Long-goods and sheet-metal storage
Profiles and tubes in a cantilever AS/RS, steel and aluminium sheets in a pallet-type sheet tower; the tower can load laser cutters automatically.
Profiles and tubes in a cantilever AS/RS, steel and aluminium sheets in a pallet-type sheet tower; the tower can load laser cutters automatically.
Long goods and sheet metal do not fit a normal pallet AS/RS. Profiles and tubes, commonly 4–12 m long, go on cantilever racks and are handled bundle by bundle by a stacker crane or bridge unit with a long-goods gripper or cassettes. Steel and aluminium sheets go on pallets in a sheet tower, moving in and out pallet by pallet, and can feed a laser cutter automatically. Both are designed around the material length or sheet size and the bundle or pallet weight.
Typical uses
- Machining and storage of aluminium and window profiles
- Steel tube and steel stockholding and processing
- Sheet stores for sheet-metal, enclosure and lift makers
- Feeding laser cutting and bending shops
How to choose
- Material: 4–12 m profiles and tubes go in a cantilever store; steel and aluminium sheets in a sheet tower
- Maximum bundle or sheet-pallet weight and the number of sizes to store
- Handling: long-goods gripper or cassettes for cantilever, whole pallets for the tower
- Whether it links directly to laser cutters for automatic loading (links to saws confirmed separately)
When it is not the right choice
- Mostly flat sheets: not a cantilever store; choose a sheet tower
- Mostly long tubes and profiles: a sheet tower cannot take them; choose a cantilever store
- Coils and cable drums: choose a coil-specific solution with V saddles
Key figures
| Long-goods length | Commonly about 4–12 m, some systems up to about 14 m |
|---|---|
| Long-goods store | Cantilever racks; stacker crane or bridge unit with long-goods gripper or cassettes |
| Long-goods load | Cassette systems rated about 1–8 t per cassette by vendors, with 5 t and 8 t models published; cantilever racks about 0.25–2.5 t per arm |
| Sheet tower | Sheet sizes commonly 3,000×1,500, 4,000×2,000 and 6,000×2,000 mm; 3 t per pallet level, 5 t optional; about 8–20 levels |
| Throughput | Long-goods stores about 20–60 cycles/h in vendor data, about 15–25 dual cycles/h in another source; one published sheet-tower load/unload cycle is about 135 s, confirm against levels and travel |
| Integration | Sheet tower loads laser cutters automatically; links to saws confirmed separately |
| Management | Tracks cassette and pallet positions and connects to ERP / WMS to manage stock by size, batch and offcuts |
Figures are typical configuration ranges; exact specifications are set per project.
Options
- Area for offcuts and short lengths
- Loading and unloading manipulator for laser cutters
- Weighing and counting
- ERP and MES interface
Scope of supply
- Machine, drives and control cabinet, assembled and dry-run tested before shipping
- The equipment's own control and fleet software; interfaces to your existing WMS / ERP as the project requires
- Drawings: general arrangement, foundation and anchor plan, electrical schematics
- Conformity documents for the equipment and the whole line, the split of responsibilities and the acceptance criteria are set out in the contract according to the project scope
- Spare-parts list and wear-part recommendation; a first batch can ship with the equipment
- Factory acceptance (FAT): attend in person or follow by live video
- Installation, commissioning and operator training can be included in the offer
What we need for an offer
- Material types, length or sheet size range, sheet thickness
- Maximum bundle or pallet weight, total stock and number of sizes
- Daily movements and consumption
- Whether it links to laser cutters or saws, how many and where
- Floor plan, clear height under beams and floor capacity data