For operations handling long, heavy materials like pipes, tubes, and structural steel, the storage method dictates workflow efficiency, safety, and material quality. Traditional static racks force a reliance on forklifts, leading to aisle congestion, product damage, and slow retrieval. A cantilever roll out racking system transforms this process by extending 100% accessible drawers, enabling direct, vertical access by an overhead crane. This eliminates the operational constraints of forklifts, creating a safer, faster, and more space-efficient environment for high-value inventory.
In any steel service center storage environment or metal fabrication shop, the standard approach to storing long stock involves either ground-level stacks or static cantilever racks. Both methods create a hidden bottleneck. To access a specific bundle of material at the bottom of a stack or the back of a shelf, other bundles must first be removed. This process of secondary handling, or "digging," is a significant source of non-value-added time, often consuming 15 to 25 minutes per pick. During this time, expensive downstream equipment like laser cutters and CNC machines sit idle, waiting for material. This inefficiency is a direct drain on productivity. Dynamic storage, through a roll out cantilever rack, eliminates this entire sequence. Each level acts as an independent, fully accessible drawer, presenting the required material immediately and reducing retrieval time to under five minutes.
For manufacturers of high-purity components, such as those meeting ASME BPE standards, surface integrity is not negotiable. Materials like polished stainless steel, high-grade aluminum, or electro-polished tubes have surfaces that are chemically vital but physically fragile. Even minor scratches can compromise quality and lead to rejection.
Conventional storage that relies on forklifts introduces multiple points of contact and friction. When loading or unloading a static cantilever rack, the fork tines often slide against the material. Furthermore, the material itself is pushed or pulled across the steel support arms of the rack. This metal-on-metal contact inevitably creates scratches, abrasions, and gouges. For materials where a microscopic passive layer provides corrosion resistance, this physical damage is a critical failure that can render a multi-thousand-dollar piece of stock worthless.
A cantilever roll out racking system fundamentally changes the physics of material handling. The crank or motor extends the entire storage level 100% into the aisle, fully exposing the material bundle from above. This design is purpose-built for overhead crane accessible racking. The crane can lower soft nylon slings, magnets, or vacuum lifters to engage the load directly. The lift is purely vertical—a "pick-and-place" motion rather than a "slide-and-scrape" one. There is no dragging and no friction against other materials or the rack structure itself. This method provides the highest possible level of protection, ensuring that high-finish materials arrive at the production stage in the same pristine condition they were received in.
Floor space in a manufacturing facility is a finite, high-value asset. Every square foot dedicated to non-productive use, like wide forklift aisles, represents a lost opportunity. A forklift carrying 20-foot-long bars requires an aisle of 12 to 20 feet to maneuver safely. This space is a permanent tax on your facility's footprint. Because a cantilever roll out racking system is serviced by an overhead crane, the need for wide turning radii is eliminated. Aisle width is determined only by the width of the material load itself, typically reducing the requirement to just 3-4 feet. This can recover up to 50% of the floor space previously dedicated to storage. This reclaimed area becomes available for revenue-generating activities, such as adding a new production line or fabrication cell, without the capital expense of a building expansion.
Improving workplace safety goes beyond training and protocols; it involves engineering out the inherent risks in a process. The interaction between long, heavy loads and forklifts is a well-documented source of industrial accidents.
Operating a forklift with a long, heavy load creates significant operational hazards. The load's swing radius creates large blind spots, and the potential for collisions with personnel, machinery, or building structures is high. Confined aisles amplify these risks, creating dangerous pinch points. By removing the forklift from the material retrieval process, you eliminate this entire category of risk from the storage area.
The roll out mechanism, whether a manual crank with a mechanical advantage or a powered motor, allows a single operator to smoothly and predictably move multi-ton loads with minimal physical effort. This controlled extension prevents sudden shifts. Once extended, the overhead crane operator has an unobstructed, top-down view of the load and the surrounding workspace. This clear line of sight, combined with the separation of personnel from the direct path of the moving load, creates an intrinsically safer system for the safe storage of heavy pipes and tubes.
| Dimension | Traditional Forklift Storage System | Cantilever Roll Out Racking with Crane |
| Access Tool | Forklift | Overhead Crane |
| Retrieval Selectivity | Low (FILO); Requires moving blocking items | 100% Selectivity; Direct access to any level |
| Average Pick Time | 15-25 Minutes | 2-5 Minutes |
| Floor Space Usage | High; Requires wide forklift turning aisles | Very Low; Aisle width determined by load size |
| Material Surface Protection | High Risk; Sliding and scraping from forks and arms | Excellent; Vertical, non-contact lift with soft slings |
| Operator Safety | High Risk; Blind spots, collision potential, pinch points | High Safety; Clear sightlines, operator away from load |
The open design of the cantilever arms allows for the storage of various material lengths on the same level. The arms provide continuous support, and optional dividers can be used to segregate different stock keeping units (SKUs) within a single drawer for better organization.
Capacities are engineered based on application needs. Standard heavy-duty systems often support between 2,000 lbs (approx. 900 kg) and 10,000 lbs (approx. 4,500 kg) per level. For extreme applications like mold or die storage, capacities can be engineered to be significantly higher.
No. The manual crank mechanism is designed with a gear reduction system that provides a significant mechanical advantage. This allows a single operator to extend and retract a fully loaded, multi-ton level using minimal physical force, typically comparable to turning a car's steering wheel.
Yes, in most cases. During the engineering phase, the point loading of the rack's columns is calculated to ensure it does not exceed the PSI rating of your concrete slab. The system is secured to the floor using heavy-duty anchor bolts for stability.
By providing a designated, fully visible location for every bundle of material, the system greatly enhances inventory management. Each level can be labeled for specific heats, lots, or material types. This physical organization prevents the "lost material" syndrome common in bulk stacks and makes cycle counting and auditing faster and more accurate, which is critical for industries requiring strict traceability.
