What should be paid attention to when designing gravity racks

Gravity racks are a type of storage racks. The principle is that on the aisles of each layer of the racks, there are guide rails with a certain slope (the height of the inbound end is higher than the outbound end) and tracks. The pallet goods entering the warehouse flow from the inbound end to the outbound end under the action of gravity. There is no operating channel between the groups of racks, so the space utilization rate is increased by 60%, and the volume ratio of storage is improved; the pallet operation follows the principle of first-in-first-out; automatic storage rotation; the separation of storage and picking greatly increases the output. Since the goods slide due to gravity and there is no operating channel, the number of transportation routes and forklifts is reduced.

Gravity racks are one of the derivatives of beam racks. The rack structure is similar to that of beam racks, except that roller tracks are installed on the beams, and the tracks are inclined at 3-5°. The pallet goods are transported to the rack inlet by forklifts, and the pallet automatically slides from the inlet to the pickup port at the other end by using its own weight. It is a first-in-first-out storage method. The depth and number of layers of the racks can be determined as needed. Gravity racks are suitable for storing a small number of similar goods in large quantities, and the space utilization rate is extremely high.

The following points should be noted when designing gravity racks:

1. The total depth design of the rack (i.e. the length of the guide rail) should not be too large, otherwise the unusable upper and lower “dead corners” will be large, affecting the utilization of space, and the ramp is too long, the controllability of the slide will be poor, and the impact of the slide will be large, which is easy to cause the slide to be blocked, and the pallet goods will tip over.

2. The storage rack should be designed with a damping device in the middle to make the slide smooth. If the ramp is long, in order to prevent the pallet goods from tipping over due to excessive impact when they slide to the bottom, a buffer device and a pick-up separation device should be installed at the lower part of the ramp. Therefore, the design, manufacturing and installation are difficult and the cost is high.

3. This type of storage rack cannot be too high, generally within 6 meters, and the weight of a single pallet is generally within 1000KG, otherwise its reliability and operability will be reduced.