High-density 4D storage solution maximizes warehouse pallet capacity

Rainbow Dynamics’ new 4D Pallet Shuttle Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) has been designed to make the most profitable use of every square foot of the available space within both ambient and cold store warehouse facilities.

The high-density storage solution allows pallets to be stored safely and compactly and, significantly, does not require multiple aisleways.

Pallets are fed into or retrieved from a series of ‘storage channels’ that make up the rack structure by lift truck.

Incoming loads are simply placed on to a Rainbow Dynamics pallet carrier at the entrance to the allocated ‘storage tunnel’. The pallet carrier then travels to the furthest point in the ‘tunnel’ where it deposits the load before returning to its original position.

The pallet carrier can then either receive another pallet for storage within the same ‘tunnel’ or be easily and safely picked up by the fork truck and switched to another location within the storage system.

The high-density storage scheme can be designed to offer a choice of first in, last out (FILO) storage, where loading/ unloading is undertaken from just one side of the system, or if required, first in, first out (FIFO) mode with pallet loading and unloading carried out from two opposing sides of the storage structure.

This in-built flexibility means that Rainbow Dynamics’ 4D Pallet Shuttle AS/RS not only makes the most of a warehouse facility’s storage space but also improves the speed and efficiency of the pallet put-away and retrieval process.

Furthermore, the fact that the pallet carriers are easily moved to serve any one of the storage cube’s ‘tunnels’ allows the user to reduce operational overheads by optimizing the size of the material handling equipment fleet in use at the site.

Keith Gallant, Rainbow Dynamics’ General Manager for the USA and Canada, says:  “With the surge in online shopping driving demand for warehousing space across the USA there is a lot of interest around shuttle-based high-density storage systems that allow the maximum number of pallets to be stored while ensuring simple and rapid pallet accessibility.”

The Rainbow Dynamics range of automated and robot-based storage solutions is available in the USA from Michigan-based material handling and storage systems specialist, Shelving + Rack Systems, Inc (a BMH Systems company).