Six-meter steel tubes are among the most awkward items a warehouse can hold. They are long, heavy, and easy to tangle, and when they are stacked flat on the floor they bury one another; retrieving a single bundle of a given diameter usually means shifting half the pile first. A telescopic cantilever rack for pipe storage takes a different approach. Instead of forcing the material into a fixed shelf, the rack moves the storage level out to meet the bundle. Herochu builds this class of rack around a manual crank mechanism that is simple, reliable, and independent of any power supply. The sections below explain how the system works, why the 3-ton class suits 6-meter bundles, and where it pays back fastest.

What a telescopic rack does that a fixed cantilever rack cannot

On a conventional cantilever rack the arms are stationary. The forklift or overhead crane has to place each 6-meter bundle between two columns with little room for error, and the aisle must be wide enough for both the machine and the full length of the load. A telescopic cantilever rack from Herochu is engineered for the opposite routine. The operator turns a hand crank, the arm assemblies extend outward into the aisle, the bundle is set down on the extended arms, and the crank draws the arms and the load back inside the rack footprint. Because the load no longer has to swing through the aisle, aisle width can shrink by several meters, and the rack can sit tight against other equipment.

How the manual crank mechanism works

On a Herochu rack, turning the crank moves the telescopic arm assemblies smoothly out of the frame and back in. The operator works from floor level, so loading and unloading do not require climbing or work at height. The geared transmission holds the arms positively in position once the crank stops, which keeps the stored bundle stable even while other compartments are being accessed. The same motion sequence applies to every level, so a new operator learns the procedure in minutes. Because the drive is purely mechanical, the rack keeps working in unpowered halls, during outages, and in workshops where running electrical supply lines would complicate installation or inspection.

Sized for 3-ton, 6-meter bundles

The Herochu HC-G6053S and HC-G6053 models are built around a 6,000 mm pipe length and a rated load of 3,000 kg per level, arranged over five tiers as standard, with custom layer counts available on request. Each compartment handles 3 to 5 tons depending on the configuration. The frame is fabricated from Q235B high-strength steel, and the dual-beam crossbar design spreads the concentrated load of individual tubes across the full width of the level. That matters in daily operation: a bundle rarely lands perfectly centered, and the twin-beam arrangement keeps the arms level even when the weight sits toward one end.

Independent compartments on both sides

On a Herochu rack, every tier is divided into independent compartments on both sides. One rack can therefore separate material by diameter, steel grade, wall thickness, or customer order without moving any dividers. Bundled and loose material are equally welcome: a full strap of tubes sits in one compartment, and the short ends or cut-off pieces from the previous job go into the compartment next to it. Because every bundle has a designated place, the classic warehouse problem of “somewhere over there” disappears, and inventory checks become a visual walk rather than a search.

What the rack saves: floor space, handling time, and material

The arithmetic is straightforward. A 6-meter bundle stored flat occupies roughly 6 meters of floor length for every row you can stack; stored on five levels, the same quantity uses one footprint five times over. Handling time drops because the crank extension presents the bundle at the edge of the rack, where the forklift or crane hook has direct access instead of reaching between columns. Damage falls as well: tubes no longer slide against each other during retrieval, so surface scratches and bent ends are far less common, which means less rework and fewer rejected lengths downstream. For plants that run the same sizes week after week, the compartment plan becomes a visual inventory system: the rack layout itself tells the storeman what is in stock and where, before a single label is read.

Where a 3-ton telescopic rack earns its keep

This storage method fits operations that live on long material every day: tube laser cutting shops, profile fabrication lines, steel service centers, and construction material yards. It is also a practical answer for workshops where overhead crane time is a bottleneck. A 3-ton Herochu telescopic rack takes tube storage off the floor and out of the crane’s critical path, freeing the crane for cutting and assembly work, which is usually where it earns more per hour. Tube mills and service centers that receive mill bundles and cut to order see the benefit twice: once when material arrives and once when an order is picked.

Two models, one layout decision

HC-G6053S and HC-G6053 share the same 6-meter, 3,000 kg, five-level platform, and the right choice is settled during layout planning. Aisle width, discharge direction, and the handling equipment already installed in the building all play a part, which is why Herochu engineers ask for a simple floor plan before recommending a variant. For longer material, the same family extends upward: the Herochu HC-G9065 and HC-G12065 accept 9,000 mm and 12,000 mm pipes at up to 5,000 kg per level, so a facility that grows into longer stock can scale the system rather than replace it.

Getting the rack matched to your operation

A telescopic cantilever rack for pipe storage pays for itself through fewer handling moves and less wasted floor space, but only when the layout is correct. Send the aisle dimensions, the bundle weights, and the lengths you actually store, and the Herochu team returns a racking proposal with the model, layer count, and compartment layout spelled out. One drawing is enough to see whether the crank approach fits your hall, and the load ratings above make the comparison easy.