Intelligent Radio Shuttle Racking System With High Efficiency

Effective Radio Shuttle Pallet Racking System for High Density Storage

Radio shuttle pallet rack system is an upgraded version of drive in pallet rack system. It’s also a high-density storage system but with effective inventory rotation rate. Besides, It realizes semi-automatization by making use of radio controlled shuttles, which can transport pallets in lanes through remote control. According to customers’ specific requirements, it can be designed as either FIFO or LIFO to store a large quantity of multiple cargoes.

Concretely speaking, rows of racks equipped with pairs of guide rails are successively aligned. Radio shuttles can run on these rails in accordance with the control of operators. In detail, the shuttle is powered by a powerful and long-lasting lithium Ion battery and controlled by a two way radio frequency transceiver.

Thus, the operator can simply manipulate the shuttle with a remote-control unit. In addition, in order to safely and accurately handle with pallets, the shuttle is outfitted with numerous sensors which can detect pallets and obstacles. When sensors detect a barrier in the lane, the shuttle will stop moving and sound an alarm to warn the operator of the issue. When sensors find that the carried pallet touches another pallet, the shuttle will gently release the pallet in case of collision.

How to Store and Retrieve Pallets in Radio Shuttle Pallet Racks?

The radio shuttle is designed to conveniently pass underneath pallets. For loading, the forklift operator will firstly place a shuttle into a lane where work is to be done and then put the pallet at the entrance of the lane. Next, under the control of operator, the shuttle will come to the underside of the pallet, raise a platform to support the pallet, elevate it a few centimeters, and carry it to the required position. When the shuttle arrives at the right position, it will gracefully lower the pallet on the rails, and departs from this pallet to transport next pallet.

As for unloading, procedures are similar. The shuttle carries the required pallet to the front or end of the rack for forklift operator to pick it up. Therefore, whether storage or retrieval, forklift operators only need to work at the picking face and don’t have to drive into the rack structure.

Radio shuttles can be removed by forklifts to work in different lanes of racks. One set of shuttle can serve multiple lanes. The number of shuttles depends on the depth of rack lanes, the quantity of products, and the frequency of product rotation, etc.

Advantages of Radio Shuttle Pallet Rack System:

• High Density Storage: Firstly, Rows of racks are adjacently aligned without aisles among them. Because forklifts only need to work at the front or end of racks, the quantity of aisles is greatly reduced, leaving more space for storage. Secondly, each row of racks can be designed as deep as possible since forklifts will not enter racks, which improves the space utilization rate. Thirdly, the sensors on shuttles make loading more intelligent, which can eliminate empty spaces in storage lanes.

• Effective Inventory Rotation Rate: By putting radio shuttles into use, forklift operators only need to store or retrieve pallet cargoes at the picking face, and when the shuttle is carrying pallets in lanes, the operator can perform other operations at the same time, greatly decreasing handling time and increasing handling efficiency.

• Long Durability: Since forklifts don’t have to drive into racks, the system is not easy to get damaged from collisions of forklifts. Meanwhile, shuttles almost will not cause damage to racks.

• Operational Safety: The risk of collision is particularly cut down by using shuttles. Operators can carry on the transportation of pallets in racks through remote control which is impossible to cause personnel injury.

• Excellent Adjustability: It can be configured into either FIFO or LIFO mode according to specific storing demands. Besides, it has no special requirement for material handling equipment and almost all common forklift types are able to be used in this system.

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Tips for Radio Shuttle Pallet Rack System:

• The selectivity in radio shuttle pallet rack system is not as good as selective pallet rack system. It’s advisable to store one SKU per channel for the convenience of retrieval.

• The cost of radio shuttle is a little expensive, but it deserves investment in the long term because it will advance product rotation efficiency and operational safety.

• Although collision is not easy to happen, regular inspection is also necessary for both racks and radio shuttles to guarantee the normal usage of the system.

• In general, radio shuttle pallet rack system enhances both storage density and inventory rotation efficiency, and it’s a desirable selection for:

         1) Seasonal products;

         2) Cold-storage products;

         3) Buffers for picked orders or temporary storage;

         4) Warehouses with few items but a large number of pallets;

         5) Warehouses with massive loading and unloading activities;

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