Industrial Forklift Frame Rack — Stacking Sheet Metal Materials by Herochu

A forklift frame rack is not a shelf. It is a load-bearing structure engineered to hold 30 metric tons of plate material in vertical configuration while giving a forklift operator direct line-of-sight access to every stored layer. Herochu builds these frames to operate inside the rhythm of a fabrication line—where the time between retrieving a sheet and feeding it into a laser cutter or press brake is measured in seconds, not minutes.

The frame architecture follows a straightforward principle: two welded upright assemblies connected by horizontal crossbars at each storage tier. Each upright uses Q235B rectangular hollow section columns sized to resist combined axial compression and bending from eccentric loads. The column foot plates spread reaction forces across a 300 × 300 mm footprint, keeping slab contact pressure below 2 MPa on standard 25 MPa warehouse concrete. Full-penetration groove welds join the column to the base plate; fillet welds tie the arm brackets to the column face. No stitch welding anywhere in the load path.

At the tier level, the dual-beam crossbar design distributes plate weight across two parallel structural members spaced 80 mm apart. This redundancy matters in industrial environments where fork strikes happen. A single beam might yield under a side impact that catches only one flange. Two beams ensure that even if the outer member takes a hit, the inner member retains full load capacity until the next scheduled maintenance cycle. Herochu’s load rating of 3,000 kg per tier on the HC-F2513-63 through HC-F4015-63 and 5,000 kg on the HC-F4020-65 and HC-F6020-65 accounts for this distributed load path with a static safety factor of 1.5.

Material handling with these frames is intentionally simple. The operator positions the forklift perpendicular to the rack face, raises the forks to the target tier, drives forward until the fork tips contact the back of the arm channel, then lifts. The sheet stack—whether it is ten plates of 12 mm carbon steel or twenty sheets of 3 mm aluminum—clears the arm retaining posts and pulls straight out. Placing material back into the rack follows the reverse sequence. Because the arms project outward past the column face by 200 mm, the forklift mast never needs to crowd the uprights, preserving a safe clearance zone around the frame structure.

The number of tiers—six in the standard configuration—strikes a balance between storage density and practical reach height. A six-tier rack with 300 mm clear spacing between levels places the top arm at approximately 2,100 mm above finished floor, well within the lifting envelope of a standard 2.5-ton counterbalance forklift. Shops with higher mast capacities can specify additional tiers during the quotation phase; Herochu’s engineering team validates column buckling length and base anchorage for each custom stack-up.

Product protection posts at the outward end of each arm serve a dual function. Structurally, they act as cantilever stops that resist the forward sliding force generated when sheets sit on a slight incline—common in older buildings where floor slabs have settled. Operationally, they give the forklift operator a visual and tactile reference point: the fork tips contact the post base, confirming full insertion before lifting begins. This mechanical feedback removes guesswork from a motion that inexperienced operators often find nerve-wracking.

Surface preparation for Herochu industrial frame racks starts with abrasive blasting to SSPC-SP6 commercial grade, removing all mill scale, rust, and cutting oil residue. The powder coating line applies a thermosetting polyester formulated for indoor industrial exposure, with a pencil hardness of 2H and direct-impact resistance exceeding 50 kg·cm. Available in RAL-standard colors, the finish allows facility managers to color-code racks by material type—blue for steel, green for aluminum, red for copper—reducing the chance of cross-contamination between alloy grades.

Installation follows a phased sequence: mark anchor positions, drill and set chemical anchors, stand columns, bolt crossbars, torque all connections to 180 N·m, and verify plumb within 3 mm across full height. The entire process for a six-tier, single-bay unit takes two workers roughly half a shift with standard rigging gear. Herochu includes an installation manual and a torque-sequence diagram with every shipment; remote video support is available for first-time assemblers.