Pallet Rack Capacity Guide – Accurately Determine the Capacity of a Pallet Rack.
Correctly measuring your pallet racks is crucial for the security of your stored products and the safety of your staff. One of the most important questions that warehouse managers often wonder is: “How do you determine the capacity of a pallet rack?”
Measuring the three components of a pallet rack — the cross beams, uprights, and wire decking — can help you determine the load capacity of your warehouse rack.
Measuring Cross Beams
Measure the Length of Beam: To determine the length of the cross beams, measure from the inside of the upright frame to the inside of the opposite upright frame. The standard beam length is between 4 and 9 feet.
Face of the Beam: Measure the front of the beam from the top to the bottom. The bigger the beam face, the more load it can bear.
Measuring Uprights
Upright Depth: The depths of the upright or frame can be determined by measuring the outside edge of the frame to the opposite outside edge. This is typically between 36 and 48 inches.
Upright Column: Measure the front of the vertical column and then the side of the column. These measurements may be the same or one dimension may be smaller than the other. The size of the column indicates its weight capacity.
Upright Height: Measure the distance between the bottom (from above the breastplate) and the top of the frame. Some common sizes are eight, 10, 12, and 16 feet.
Measuring Wire Decking
The depth of the upright frame is the depth of your wire decking. Now, measure the width of the wire decking by measuring from the outside edge to the opposite edge. A common size for wire decking is 42 inches deep and 46 inches wide.
How to Determine the Capacity of a Pallet Rack
By calculating the measurements of the crossbeams, frames, and wire decking, you can determine the load-bearing capacity of the pallet rack.
Calculating Beam Capacity: First, find out how much weight you want to store on the beam. For example, if you’re going to store six pallets with a weight of 500 lbs, then the beam capacity must be 3000 lbs.
Beam Capacity= Maximum Weight of the Pallet x Number of Pallets on Each Level
Calculating Frame Capacity: To calculate the capacity of the pallet frame, you need to measure from the top of a beam level to the top of the next beam level. If the measurement is 70 inches, then the frame capacity is 70 pounds.
In addition to the above factors, the capacity of a pallet rack is also determined by the type of steel used, the strength, thickness, and quality of the steel, footplate size, and beam load distribution.
If you want to know more about using the right pallet racking systems, reach out to us today at Industrial Products Plus or call us at (714) 641-8100.