Cantilever Rack Systems & Planning Your Warehouse Layout

Warehouse Cantilever Rack

Warehouse planning and design always comes with unique challenges. Every facility has its own particular needs, so it’s important to consider all of the product, merchandise, and material that needs to be stored. In order to make maximum use of your facility and floorspace, specific racking systems can be used to handle material that comes in large, bulky, long, or odd shapes and sizes. If you find yourself in this situation, you may need to look into how cantilever rack can help satisfy your needs.

Cantilevers are made from rigid, structural beams that anchor down at one end to a vertically protruding support mechanism. In warehouse storage applications, warehouse cantilever rack is either roll formed or made from structural steel. A typical system is made up from a few key parts including the base and vertical column(s), along with arms and horizontal, cross bracing. When assembled, warehouse cantilever rack uses the resulting cantilevered arms sticking out from the columns. These arms act as the actual shelving unit that stores items. This creates the opportunity to store long, narrow items such as rack beams, steel pipe, pic pipe, tubing, bar, lumber, etc.

A huge advantage comes from the ability to load material in from the front of the warehouse cantilever rack without battling the obstruction of supporting uprights in other systems. Cantilever rack is also versatile and can be used as either a single or double sided configuration. Depending on the material you are storing and the setup of your warehouse, single sided systems are ideal for systems lined against the walls. Double sided warehouse cantilever rack can also be used in a strategic setups to store material on both sides.

Cantilever rack comes in a capacity series, which enables you to build upon, or customize the system to meet your changing needs. Additional arms, uprights, and cross braces can expand the system, as long as they remain within the capacity and load specifications. This makes them easy to customize and change around to suit your needs.

How To Choose Warehouse Cantilever Rack To Meet Your Needs

Since you want the weight of your product to be evenly distributed over the arms of the racks, you need to consider the maximum height of the system to determine your overall cantilever rack load capacity.  The weight of the product being stored helps determine a safe and proper capacity series. Depending on whether you use a double or single sided system, the number of arms per upright needs to remain within the specified capacity for the height and series of the uprights.

When you identify which uprights work best for your cantilever rack, you can choose the quantity and type of arms that will store your product. Arms can vary in length and come in either a straight or inclined pitch. Straight arms are designed to handle materials that are not cylindrical, or do not roll. Any type of long, square material that has sides, such as wood, can be used with straight arms. Inclined arms on the other hand have a pitch, usually 20 degrees, and are ideal for storing product like pipes and material that can roll.

The process of deciding which cantilever racking system and load capacity can be confusing. Culver Equipment, LLC can help you determine the correct capacity and structural elements to fit your needs. We provide full warehouse planning and design, and specialize in the distribution and installation of new and used warehouse storage equipment. As one of America’s fastest growing companies, we bring a solid track record of experience and expertise to the table.

Please check out our products including new and used cantilever rack, and contact us for more details on our products and services.

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