Heavy Duty Racks

Heavy duty racks are robust storage systems designed to organize and store large, heavy, or bulky items in warehouses, factories, and industrial facilities. They are engineered to safely support significant loads, optimizing vertical space utilization and facilitating efficient material handling.

Types of Heavy Duty Racks

Pallet Racking: Most common, designed to store palletized goods.

Selective Pallet Racking: Most versatile, allows access to every pallet.

Drive-In/Drive-Thru Racking: High-density, for storing homogenous products, uses LIFO/FIFO principles.

Push-Back Racking: High-density, uses nested carts to store pallets that push back previous ones.

Pallet Flow Racking: High-density, uses sloped rollers for gravity-fed FIFO storage.

Cantilever Racking: Designed for long, bulky items like lumber, pipes, or sheet metal.

Very Narrow Aisle (VNA) Racking: Maximizes storage density by using specialized narrow-aisle lift trucks.

Shelving Racks: For manually loaded goods, heavier duty versions can support significant weight.

Longspan Shelving: For hand-picked bulky items.

Boltless Shelving: Easy assembly, no bolts.

Mezzanine Racks: Structural systems that create elevated storage platforms within a warehouse, effectively adding another floor.

Rack-Supported Buildings: The racking system itself forms the structural support for the building's roof and walls.

Mobile Racking: Racks mounted on mobile bases, opening and closing aisles as needed for high-density storage.

Specialized Racks: For specific items like tires, carpet rolls, drums, coils.

Applications in Various Industries

Warehousing & Logistics: Primary application for storage and organization of inventory in distribution centers.

Manufacturing: Storing raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods on the production floor.

Automotive Industry: Storing parts, engines, and tires.

Retail (Backroom/Warehouse): Bulk storage of products.

Cold Storage: Specialized racks for refrigerated or freezer environments.

Archive & Records Management: For long-term storage of documents.

Technology

Structural Engineering: Design adheres to stringent engineering standards (e.g., RMI, FEM) to ensure load-bearing capacity, stability, and seismic resistance.

Material Science: Use of high-strength structural steel.

Roll Forming & Fabrication: Precision roll forming for uprights and beams, followed by welding and connection hole punching.

Modular Design: Enables easy assembly, disassembly, and reconfiguration.

Safety Features: Beam safety clips, column protectors, row spacers, guardrails, load capacity labels.

Automation Integration: Designed to integrate with automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles), and robotic forklifts.

Material Selection Considerations

Structural Steel: The primary material for upright frames, beams, and bracing.

• High-strength Low-alloy (HSLA) Steel: Common for uprights and beams due to its excellent strength-to-weight ratio and ability to be cold-formed.
• Carbon Steel: For general-purpose components.
• Structural Hollow Sections (SHS/RHS): For upright columns in heavy-duty systems.
• Surface Finish:
• Powder Coating: Most common, provides excellent corrosion resistance, durability, and a wide range of colors.
• Galvanized Steel: For outdoor applications or harsh, corrosive environments (e.g., cold storage, washdown areas).
• Pre-Galvanized / Electro-Galvanized: Lighter corrosion protection.

Decking/Shelving:

• Wire Decking: Steel wire mesh, fire-safe, good for ventilation.
• Steel Panels/Decking: Solid steel sheets.
• Plywood/MDF Boards: More economical for lighter loads, but less durable in harsh environments.

• Fasteners: High-strength bolts and nuts (often self-locking) for assembly.
• Accessories: Steel or plastic for column protectors, deflector guides.