1. The Shuttle concept

A shuttle system consists of supporting rack, shuttle rails and a shuttle cart. The shuttle cart runs on the rails and is propelled by an electric motor. It also has a platform on the top that can lift up and down. The lifting action is required to lift a pallet that is placed on the rail and then the electric motor moves the cart with the pallet on top into the rack in order to deposit the pallet in its right position.

When the pallet is required, the cart moves in under the pallet, lifts it and brings it to the front of the rack where it can be retrieved by a forklift.

All the movements of the shuttle cart are controlled with a hand held remote control. The shuttle cart is placed in the desired lane with a forklift.

2. Advantages

The shuttle system allows for more pallets to be stored in a given area when compared to normal static rack. It also minimizes damage to the rack because the forklift does not have to travel into the racking, as is the case with drive-in rack. Accessibility is increased because all the levels can be accessed at any time. In a drive-in rack system the bottom level must be cleared first in order to be able to access the higher levels.

3. Design

The Uni-Shuttle has a battery-operated motor inside that can run for a full 8-hour shift before it needs recharging. It also has censors that can pick up its location within the rack and in relation to the pallet it needs to deposit or retrieve thereby reducing the monitoring by an operator. It has a robust shell with easy access to parts that needs maintenance. All the components used are locally sourced "off the shelf" components to ensure availability in case of a breakdown.