Choosing The Right Pallet Rack for your Warehouse
Pallet Racks play a critical role in determining how your warehouse is going to look like or making the maximum use of the space available in your warehouse. So, it is very important that you are very selective about what kind of pallet racks you choose to use in your warehouse. You need to be able to distinguish between the types of pallet racks available and choose the best out of it according to your requirements if you want to accommodate various material sizes and warehouse needs.
The two basic designs you can find for pallet racks are:
Roll-formed Pallet Racks:
Picture Title: roll-formed-pallet-racks-pallet-rack-unlimited
Alt Text: roll-formed-pallet-racks-warehouse-racks-in-atlanta-georgia-pallet-rack-unlimited
Roll formed racks are an economical option when it comes to comparing with structural racking. Roll formed racks are available in various capacities from light to medium duty arms that has capacities ranging from 300 to 1500 pounds per arm and heavy to extra heavy duty arms with a capacity ranging from 1500 to 3000 pounds per arm. Rolled form racks can be the best solution for saving expenses, especially if it’s long light-weight materials like plastic pipes that you are storing. You will not have to worry about over building or over ordering since the rolled form systems are a lighter steel gauge than structural so you can just order the amount you actually need. These types of racks are manufactured from heavy-duty sheet metal and are often found with common teardrop-shaped clip holes. Also talking about the assembly of the roll formed rack, they are easier and faster to install than a structural rack as the materials are light-weight and the arms generally mount with a single safety pin versus 4 nuts & bolts. They are often found with common teardrop-shaped clip holes which are designed to make configuration easier, allowing easy adjustment of beam level height. Roll-formed racks with Slotted style opening can also be found. If your warehouse or retail outlet holds items of widely varying sizes, versatile roll-formed pallet racks are a good choice.
Structural Pallet Racks:
Picture Title: structural-pallet-racks-structural-warehouse-racks
Alt Text: structural-warehouse-racks-in-atlanta-georgia-pallet-rack-unlimited
Structural racks are made of rugged I-Beam (wide flange steel) materials and are designed for both medium and heavy-duty storage applications. A structural rack is what you need when you are storing short, long or awkwardly-shaped items. Structural pallet racks are heavier racks that has bolted cross beams which makes them highly durable and at accommodating heavier weights. Structural pallet racks can be ideal for your warehouse if you use forklifts and other large moving equipment. As a plus point structural pallet racks can also be used in the warehouse to support the facilities roofs.
Other Pallet rack options available:
Picture Title: pallet-rack-options-for your-warehouse
Alt Text: pallet-rack-options-for your-warehouse-pallet-rack-unlimited-atlanta-georgia
As discussed earlier pallet racks are very important to determine the maximum use of the space available in the warehouse. There are more options available for racks that you should consider knowing about.
Pallet Flow Racks:
Picture Title: pallet-flow-racks-for-your-warehouse
Alt Text: pallet-flow-racks-for-your-warehouse-pallet-rack-unlimited-atlanta-georgia
This type of pallet racks have slightly inclined heavy-duty skate wheels and gravity that helps in moving full pallets. This type of racks are best for items that are moved often or in an order like materials or things with an expiration date. The method of loading a Pallet flow rack is from one side and picked from the other which can be as deep as required, and the speed is controlled by brakes installed in it.
Carton Flow Racks:
Picture Title: carton-flow-racks-for-warehouse
Alt Text: carton-flow-racks-for-warehouse-pallet-rack-unlimited-atlanta-georgia
In this type of pallet racks while removing the front carton a gentle tilt to push a lineup of cartons forward is used. In order to create a fast and efficient retrieval system, carton flow pallet racks can be used with conveyors. If you want to hand-pick small orders then Carton flow racks are the best option.
Drive-In & Drive-Through Pallet Racks:
Picture Title: drive-in-and-drive-through-pallet-racks-for-warehouse
Alt Text: drive-in-and-drive-through-pallet-racks-for-warehouse–pallet-rack-unlimited-atlanta-georgia
If your warehouse uses forklifts to manoeuvre directly among the stacked pallets then Drive-In & Drive-Through Pallet Racks are your ideal type of racks. The difference between drive-in and drive-through pallet racks is that drive-in racks have only one entry point which allows the pallets to load and exit from the same side since it only has one entry point which means the last pallet will be the first to come out. On the other hand Drive-through racks have two openings which means that the first pallet in one side, will also be the first to come out from the other side.
Pushback Racks:
Picture Title: pushback-racks-for-warehouse
Alt Text: pushback-racks-for-warehouse-pallet-rack-unlimited-atlanta-georgia
This category of rack uses inclined carts on rails and can be up to 2 to 6 pallets deep. The placement and removal of these racks are easier as the pallets move automatically with the help of gravity which means when one pallet is removed, the others move forward using gravity.
Choosing the right Pallet rack for you warehouse can be tricky and needs precision. So the points mentioned above can help you in a lot of ways to get your decision right. If you still cannot make up your mind deciding for yourself what pallet rack to choose then consulting a pallet rack expert is highly recommended.