Cantilever Rack Arms: What Arm Length for Cantilever System

What are Cantilever Rack Arms?

Cantilever rack arms are the heart of the cantilever rack system. Straight cantilever arms protrude straight out from the cantilever upright with only a slight pitch to combat deflection. Inclined cantilever arms angle 20-degrees upward from the upright column. Both straight and inclined arms are fully adjustable up or down. Cantilever rack arms are generally used for storing stable loads such as lumber, steel sheets, cartons, and skids.

How Long is an Arm Length?

Cantilever arm lengths vary but are generally between 24″-48″ long. The most popular cantilever arm length is 48″. Arms of the same length may have different capacities depending on their dimensions. 

Cantilever Arm Capacities

At Cantilever Rack Now we stock the following standard arm lengths with varying capacities:

All cantilever arm lengths and capacities are based on Uniformly Distributed Loads (UDL) as illustrated below. We stock cantilever racking arms in lengths of 24”, 36”, and 48”. Other size arms can be ordered and manufactured in as little as two to three weeks. 

How to Store Product On Cantilever Rack Arms

When storing product on a cantilever rack system, your product width should never exceed the cantilever arm’s length. For instance, if you are storing a 52” wide product, you should never have 48” arms supporting that load. 

correct arm length for your industrial cantilever
 
In the figure to the left, you can see both correct and incorrect ways to store items on a cantilever rack system. Products must match the arm length of your cantilever system with no overhang. Overhang puts unnecessary strain on the cantilever arm and could result in a damaged system, product, or personal injury. When determining your cantilever arm length, be sure to measure the width of your product, and utilize the next longer length arm for that product. 

Improper Cantilever Storage 

Cantilever rack capacities are greatly affected by improper product storage. Similar to other pallet rack systems, cantilever arms base their capacity off of Uniformly Distributed Loads of product.

Tip loading or overhang on these racking systems will seriously affect the rack capacity. See the example below for reference on proper product storage. See how there is no overhang off the ends of the cantilever rack arms? 

Proper storage is a sure way to prevent deflection and damage to your cantilever rack system so you can continue storing products for years to come.

Interested in purchasing cantilever racking for your warehouse? Call 888-680-2256 or fill out a quote form today!

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