As the name implies, a vertical carousel is a high-density storage solution that operates on the vertical axis. The mechanism that drives a vertical carousel is similar to the mechanism that drives a Ferris wheel; however, rather than rotating on a circular path, as a Ferris wheel would, the shelving units move up and down vertically, following an elongated oval path. This configuration means that vertical carousels can more than double the storage capacity of ordinary static shelving units. In addition, vertical carousels can significantly improve warehouse performance. That’s because a vertical carousel’s internal mechanism is integrated with computer software, creating a true “goods-to-person” delivery system. When a certain product needs to be picked, it is the software that directs the carousel to present the correct tote to the operator at the work counter.
With the vertical carousel, items stored high are automatically brought to the operator at an ergonomic height.
Here is a summary of the benefits of storing your inventory and items in a vertical carousel:
As mentioned above, carriers are attached to the drive chain of a carousel. The carriers provide the vehicle for your stored materials: inventory, supplies, raw materials, textiles, etc. Carriers come in all different sizes and configurations to accommodate the items they are storing.
All carriers on a carousel are uniform in size and are attached in fixed locations. You can reposition a carrier on a carousel however it is not a simple procedure, so you want to make sure you put carriers in the correct position right from the start.
However, you can modify and configure each carrier in many different ways depending on the size and type of your storage items by adding storage bins, boxes, dividers, etc.