallet rack.  Structural steel is made with reinforced channels and provides for thicker steel columns.  Should an accident happen between the rack and a forklift, it can withstand far greater force of impact than roll formed steel.  Structural pallet racks also feature a stronger construction.  Structural racking uses positive mechanical connections such as bolts and are sometimes also welded.

Push-back racking is a type of rakcing that uses wheeled carts that move by force of gravity. When a pallet is removed from the front, the pallet behind it moves forward to take its place.  Different cart designs can be  ordered to accomodate increasing storage capacity or providing a level surface for use with swing reach turret trucks.

Indentify the Pallet Rack Style

To help you indentify the types of racking to source new components that will match existing racking in your warehouse, images are included here.  Look at the way the beams fit in the frame and you will know what style of pallet rack to ask for and order from the manufacturer.

Pallet Rack Construction Basics 

Dexion pallet rack front of colum and holes for inserting beams

Dexion Pallet Rack

Pallet rack beams are adjustable on 2 inch centers and come in three different options: Structural, Roll Formed, and Hybrid (a combination of structural frames and roll formed beams).  A pallet rack system is designed to store materials on skids (pallets) positioned in horizontal rows with multiple levels.

The most cost effective coating for your pallet rack is powder coating. This finish will guarantee that your pallet rack demands significantly less maintenance, and will look good longer and last for a long life.  The powder coated finish will shield the rack by providing it sixty percent greater resistance to solvents that may be utilised in the warehouse, 74 percent higher resistance to salt sprays and 94 percent larger strength against impact.

More Pallet Rack Styles – Different Types of Pallet Rack Styles

Below are more images of different styles of pallet rack.  Use this as your guide to help identify the racking you currently have in your warehouse.

Dexion Rack with beams fitting in the column

Dexion Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EMI Air Row pallet rack view

EMI Air Row

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engineered products pallet rack image

Engineered Products Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frazier racking

Frazier Structural Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hallowell Pallet Rack view

Hallowell Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Line Pallet Rack

Hi-Line Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Husky Pallet Rack

Husky Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inca backbone pallet rack

Inca Backbone Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interlake Old style and new style pallet rack side by side comparison

New and Old Style Interlake Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lyon pallet rack image

Lyon Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexalux rack image

Mecalux Pallet rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

M-I Rak pallet rack

M-I Rak Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nedcon racking

Nedcon Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palmer Shile style Pallet rack

Palmer Shile Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paltier

Paltier style pallet rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penco racking

Penco Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prest Jarvis Webb style racking

Prest Jarvis-Webb Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Redi Rack

Redi Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

republic pallet rack

Republic Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ridge U rack pallet rack

Ridge-U-Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sammons warehouse pallet rack

Sammons Style Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Speedrack pallet rack

Speedrack Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structural pallet rack

Structural Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sturdi Built rack for the warehouse

Sturdi Built Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T bolt rack

T-Bolt Pallet Racking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unarco II 2 pallet rack

Unarco II Pallet Rack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Posted in Design a Warehouse, Design Pallet Racking, Glossary of Warehouse & Logistics Terms, How to..., Pallet Rack, Pallet Racking and Shelving, Rack & Storage Media, Storage, Structural Racking | 3 Comments »
  1. 3 Trackback(s)

  2. Jun 13, 2011: Warehouse IQ » Blog Archive » Pallet Rack: Structural vs Roll Form
  3. Jun 21, 2011: Rack systems | Tamihughson
  4. Jul 16, 2011: Interlake pallet rack | Intspaces

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