The drive-in deep rack is a prefabricated demountable metal structure for storing loads on pallets. It consists of vertical frames, the same as used for pallet racks, a system of ties and a guiding girder. Drive-in racks are the best solution if your warehouse has limited space and stores uniform goods. Their primary advantage is a large storage capacity. The name “drive-in racks” describes the specifics of the system operation: there are no aisles between the installed racks, and the loading equipment does not have to go inside the aisles. It is important to carefully selectthe warehouse equipment for the maintenance of a drive-in rack system.

Depending on the installation choice, the drive-in systems can have:

• One-way (drive-in) loading and unloading: the warehouse operates on a LIFO basis — «last-in-first-out»; to put it simple, the process of loading and unloading of goods is carried out on one side. This system has been used in warehouses intended for the simultaneous storage of large amounts of long-time storage goods.
• Two-way (drive-through) loading and unloading: the warehouse operates on a FIFO basis — «first-in-first-out», which means that the first loaded pallet will be unloaded first. This “drive-through” solution is the best choice for warehouses storing goods with limited shelf life.

The loader or stacker drives directly inside a drive-in rack passageway and places its loads. Therefore, there are some requirements for the loading equipment to be used, and for the racking system design.

А — Overall width of the loader.
The minimum clearance of B mm on each side between the loader and vertical elements of the rack is required.

Dimension C is a distance measured between rack posts.

G — Width of the loader operator’s protection.

H — Minimum distance between cradles.
The minimum gap between the cradle and the operator’s protection is 50 mm.

D and E — Base height and protection height of the forklift.

F — Maximum lifting height.
It must be at least 200 mm larger than Dimension I.

K — Height of the lower and intermediate levels.
K = Pallet height + 250 mm.
L — Height of the upper level.
L = Pallet height + 200 mm.
M — Overall height = Total of all levels.
Dimensions K, L and Mcan be adjusted with a 75 mm increment.

N: the overall depth of all pallets (including the dimensions of a cargo if it projects) plus clearance for positioning within the range of 35 mm to 50 mm per pallet, depending on the number of pallets (the more pallets, the more clearance required).

The passageway width is determined by the front pallet size plus the minimum required clearances. If a cargo overhangs from the pallet, the passage must be wider and the brackets must be longer because even if a pallet is fully displaced to one side, the minimum pallet support of 50 mm must be provided

The minimum clearance is 75 mm. We recommend to increase this parameter for high pallets. The table gives the main standard parameters for 1,200 mm wide pallets. The same criteria should be applied to pallets of other sizes.