As a supplier of Double - Mast Pallet Stacker Cranes, I am often asked about how our equipment handles pallets with irregular shapes. In this blog, I will delve into the mechanisms and features that enable our Double - Mast Pallet Stacker Cranes to efficiently and safely manage these challenging pallets.
In automated pallet warehouses, some goods are not stored on standard pallets. They may use special pallets, steel carriers, fixture pallets, or pallets with non-standard dimensions. For these irregular loads, the key is not letting the stacker crane adapt to every shape freely. The key is to make the load unit stable, repeatable, and suitable for automated handling.
A Double-Mast Pallet Stacker Crane can handle irregular pallets when the pallet structure, load size, center of gravity, rack interface, and load handling device are properly designed.
1. Define the Load Unit First
Before entering an AS/RS system, irregular pallets must be checked and standardized. The system needs clear limits for pallet size, load weight, fork entry direction, bottom support, overhang range, and center of gravity.
If the product itself is irregular, a customized carrier pallet or fixture pallet is usually required. This converts the irregular product into a stable load unit that the stacker crane can safely pick, move, and store.
2. Match the Right Load Handling Device
The load handling device should be selected according to the pallet structure and transfer method.
For standard or semi-standard pallets, telescopic forks can be used. For special pallets or conveyor-connected processes, chain or roller conveyor platforms may be more suitable. The key is to ensure that the pallet bottom, rack support, and inbound/outbound conveyor interface are matched.
Therefore, irregular pallet handling is not only a stacker crane issue. It is a system design issue involving the pallet, rack, conveyor, and WCS.
3. Use Double-Mast Rigidity for Stable Handling
The advantage of a double-mast pallet stacker crane is structural stability. Compared with lighter structures, the double-mast design provides better support for heavy loads, large pallets, and loads with less ideal weight distribution.
For non-standard pallet projects, the mast structure, lifting platform, guide wheels, rail system, and load handling device should be verified through mechanical calculation and structural analysis. This ensures the crane has enough rigidity and stability during travel, lifting, and storage operations.
4. Control Abnormal Pallets Before Storage
Irregular pallets should not be blindly sent into the storage aisle. The inbound station should check whether the pallet is positioned correctly and whether the load is within the approved size range.
Typical checks include pallet centering, overhang detection, height detection, fork entry position confirmation, and pallet condition inspection. If the pallet is skewed, damaged, overloaded, or outside the allowed range, the system should reject it before the stacker crane picks it up.
This prevents fork interference, rack collision, unstable lifting, and equipment damage.
5. Manage Different Pallet Types Through WMS/WCS
For projects with multiple pallet types, the WMS/WCS should manage them separately. Standard pallets, heavy pallets, special carrier pallets, and oversized pallets can be assigned to different storage areas or handling rules.
This allows the stacker crane system to choose the correct storage location, movement path, and handling method for each load type.
Conclusion
Double-Mast Pallet Stacker Cranes can handle irregular pallets, but only when the load is engineered into a controllable unit.
The professional solution is not simply using adjustable forks or relying on manual operation. It requires load standardization, suitable load handling devices, high-rigidity crane structure, inbound detection, and WMS/WCS control.
For heavy, large, or non-standard pallets, a double-mast stacker crane provides better stability and is suitable for automated storage systems that require safer and more reliable pallet handling.
If your warehouse uses non-standard pallets, steel pallets, fixture pallets, or heavy load carriers, DELIECN can evaluate your pallet drawings, load specifications, rack interface, and throughput requirements to design a suitable pallet AS/RS solution.
