Companies requiring deep lane storage in order to maximize density select FRAZIER’s Pallet Mole®. Unlike competing shuttle systems, The Pallet Mole® has the ability to handle the workload and abuse present in the busiest warehouse environments. There are three reasons why companies select FRAZIER’s Pallet Mole® and never look back…
Reason 1 – Pallet Mole® Productivity and Density
Companies with high volume and low Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) counts have improved their productivity by over 30% through use of The Pallet Mole®. It has the ability to move up to 50 pallets per hour versus the 8 to 10 pallets per hour throughput of traditional deep lane Storage Solutions like Drive-In. This rapid pallet movement allows companies to reduce the time it takes to load or unload a truck by more than 50% and save up to 40% on labor costs.
When compared to other dense Storage Solutions such as Drive-In, the Pallet Mole® boasts numerous advantages:
- Nearly unlimited lane depth; more space used for storage and far less for aisles
- Increased productivity via simultaneous movement (Pallet Mole® and fork truck operating different tasks at the same time)
- Reduced fork truck travel distances and cycle times
- No time spent navigating through Drive-In racking
- Reduced rack and product damage
The Pallet Mole® can provide an additional 40%-50% pallet positions when compared to such solutions. Companies that typically have high SKU counts or utilize a Pickup and Delivery strategy for staging outbound truckloads ahead of actual ship dates should strongly consider The Pallet Mole®. The ability to use the Pallet Mole® for First-In First-Out (FIFO) or Last-In First-Out (LIFO) scenarios plus an optimal battery life for Refrigerated Warehousing affords it the ability to serve over 16 Industries.
Reason 2 – The Pallet Mole’s® Unique Engineering
What makes the Pallet Mole® so durable is its robust and reliable mechanical design – two large axles bear 100% of the weight on the system. Unlike The Pallet Mole®, many competing shuttle systems’ units transfer weight through their bodies, with the result that minor body damage can impair proper operation. While the body of The Pallet Mole® is designed to be as rugged as its mechanics (an approximately half-inch thick side plate of steel protects the system’s inner workings), it is not bearing any weight. Bumps or dents to its exterior will not affect lift system performance. Further complimenting the engineering is a heavy-duty chain driven four-wheel drive system, which is unique to the industry.
Another key to The Pallet Mole’s® engineering is a sophisticated lifting system. Using a controller, the system’s operator can instruct or program an electro-mechanical platform to lift pallets of product; four heavy duty ball bearings on each corner of the platform working with a screw-drive lift system respond to raise the deck lid up. The deck lid as a whole picks up the load, so that center stringers or blocks on pallets directly transfer the lifting force to the entire pallet. Other manufacturer’s units use front to rear bars that push up against pallet bottom boards, and the air cavity directly above, to lift their loads. Pallet bottom boards are the weakest part of any pallet. They are designed to prevent pallet stringer or block rotation, not to directly support the full pallet weight. Relying on pallet bottom boards only to support the full load weight, can result in damaged pallets and products.
The Pallet Mole’s® unique design is not limited towards just improving performance – it was also engineered with the user in mind for ease of maintenance. A single twenty-four volt DC lithium battery powers each unit. While Frazier provides complete spare parts support for The Pallet Mole®, the majority of components in each unit are non-proprietary and readily available from industrial supply outfits. To ensure everything is fully functional before handoff to the customer, each unit undergoes a thorough commissioning process, and is installed onsite by dedicated Pallet Mole® technicians.
Reason 3 – The Pallet Mole’s® Sensors, Magnetic Latching and Safety Systems
The Pallet Mole® contains a series of sensors that position the unit with products stored in the racking. Each end of the shuttle contains a sensor angled upward to detect stored pallets as the unit approaches them, and a sensor to scan down the lane of racking. Collectively, they locate the next load of product positioned on the racking to pick up and index to the appropriate destination.
Additional sensors on The Pallet Mole® are used to tell the unit when it has reached the end of the rack system and how to properly position itself. Once properly positioned, the fork truck operator has easy access to place pallets without any concern that the fork truck mast can make impact with The Pallet Mole®. From this position, The Pallet Mole® then can move forward to pick up the pallet, with pallet placement sensors centering the deck lid perfectly with the pallet.
Making loading and unloading even safer is an industry-unique electromagnetic safety latching system. Two magnets, each rated for 1200lbs of strength, latch the unit to the fork truck in order to prevent dislodgement. The same sensors used for positioning control the latching mechanism. Operation of the electromagnetic safety latching system is fully automatic – the system will automatically engage when lifting units from the storage system and will automatically disengage upon placement back into the system.
