Herochu Long Sheet Metal Storage Rack Design
Engineered for 4–6 m plates that refuse to fit anywhere else
Most storage systems are built for the mythical “average” sheet. Your reality is a 5.2 m galvanised coil slit to 1.8 m width, 8 mm thick, weighing 586 kg—one of thirty SKU’s that must be accessible in under a minute, yet kept perfectly flat and scratch-free. Herochu’s long-sheet programme starts with that fact and works backwards: steel, geometry, kinematics and controls are chosen only after the load spectrum, crane envelope and daily pick sequence are mapped in detail. The result is a rack that treats four-metre stock as a warm-up and six-metre plate as routine, while staying within CE machinery directives and your floor-loading limits.
From drawing board to dispatch in three weeks
Every project begins with a one-page questionnaire: maximum sheet length, width tolerance, single-pack mass, lifter type, aisle width, seismic zone and hourly retrieval target. Within 48 hours our engineers return a 3-D STEP model, static calculation and drive schematic. Once the layout is signed off, production slots are reserved in our Zaragoza plant; hot-rolled European S355 sections are cut on fibre-laser lines, welded in jigs that hold 0.5 mm straightness over six metres, then shot-blasted to Sa 2½ and zinc-sprayed at 120 µm. The modular frame ships knocked-down on two EUR-pallets, bolts together with one Allen key and is ready for loading the same afternoon—no site welding, no concrete pit, no fire permit.
Load paths that eliminate deflection
Long sheets behave like beams: if the support points are too far apart they oil-can, creating internal stress and handling traps. Herochu places rollers on 600 mm centres and pre-crowns each tray by 2 mm so that when fully laden the surface is flat to within ±0.5 mm. Side guide rails are induction-hardened to 55 HRc and spaced at 70 % of sheet width, preventing lateral drift when a partially drawn pack is hit by cross-traffic airflow. The net effect: a 6 m × 2 m × 10 mm steel plate can be extended 1 200 mm without measurable sag, allowing vacuum lifters or magnetic beams to engage without edge scraping.
Motorised or manual—your tonnage decides
For payloads below 3 t per level we fit a sealed gearbox and hand wheel: 12 turns moves the tray 1 m at 120 N rim force—well inside the 150 N EU manual-handling limit. Above 3 t we switch to a 0.55 kW brake motor with Siemens G120 inverter, delivering 6 kN pull at 0.12 m/s. Travel is controlled by absolute magnetic encoders; repeatability is ±1 mm, so the vacuum lifter can be pre-positioned while the drawer is still moving, shaving seconds off every pick. Power is 400 V 16 A; a 24 V circuit covers light curtains, e-stop strings and beacon stacklights. If the mains drop, a spring-applied brake locks the tray—no drift, no crush hazard.
Density that rewrites the yard map
Traditional A-frames need a 4 m aisle front and back; cantilever racks demand 5 m clear for forklift rotation. Herochu long-sheet racks work in 1.4 m single-sided or 2.2 m double-sided aisles, letting you store 1 200 t of plate in a 250 m² bay that once held 400 t. Rollers are mounted on cassettes that slide out for cleaning, so aluminium swarf or plasma dust never builds up. Height modules start at 2.5 m and rise in 500 mm steps to 7 m; a twelve-tier block can accept 250 mm packs while keeping the top sheet below the 3 m pick window of standard vacuum lifters.
Safety credentials that satisfy auditors
CE conformity covers EN 13105 static steelwork, EN 60204 electrical safety and EN 349 crushing clearance. Each level is proof-loaded at 1.25 × rated capacity and the deflection recorded in the passport file. Light curtains across the aisle stop motion if a pedestrian enters; an acoustic beacon repeats the status traffic-light code for noisy environments. Fork-entry pockets are tapered and flared to prevent hanger damage; radius edges are 2 mm minimum to maintain glove integrity. If you store polished stainless, HDPE slip strips are factory-bonded to eliminate metal-to-metal scoring.
Interfaces that speak your language
The master PLC ships with PROFINET and Modbus-TCP as standard; we provide function blocks for Siemens TIA, Allen-Bradley Studio 5000 and Beckhoff TwinCAT. Scan a QR code on the rack upright and a web dashboard shows live load per level, cycle count, motor temperature and next grease interval. Push the data to your ERP and the rack becomes a dynamic bin location—no more manual cycle counts, no more lost sheets.
Price that starts at €3 660, value that compounds
A five-tier, 20 t manual rack for 6 m sheets begins at €3 660 EXW. Add motorisation, light curtains and remote handset and the figure rises to €5 840—still below the cost of one injured-back compensation claim. Customers report pay-back in 9–14 months through recovered floor space, reduced handling labour and elimination of sheet edge repairs. Every rack is serialized; spares are kept in stock for a minimum of ten years.
Global footprint, local standards
Herochu long-sheet racks are already in service at wind-tower plants in Denmark, shipyards in Croatia, aluminium service centres in Michigan and façade contractors in Dubai. Where local codes differ—seismic coefficients in Italy, wind loads in the Gulf, OSHA regulations in the USA—we recalculate and recertify, delivering a structural dossier stamped by a Eurocode-qualified engineer.
