A reconfigurable mechanism of cantilever storage racks

An automated warehousing system often consists of storage modules, storage and retrieval mechanism, lifting equipment and conveyor systems. These facilities are used to overcome some disadvantages of manually operated warehousing systems which often lead to a high frequency of human errors, high labour cost and low efficiency. The usage of these automated facilities may also be helpful to maximise utilisation of shop floor space and improve efficiency of warehousing operations. On the other hand, at this age of information technology that the access to the internet is just at the fingertip, it has been seen a rising trend for online shopping in the past decade. Thus, manufacturers, suppliers or distributors have been seeking for even more efficient and effective new methods to store and distribute their goods. A number of studies through a literature review suggest that future generation warehouses may be designed and implemented as more centralised and distributed warehousing systems in which customers place their orders on-line and goods will then be dispatched directly to their door steps from these centralised distribution centres. This paper presents a proposal for designing and implementing future generation warehousing systems using fast-growing IT technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless sensors and networks. The overall purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual design of an integrated system for future generation automated warehouses by incorporating a new design of storage and retrieval modules with the applications of these IT technologies used for automation activities. The presentation of this paper only highlights the part of this work including a design of a core mechanism for automated storage module namely the cantilever storage racks, which have the feature of scalability and reconfigurability.