Moving large metal sheets is the least glamorous job on a laser cutting floor, and often the slowest. A 6000 x 2000 mm steel plate weighs more than a person can lift, swings unpredictably on a crane hook, and scratches the moment it touches an unprotected edge. Herochu’s gantry-style sheet feeder and vertical rack storage system takes over that job for industrial laser systems: a two-axis gantry with vacuum lifters pulls sheets from a vertical tower, feeds them into the machine, and handles the material without a single manual contact.
Gantry mechanics built for heavy, oversized sheets
The Herochu feeder is built around a gantry that moves on two axes. The loading arm travels horizontally at 10-30 m/min, rises and lowers at 5-10 m/min, and its fork opens and closes at 5-20 m/min. Motion is driven by servo control and PLC sequencing, which gives repeatable positioning to millimeter level. The frame is welded from high-strength structural steel, sized for the largest sheet the tower can hold, up to 500 kg per pick.
Vacuum suction is the detail that matters. Multiple suction cups spread the lifting force across the sheet surface, so thin material does not flex or deform, and the top face never touches forks or grippers. Sheets arrive at the laser exactly as they left the supplier: flat, clean, and unmarked. For stainless and coated materials, where a single scratch means a rejected part, this is worth as much as any speed figure.
Vertical rack storage that feeds the line
Behind the gantry stands the storage tower. Single- or twin-tower configurations hold 8 to 10 layers, each layer customizable to the plate formats in use. Load capacity reaches 5,000 kg per tier on the larger models, and clear space between tiers is 350 mm as standard, adjustable for thicker stock.
Long sheets are awkward to store flat. They need dedicated floor racking, careful forklift handling, and a lot of aisle space. Vertical rack storage solves all three: the sheet stands on edge in its own tier, protected on both faces, and the gantry retrieves it without re-handling. The tower also protects the stock: each sheet rests on its own supports, so edges stay square and surfaces stay free of dents from stacked handling. That is why gantry feeding and vertical rack storage pair naturally in one system.
Working with the laser’s own material flow
Industrial laser systems usually move material through an exchange or shuttle table: one table cuts while the other loads. The Herochu feeder is designed around that rhythm. While the laser cuts, the gantry retrieves the next sheet from the tower and places it on the free table. When the cut finishes, the tables swap, and the empty table receives the next sheet within seconds. The feeder also unloads cut parts and skeletons after cutting, completing the loop.
Model selection follows sheet size:
HC-A3015-83 for 3000 x 1500 mm sheets
HC-A4015-85 for 4000 x 1500 mm sheets
HC-A4020-85 for 4000 x 2000 mm sheets
HC-A6020-105 for 6000 x 2000 mm sheets
The range supports applicable sheet dimensions up to 6000 x 2500 mm, and every configuration can be customized in layer count and clear space to match the exact plate stock of the facility. Tower placement, cart path, and docking are designed around the site’s constraints, not the other way around.
Speeds that keep the table full
Throughput depends on motion, and the numbers are worth checking. The material cart transfers at 5-15 m/min. The loading arm moves horizontally at 10-30 m/min and lifts at 5-10 m/min. The fork opens and closes at 5-20 m/min. Max sheet weight is 500 kg. Put together, these speeds keep the exchange table loaded in the seconds between cut cycles, so the laser rarely waits on material.
The cycle repeats without variation: pick, travel, place, return. Because the path is fixed and servo-controlled, cycle time is predictable, and predictable cycle time is what production planners build schedules around.
Reliability in daily production
A gantry feeder earns its keep across three shifts, so every component is selected for continuous duty. Weight detection confirms each sheet is fully seated before the arm moves; photoelectric sensors guard the working envelope; emergency shut-offs stop all motion instantly if anything enters the zone. The automation replaces forklift dependence and manual lifting, removing both the physical strain and the damage risk that come with handling large plate by hand.
Maintenance stays simple because the architecture is simple. Grease points are accessible, wear items such as suction cups and guide rollers are standard catalog parts, and the PLC records fault history for quick diagnosis. Most service work falls into planned downtime instead of forced breakdowns.
For fabricators running industrial laser systems on large formats, the gantry-style sheet feeder and vertical rack storage from Herochu turns the heaviest manual task on the floor into a machine function, consistent, fast, and safe.
