Stop sacrificing your Ra finish to forklift damage.
For high-purity stainless steel manufacturers and service centers, a single scratch on a polished 316L tube renders it scrap. Traditional static racking forces you to slide bundles, risking surface integrity.
Our telescopic cantilever racks enable 100% vertical access. Load directly with your overhead crane using nylon slings—zero friction, zero impact, and absolute protection for your high-value inventory.
In the world of sanitary stainless steel components—whether you are producing heat exchangers for the pharmaceutical industry or fittings for food and beverage processing—surface quality is currency. You operate to strict ASME BPE standards. Yet, your storage area often undermines your production floor.
If you are storing 20-foot bundles of electropolished tubing on static racks, you are fighting a losing battle against physics. To retrieve a bundle, a forklift operator often has to shift the material above or in front of it ("double handling"). Every time forks slide against a tube, or tubes slide against each other, you risk compromising the surface finish. In the "clean" business, a dent or a deep scratch isn't just a cosmetic flaw; it's a bacteria trap, making the product unsellable.
Figure 1: Eliminating forklift aisles allows for dense storage accessible purely by overhead cranes.
The solution lies in changing the angle of attack. Instead of approaching the rack horizontally with a forklift (blind spots, collision risks), overhead crane accessible racking allows you to approach vertically.
Our Extendable Racks function like industrial drawers. Each arm level cranks out 100% into the aisle. This exposes the entire length of the tube bundle to your facility's overhead crane (EOT crane).
Figure 2: Motorized systems allow operators to stand clear while accessing heavy stainless stock.
Space is often as critical as surface protection. In a typical Metal Service Center, wide aisles are maintained solely for forklifts to maneuver long loads (often 12-15 feet wide). By switching to a crane-loaded crank out cantilever rack system, you can slash aisle widths by up to 50%.
Since the crane moves above the racks, the aisle only needs to be wide enough for the drawer to extend and an operator to walk. This reclaimed floor space allows you to install additional processing equipment—like a new polishing line or CNC center—without expanding your building footprint.
We understand that a bundle of solid stainless bar stock is incredibly dense. Our racks are engineered with structural steel H-beam bases to handle these extreme point loads without deflection.
| Feature | Specification | Benefit for Steel Processors |
|---|---|---|
| Load Capacity | Up to 11,000 lbs (5,000 kg) per arm level | Supports heavy bundles of solid bar stock or thick-wall pipe. |
| Extension | 100% Full Extension | Complete vertical clearance for crane hooks/slings. |
| Tube Length | 20 ft to 40 ft (Customizable) | Accommodates standard mill lengths without overhang. |
| Operation | Manual Crank or Electric Motor | Ergonomic handling; single-operator usage. |
Safety is non-negotiable when dealing with dynamic loads. Unlike static racks, the center of gravity shifts when a drawer loaded with 6,000 lbs of steel is extended. Therefore, installation requires precision.
Our installation teams use heavy-duty chemical or mechanical anchors to secure the H-beam base to your concrete slab. We verify concrete depth and PSI rating before installation to ensure the system handles the torque of full extension. This ensures that even when fully loaded with heavy wall pipes, the structure remains rigid and safe.
Figure 3: Secure anchoring is critical for the stability of extendable racking systems.
Q1: Can we add protective lining to the arms to further protect polished tubes?
A: Yes. We frequently install UHMW (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) strips or other non-marring materials on the cantilever arms. This ensures your high-purity stainless tubes rest on a soft surface, preventing carbon contamination or scratching from the steel arm.
Q2: Our facility uses a vacuum lifter for sheet and tube. Is there enough clearance?
A: Absolutely. Because the arms extend 100% out of the rack structure, there is no overhead obstruction. You have unlimited vertical clearance to lower large vacuum lifters or spreader beams directly onto the material.
Q3: What is the maximum length of tubing we can store?
A: We customize the rack columns to your material. For standard 20-foot or 24-foot tube bundles, we typically use 3 to 5 columns to prevent sagging (deflection) of the material. We can accommodate lengths up to 40 feet or more for special aerospace applications.
Q4: How does this impact our FIFO (First-In, First-Out) procedures?
A: It significantly improves FIFO. In floor stacking, the newest material is often placed on top, burying older stock. With our telescopic cantilever rack, every level is accessible independently. You can pick a specific heat number or batch from the bottom level without moving any other inventory.
Q5: Do these racks require special maintenance in a clean environment?
A: Maintenance is minimal. The transmission gears and bearings are sealed or easily accessible for lubrication. For food-grade or pharma environments, we can use food-grade lubricants and specific powder coat finishes that are easy to wipe down and resistant to cleaning agents.
