Cost effective cradle system

The company sees the solution as the alternative to a fully automatic bar storage system. It is suitable for transporting and storing bar stock, sheet metal and other bulky goods with lengths of three to 24 metres. The system provides quick access to stored goods and can restack them efficiently.

Rational storage, order picking and processing of profiles, tubes and beams often plays an important role in steel trading companies and metal processing centres. Here, traditional floor storage has distinct disadvantages with regard to speed and storage density, while on the other hand fully automatic storage systems are expensive to buy and are simply too big for many users. With the Unibloc stacking cradle system, saw and storage specialists Kasto therefore have an interesting alternative in their range for all storage needs when low to medium access frequencies are required.

The Unibloc system stores tubes, bars, steel beams and other bar stock on sturdy, precision-welded cradle pairs. These have a working load of up to six tonnes and can be stacked on top of one another, making better use of the available space. The material is handled by means of a spreader beam with patented gripper arms, which transports and restacks up to three layers at the same time, depending on the model. This considerably accelerates turnover in the warehouse and reduces access times. The spreader beam can be moved manually by means of a stacker, automatically by means of a gantry crane or overhead crane, or by means of a magnetic lift.

No electrical power is required for the mechanical operation of the gripper arms. This makes the Unibloc system extremely energy efficient. The stacking cradle system is easy and safe to operate - for example, indicator lamps show when the stacking cradles are reliably detected. This makes the job easier and ensures economic restacking. The fold-in grippers can even remove laterally stored materials from adjacent pairs of cradles without difficulty.

The automatic version of the Unibloc storage system has a further advantage. With the Kasto Inventory Control Computer, the system incorporates software which automatically manages materials and storage locations. It also organises storage, restacking and removal tasks, thus making the entire work process more efficient. Thanks to continuous inventory management, the operator is able to monitor stocks at all times and, if necessary, the organisation of the store can be optimised without the need for personnel, for example at night. Bars are managed individually to avoid unnecessary waste, thus reducing material costs. Manual Unibloc systems can also be retrofitted for automatic operation.