How to Determine Cantilever Rack Capacity
- Written by Auzzi Shopping
This article outlines some factors that can affect cantilever racking capacity. But first, it explains some of the different components of cantilever racking, as well as the importance of sticking within rack capacities.
Components of Cantilever Racking
Cantilever Uprights
Cantilever uprights form the very basic skeleton of the rack, and are vertical columns that are attached to bases. From the uprights come the horizontal arms which carry goods. Cantilever racking uprights can be configured for double or single sided racks. Double-sided racks utilise each upright twice to double the amount of storage possible with one mechanism. This saves you money while maximising available storage space for your inventory. Always check with the manufacturer whether your uprights are suitable for one-sided or double-sided use.
Cantilever Racking Arms
Cantilever racking arms extend from the uprights and create support for items along the height of the upright. It’s easy to adjust the arms so your shelving is customisable as per your changing requirements. If you’re worried about items rolling off the arms, there are two things that can be done – arms can be inclined upwards, or you can get arms with a lip at the end.
Cantilever Racking Braces
Cantilever racking braces provide support to your rack by connecting your uprights.
Why Getting Cantilever Load Capacity Right is Crucial
There are at least two good reasons why getting your cantilever racking load capacity right is vital. Firstly, if you don’t have a limit for loading your cantilever racking, you may overload it or improperly load it, it which may lead to collapse and danger in the workplace as items start falling from above. While you never want damage to your products, you especially don’t want damage to your employees.
Secondly, your efficiency could be at stake. This is because you could be underutilising your racking, which may mean that you’re using more racking than you need to and wasting both floor space and vertical space in the process. When items are stored more densely, you can enjoy greater picking and loading efficiency which will save you money.
Factors that Can Determine Cantilever Rack Capacity
There is one simple way to get an estimate of rack capacity, and that is to check if any of your cantilever racking components have the capacity stamped on them, as this is common practice by manufacturers. Bear in mind though that this is simply a rough guide, as there are multiple factors that can affect cantilever racking capacity, including:
Load Distribution
It’s important to load your cantilever racking evenly, as an uneven load can alter capacity by up to 50%. Loads must be balanced on each level of racking and between different sides of double-sided cantilever racking.
Arm Capacity
Generally, a 48 x 4 cantilever arm has a capacity of about 2,000 pounds. But you should not take this information as word, because it depends on what kind of steel the arms are made from – structural or roll-formed steel. The latter has a lower capacity than structural steel, as it is lighter duty.
Column Spacing
For a stronger rack, you need to ensure there are more uprights in the system. Each upright does its part in carrying some of the load, so the more uprights you have, the greater the capacity of the cantilever racking.
Cantilever Racking Height
If you have a high ceiling in your warehouse, it can be tempting to make use of that vertical space for storage. Be aware though that the higher cantilever racking goes, the lower its weight capacityis. So the convenience of vertical storage needs to be balanced with safety concerns about load capacity.
Flooring
Cantilever racking has a base, which needs to be attached to the warehouse floor. Concrete is the preferred type of flooring to be used for anchoring cantilever racking, but you need to take into account the condition of the concrete slab, as this could affect load capacity. You also need to ask yourself if the flooring is level, as this too could have an effect.