Shuttle for high density

Link 51 has described e-tailing as an evolution, rather than revolution, due to its steady developments to the skeletal structure of retail over several decades, which has been the driving force for the adoption of online strategies and encouraged greater innovation to enhance the customer experience.

Link 51 says shelving solutions need to be flexible in order to keep up with the development of technology and products, which vary in size as new technologies are created. This also affects the automated systems, as they too need to be robust enough to handle goods of different sizes and weights.

Shuttle racking is suited for high density storage in warehouses. The remote-controlled shuttles carry palletised goods in and out of deep storage lanes, leaving operators free to perform other tasks. For example, the Link 51 shuttle storage system stores pallets within a system that can operate to greater depths than conventional storage systems.

Dagan Hyde, commercial design manager at Link 51, explains: “The racking features rails that run the depth of the rack structure on which an automated shuttle travels. The shuttle is loaded into the lane and then pallets are loaded onto a shuttle at the front of the lane, which transports the pallet down to the other end; this function is repeated until the lane is full. The one shuttle is moved by a conventional fork lift truck to service the storage lanes required. Lanes can be used as first in, first out or even both. Multiple shuttles can be used within an installation at any one time.

“The in-built sensors on the shuttle are able to detect the position of pallets in the lane and place the new load at a predetermined distance from them, before returning to the start face, which can allow for load overhang that would cause problems with other dynamic systems. The shuttle movements are controlled via radio hand set, which allows the forklift truck and driver to be released for other tasks while the shuttle operates.”

To download the extensive e-tailing whitepaper, visit the Link 51 website www.link51.com/sectors/e-retail