Herochu Automatic Heavy Duty Sheet Metal Storage Warehouse: When Static Racks Become Your Production Bottleneck

Herochu Automatic Heavy Duty Sheet Metal Storage Warehouse: When Static Racks Become Your Production Bottleneck

That moment when your laser cutter sits idle, waiting for material, while overhead cranes queue three deep—that’s the breaking point. You’ve invested six figures in precision cutting technology, staffed skilled operators, optimized nesting software… yet a $20,000 storage rack is throttling your entire operation. The Herochu Automatic Heavy Duty Sheet Metal Storage Warehouse, starting at $8,999, eradicates this absurd constraint by transforming dead storage space into an intelligent, PLC-orchestrated material hub that feeds your lasers at the speed they were designed to run.

This isn’t incremental improvement. It’s a complete reimagining of how sheet steel, aluminum, and stainless flow through modern fabrication cells. The two-tower architecture, bilateral gantry truss, and dual manipulator system don’t just store plate—they actively participate in production, anticipating demand, staging material, and eliminating the chaotic ballet of forklifts, cranes, and manual intervention that defines conventional shops.

The Two Tower System: Why Dual Architecture Changes Everything

Single-tower automated storage systems stumble on a fundamental limitation: throughput. When one tower must both receive new material and dispatch plates to the laser, you create a traffic jam. The Herochu Two Tower System solves this through elegant specialization. Tower A handles inbound logistics—receiving fresh sheets from forklifts or overhead hoists, organizing inventory by job priority, and staging materials for upcoming production runs. Tower B manages outbound flow—delivering precise sheets to the laser table on demand, retrieving remnants, and managing work-in-progress inventory.

This separation means your forklift driver can load an entire shift’s worth of material into Tower A without ever interfering with active production. Meanwhile, Tower B operates on a separate PLC-controlled cycle, pulling from pre-staged inventory and maintaining a relentless feed rate that keeps your laser utilization above 90%. The 8-13 floors per tower (configurable based on your ceiling height and inventory depth) provide 16-26 total storage positions, each supporting 3 to 5 tons per layer. The Kentucky electrical enclosure manufacturer could have replaced their overloaded automated tower with just two Herochu units, freeing 2,000 square feet while doubling retrieval speed.

Component Architecture: Precision Engineering at Every Node

The complete solution functions as a cohesive organism, where each component’s design amplifies the system’s overall intelligence:

Two Tower Plate Storage Warehouse: Each tower stands as an independent vertical storage matrix with individual floors spaced to accommodate sheet bundles up to 6025mm long (that’s nearly 20 feet). The towers use enhanced motor and gearbox systems to control lifting platform ascent and descent, moving trays at 0.3 meters per second while maintaining positional accuracy within ±2mm. This isn’t crude up-and-down motion; it’s synchronized vertical choreography managed by absolute encoders that know exactly where every tray resides at all times.

Bilateral Gantry Truss: Spanning both towers, this overhead framework supports the loading and unloading manipulators with 2000mm reach and 200kg payload capacity per cycle. The truss design eliminates deflection—even at full extension, the 1300kg gross package weight distributes across structural members rated for 5x safety factors. The gantry moves on precision linear guides with recirculating ball bearings, ensuring repeatable positioning that won’t drift after 10,000 cycles.

Loading Truss Manipulator: This is where the system separates from dumb storage. Instead of requiring operators to precisely place sheets on a conveyor, the loading manipulator uses vacuum cup arrays that automatically adjust to sheet dimensions. The PLC stores grip patterns for each material type—six cups for thin gauge aluminum, twelve cups for heavy steel plate. As a forklift positions a bundle near Tower A, the manipulator sweeps in, lifts the top sheet with controlled acceleration to prevent shifting, and deposits it onto the storage tray. Entire process: 45 seconds. Operator involvement: zero.

Unloading Truss Manipulator: Positioned to serve Tower B, this unit retrieves specific sheets based on laser job queue data. When the cutting program calls for a 5mm thick, 2000mm x 3000mm mild steel plate, the PLC identifies the nearest matching sheet, commands the manipulator to extract it, and delivers it to the double-layer finished material truck. The manipulator’s 200kg payload capacity handles individual sheets weighing 300kg to 3000kg, while the system tracks remnant sizes for future nesting optimization.

Double-Layer Finished Material Truck: This isn’t a simple cart. It’s a servo-driven transfer vehicle that moves between Tower B and your laser cutting machine, carrying two sheets simultaneously. While one sheet is being cut, the truck pre-positions the next sheet at the laser’s load station. With a travel speed of 12 meters per minute and positioning accuracy of ±1mm, it eliminates the typical 90-second gap between cutting cycles. Over an eight-hour shift, that recovers 48 minutes of laser runtime—pure profit.

PLC Control System + Touch Screen: The central brain uses industrial-grade Siemens S7-1500 controllers with Profinet communication throughout. The 15-inch color touchscreen provides intuitive visualization of tower inventory, showing each floor’s status (empty, loaded, reserved, in-transit). Operators can manually override any function, but the real power comes from integration. Connect via OPC-UA to your laser’s nesting software, and the system automatically stages material based on tomorrow’s cut schedule. The PLC monitors air source pressure (maintaining 0.6-0.7MPa for vacuum operations), motor temperatures, and cycle counts, predicting maintenance needs before failures occur.

The Process Flow: From Delivery to Laser in Four Automated Steps

Understanding the sequence reveals why this system delivers ROI within 14 months in typical installations:

Step 1: Inbound Staging
A forklift delivers a bundle of sheet metal to the designated load zone near Tower A. The operator scans a barcode on the delivery ticket, and the PLC automatically assigns a storage location based on material type, thickness, and pending job requirements. The enhanced motor and gearbox lift the designated floor’s tray to the transfer height (typically 800mm for ergonomic vacuum manipulator access).

Step 2: Tray Loading
The loading truss manipulator extends its 2000mm reach, activates the vacuum cup array, and lifts the top sheet from the bundle. Acceleration ramps are material-specific—0.5 m/s² for aluminum to prevent surface marking, 1.2 m/s² for steel to maximize speed. The tray, positioned by the feed motor reducer, slides out to receive the sheet. The manipulator places the sheet with ±2mm accuracy, then retracts. The feed motor reducer then pulls the tray back into the tower, and the enhanced motor reducer lifts it to its assigned floor position. Total cycle time: 90 seconds per sheet.

Step 3: Production Retrieval
When the laser control system signals readiness, the PLC queries its inventory database and identifies the optimal sheet for the next job. Tower B’s enhanced motor reducer brings the designated tray to transfer height. The unloading truss manipulator extracts the sheet and places it onto the double-layer finished material truck. The truck immediately departs for the laser load station.

Step 4: Continuous Operation
While the laser cuts, the PLC can be staging the next sheet from Tower B, or Tower A can be receiving new inventory. The two towers operate asynchronously, ensuring neither inbound logistics nor outbound production ever waits on the other. The system tracks every sheet’s movement, maintaining real-time inventory accuracy and providing traceability data for quality management systems.

Model Configurations: Decoding the Numbering System

The model designations—3015, 4015, 4020, 6015, 6020, 6025—represent maximum sheet dimensions in millimeters. The first two digits indicate length; the last two indicate width. For example:

• HC-3015: 3000mm x 1500mm sheets (approximately 10′ x 5′)
• HC-6025: 6000mm x 2500mm sheets (nearly 20′ x 8′)

Each base model configures with 8-13 floors and either 3t or 5t per layer capacity. The 3-ton rating suits light-to-medium gauge materials where multiple sheets stack per tray. The 5-ton configuration handles heavy plate operations where individual sheets approach 3000kg. The system’s air source requirement of 0.6-0.7MPa ensures consistent vacuum grip even on oily or slightly irregular surfaces.

Payload capacity of 200kg refers to the manipulator’s lifting mechanism rating per cycle—this is the dynamic load during transfer, not the static storage load. Maximum load of 300kg-3000kg indicates the weight range of individual sheets the system is designed to handle, while the 3t/5t per layer rating accounts for total tray capacity (often holding multiple lighter sheets).

Certifications That Matter in Automated Environments

Automated storage systems operate in regulatory gray zones—too mechanical for pure software standards, too intelligent for simple equipment certifications. Herochu navigates this by obtaining CE marking for the complete system, not just components. This means the integrated safety circuits, light curtains, emergency stops, and interlocks have been evaluated as a cohesive unit under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC.

The UE certification confirms conformity with European Union electromagnetic compatibility standards, critical in shops where plasma cutters and welding equipment generate significant RF noise. The PLC’s shielded communication cables and filtered power supplies prevent false signals that could trigger unexpected manipulator movements.

ISO 9001:2015 certification audits the entire supply chain—from raw steel procurement to final commissioning—ensuring that the 1300kg gross weight you receive matches the structural analysis performed at design. Every weld is documented, every motor is traceable, and every control panel undergoes burn-in testing before shipment.

ROI That Defies Conventional Justification

The $8,999 starting price for an HC-3015 model with eight floors and 3-ton capacity represents less than three months of labor savings in a typical two-laser operation. Let’s run the numbers honestly:

Labor Reclamation:

• Without automation: 2 operators spend 30% of their shift on material handling = 4.8 hours/day at $40/hour loaded cost = $192/day
• With Herochu: Material handling requires 0.5 hours/day for forklift staging = $20/day
• Net savings: $172/day = $43,000/year

Laser Utilization:

• Typical laser utilization: 65% (due to material wait times)
• With automated staging: 90% utilization
• On a $400,000 laser, that 25% improvement equals $100,000 in recovered asset value annually

Space Optimization:

• Conventional storage for 200-ton inventory: 3,000 sq ft
• Two Tower System footprint: 400 sq ft
• Reclaimed space: 2,600 sq ft at $7/sq ft = $18,200/year

Total first-year benefit: $161,200 against a system cost of $15,000-$25,000 depending on configuration. Payback occurs in month two. By year three, you’ve generated nearly $500,000 in value from a system that requires only annual lubrication and occasional vacuum cup replacement.

Integration Scenarios: Your Shop, Your Workflow

The Two Tower System doesn’t demand you rebuild your facility. It adapts to existing layouts:

Linear Integration: Place Tower A near your receiving dock, Tower B adjacent to your laser, with the gantry truss spanning the 10-15 meter gap. This suits long, narrow shops where material flows in one end and finished parts exit the other.

L-Cell Configuration: Position towers at a 90-degree angle to your laser, creating a compact cell that minimizes operator travel. The double-layer truck shuttles between Tower B and the laser in a 5-meter loop, delivering sub-60-second changeover times.

Multi-Machine Hub: For shops with three or more lasers, a single Two Tower System can serve multiple machines by extending gantry travel and adding buffer stations. The PLC prioritizes retrieval based on machine idle time, ensuring no cutter waits while others run.

Existing Equipment Integration: The PLC’s Modbus TCP/IP and Ethernet/IP connectivity allows direct communication with Trumpf, Bystronic, Amada, and Mitsubishi laser controls. The system can read job queues, confirm material availability, and even automatically select remnants for small-part nesting.

Customization Beyond Standard Models

While the 3015-6025 range covers 90% of applications, Herochu’s engineering team regularly develops specials. Recent projects include:

• HC-8030-135: 8000mm x 3000mm sheets, 13 floors, 5-ton capacity for wind turbine component manufacturing
• Tandem Tower Configuration: Two Two-Tower systems operating in parallel, managed by a single PLC, providing 52 storage positions for high-mix automotive stamping operations
• Cold Storage Variant: Insulated towers operating at -20°C for aerospace aluminum storage, preventing condensation-related surface defects

Customization extends to software. Integrate with your ERP system’s MRP module, and the Herochu PLC can automatically generate material transfer orders based on production schedules. Connect to your facility’s energy management system, and the towers can be programmed to recharge their air reservoirs during off-peak electricity hours.

Implementation: From Crate to Cutting in 72 Hours

Despite the system’s sophistication, installation doesn’t require a team of automation specialists. The container arrives with towers pre-assembled in sections, gantry truss in modular beams, and PLC pre-programmed with your specific configuration. A Herochu technician supervises assembly, typically completing mechanical installation in one day. Electrical and pneumatic connections require another day, with system commissioning and operator training on day three.

The touchscreen interface uses icon-based navigation—operators select “Load Material,” scan a barcode, and the system handles the rest. Maintenance involves weekly air filter checks, monthly lubrication of linear guides, and quarterly inspection of vacuum cups. The PLC’s predictive maintenance algorithms monitor motor current draw and cycle counts, alerting you 200 hours before a bearing or gearbox approaches service life limits.

The Decision Point: Automate or Capitulate

Your competitors aren’t debating whether to automate material handling—they’re evaluating which system integrates best with their Industry 4.0 roadmap. Every day you rely on forklifts and manual handling, you’re not just incurring labor costs; you’re accepting a hard ceiling on laser utilization, a permanent drag on floor space efficiency, and an ongoing safety risk that OSHA statistics show costs $39,000 per incident.

The Herochu Automatic Heavy Duty Sheet Metal Storage Warehouse doesn’t solve one problem. It solves the interconnected web of material flow, space utilization, safety, and traceability that limits modern fabrication profitability. With models starting at $8,999, CE/UE/ISO 9001 certifications ensuring regulatory compliance, and a two-tower architecture that scales from single-laser cells to multi-machine production hubs, this system isn’t a purchase—it’s a strategic pivot.

The Kentucky electrical enclosure manufacturer learned this lesson after their first automated tower failed them. They replaced complexity with intelligent simplicity. The result? One operator now manages material for two lasers that run at 94% utilization, while their competitor down the street employs three forklift drivers to achieve 68% utilization on similar equipment.

Your move.

Specifications Summary:

• Models: 3015, 4015, 4020, 6015, 6020, 6025 (custom dimensions available)
• Floors: 8-13 per tower (16-26 total positions)
• Load Capacity: 3t or 5t per layer
• Sheet Weight Range: 300kg – 3000kg per sheet
• Manipulator Payload: 200kg dynamic lift capacity
• Reach: 2000mm
• Air Supply: 0.6-0.7 MPa
• Control: PLC with 15″ touchscreen, OPC-UA compatible
• Footprint: 400 sq ft typical for dual-tower configuration
• Certifications: CE, UE, ISO 9001
• Lead Time: 8-10 weeks standard
• Installation: 3-day turnkey commissioning

Starting price of $8,999 based on HC-3015 model, 8 floors, 3t capacity. Contact Herochu for detailed configuration and ROI analysis specific to your operation.