Stacker cranes were introduced in the previous article. Aisle stacker cranes are the core equipment of the whole automated three-dimensional warehouse, which is composed of frame (upper crossbeam, lower crossbeam, column), horizontal walking mechanism, lifting mechanism, loading table, telescopic forks and electrical control system, and can realize the goods being carried from one place to another by manual operation, semi-automatic operation or full-automatic operation!

The telescopic forks of the stacker cranes are the main mechanism of the stacker cranes for accessing or moving materials, it has flexible two-way automatic telescopic function and accurate limit function, it is directly assembled on the stacker cranes, or it can be installed on the fixed lifting mechanism or on the mobile working platform, it can be docked with the production line system and enterprise management system, and it adopts the computer and the barcode technology (encoder), so as to realize the informationized intelligent management and operation!

The full name of stacker telescopic forks is stacker bi-directional automatic telescopic forks, referred to as telescopic forks, automatic telescopic forks, bi-directional telescopic forks, stacker telescopic forks and so on, which are called by different names! From the structure can be divided into single reach (single deep position) telescopic forks and double reach (double deep position) telescopic forks, also known as the three-level (three sections) telescopic forks and four-level (four sections) telescopic forks! Single reach (single deep position) telescopic forks are composed of three sections or three segments of the fork body, referred to as three-stage fork (three-section fork) or three-stage telescopic forks! The double reach (double deep) stacker telescopic forks are composed of four sections or four fork bodies, so we call them four-level forks or four-section telescopic forks! Here is a structural analysis of its two kinds of forks:

01. Telescopic forks for single reach stacker cranes
The basic structure of single reach stacker telescopic forks is composed of three sections of fork body such as upper fork body (front fork body), middle fork body, lower fork body (fixed fork body), etc., together with guiding rollers, rack and pinion, sprocket chain, guiding sliders, limit switches, torque limiters, encoders, drive motors, gearboxes, couplings and other components to form a complete telescopic mechanism, the lower fork body (fixed fork body) is mounted on the loading platform, and the middle fork body moves outward by about half of its own length under the drive of the rack and pinion, and the upper fork body (front fork body) then continues to extend outward from the middle point of the middle fork body to the storage space.

02. Telescopic forks for double reach stacker cranes
The structure of double reach stacker telescopic forks is composed of four sections or parts such as upper fork body (front fork body), upper middle fork body, lower middle fork body, lower fork body (fixed fork body), etc., together with guiding rollers, rolling bearings, rack and pinion, sprocket chain, guiding slider, limit switches (travel switches), center switch (proximity switches), torque limiters, encoders, actuators, motors, gearboxes, couplings and so on. Hundreds of components constitute a complete telescopic mechanism, the lower fork body (fixed fork body) is installed on the loading platform, the lower fork body in the rack and pinion or sprocket chain drive, move outward about half of its own length, the upper fork body and then continue to extend outward from the midpoint of the lower fork body, the upper fork body (the front fork body) and then continue to extend outward from the middle point of the upper fork body, so that the upper fork body (the front fork body) the telescopic distance extends directly to the roadway a little farther to the left and right. to a predetermined reservoir position a little farther to the left and right of the lane!

Between the single-extension forks and double-deep forks, there is no obvious difference between the two in terms of load, relatively speaking, single-extension forks have a slightly shorter distance to move the load, while the double-deep forks have a slightly longer distance to move the load, that is to say, the stroke is a little larger! In terms of deflection, single reach forks in the long-term load operation, its lower deflection is relatively small, while the double deep position forks in the long-term load operation of the lower deflection to be slightly larger, so in the same conditions, the single reach forks load to be slightly larger, while the double deep position forks load to be slightly smaller!

It can also be categorized into box telescopic forks, pallet telescopic forks and clamping telescopic forks in terms of functional scope:

01. Box telescopic fork

Technical characteristics of box type telescopic fork:

1. Small fork thickness, compact structure, used for standing warehouse crates

2. Default single fork can be used, also can be used with double or multiple forks.

3. Chain, rack and pinion synchronous transmission.

4. Stroke of telescopic fork: according to customer's requirement.

02. Pallet telescopic fork

Technical characteristics of pallet telescopic fork:

1. Used for standard pallet in vertical storage, default double fork use, can also be used with single or multiple forks.

2. Chain, rack and pinion synchronous transmission.

3. Telescopic fork stroke: according to customer requirements.

03. Clamping telescopic forks

Stacker forks are widely used in intelligent three-dimensional warehouse, logistics automatic warehousing system, with stacker cranes, connecting pallet conveyor system, size detection barcode reading system, communication system, automatic control system, computer monitoring WCS system, computer management system (WMS), etc., using computer and barcode technology (encoder), to realize information management and intelligent operation! It is the main pick-up or feeding mechanism for stacker cranes to access items in intelligent storage and three-dimensional warehouse systems, and it has two-way automatic telescopic function and limit function! It is directly assembled on the stacker cranes, or fixed elevation lifting mechanism, mobile walking lifting platform, the stacker cranes through the aisle between the shelves, to complete the work of automatic access or removal of load items!

In addition to being used in automated three-dimensional warehousing, stacker forks can also be used in a large number of modern intelligent manufacturing industries, such as: industrial production, equipment manufacturing, logistics and warehousing, product manufacturing, intelligent applications, the aviation field, rail transportation, new energy manufacturing, the electronics industry, chemical raw materials, the paper industry, culture and education, the tobacco industry, food and beverages, printing and packaging, and other various fields!