Machine builder relying on plastic

Perfect sliding partner: Even the forks of the industrial truck were provided with sliding bars made of SUSTAGLIDE

Heavy-duty storage system with sliding bars made of SUSTAGLIDE: In the front, an industrial truck

Stable material for heavy-duty storage system

Innovative is not only what is built and worked in a complex and sophisticated way. More often than not, simple ideas have the greatest effect thought the technical head of a machine builder in Fulda/Germany.

For shelf elements of a heavy-duty storage system, this manufacturer of industrial trucks and storage systems was looking for a material to simplify placing stock items on the shelves. This material was basically to meet three requirements, namely to be so stable that even very heavy storage items - even steel weighing several tons - can be placed on it without damage being incurred by the shelves or attached elements. The surface structure was to be easy to clean and the material not cause any damage to the item in stock itself. Thirdly, it should be very abrasion-resistant for the storage items to be able to be pushed on it onto the shelf.

"As a machine-building enterprise, we have been intimately acquainted with the material steel for decades now. To utilise plastic was relatively new ground for us. We had various materials on the short-list, however, SUSTAGLIDE proved convincing through its properties and price", says the practitioner.

For stock from stock

SUSTAGLIDE is obtainable from Röchling Sustaplast as a stock article at short notice, either as sheet material or in the form of round and hollow rod. In this case the customer wanted to mount simple bars on the shelf without screws and without any machining.

The distances to each other ensure that all pallet and stock item dimensions constantly come into contact with the bars. For storage without pallet, the distance of the bars ensures that the forks of the commissioning vehicle can be driven between the stock material and shelf to thus lift the stock material. For this reason, the forks of the vehicles have likewise been provided with sliding bars.

For the sliding pieces on the shelves, the 8 mm thick sheets have already been cut at Röchling Sustaplast`s into over 200 individual bars each 120 mm wide and delivered directly to the customer.

Being tough

SUSTAGLIDE is outstandingly suited as a sliding material due to integrated lubricants. Oils and fats, as they frequently adhere to machine-building parts made of steel, leave this material unaffected. The high degree of abrasion insures a long durability.

SUSTAGLIDE is a high-strength and simultaneously rigid material and will withstand even heavy loads without any difficulties due to these properties. Compared to steel, even a rust protective finish can be done without.