Basic Material Handling Equipment: An Outline of Categories and Slides

Richard E. Ward has developed the following detailed taxonomy for material handling equipment. Links are provided to the corresponding items in the MHE taxonomy (in brackets if different name).

1. Static Storage Systems

  1. Industrial Steel Storage Racks
    1. Single deep selective rack
    2. Double deep selective rack
    3. Portable rack [stacking frame]
    4. Drive-in rack
    5. Drive-through rack
    6. Push back rack
    7. Mobile rack
    8. Cantilever rack
  2. Shelving and Drawer Storage
    1. Simple shelving
    2. Mobile shelving
    3. Bin storage units
    4. Drawer storage units
  3. Mezzanines
    1. Free standing mezzanines
    2. Mezzanines with shelving units

2. In-Plant Industrial Trucks

  1. Electric Motor Rider Trucks
    1. Counterbalanced rider type, stand up
    2. Three wheel rider type, sit down
    3. Counterbalanced rider type, sit down, high and low platform
  2. Electric Motor Narrow Aisle Truck
    1. High lift straddle truck
    2. Order picker truck
    3. Reach type with outrigger
    4. Side leaders
    5. Turret truck
    6. Swing mast truck
    7. Convertible turret/stock picker
    8. Low lift pallet and platform, rider truck
  3. Electric Motor Hand Trucks
    1. Low lift platform truck
    2. Low lift walkie platform truck
    3. Tractor, draw bar pull under 999 lbs
    4. Low lift walkie, center control
    5. Reach type truck with outrigger
    6. High lift counterbalanced
    7. Low lift walkie/rider pallet truck
  4. Internal Combustion Engine Trucks
    1. Counterbalanced cushion tire truck
    2. Counterbalanced pneumatic tire truck
  5. Non-powered Hand Trucks
  6. Dock Equipment
    1. Dock leveler
    2. Truck restraining device
  7. Truck Attachments
    1. Drum handling

3. Fixed Path Conveying

  1. Gravity Conveyors
    1. Chute
    2. Skate wheel conveyor
    3. Roller conveyor
    4. Ball transfer table
    5. Skate wheel transfer table
  2. Horizontal Powered Conveyors
    1. Slider bed belt conveyor
    2. Roller bed belt conveyor
    3. Live roller conveyors
      1. Belt driven live roller conveyor
      2. Chain driven live roller conveyor
      3. Line shaft conveyor
    4. Power accumulation conveyors
      1. Zero pressure accumulation conveyor
      2. Roller actuated, zero pressure accumulation conveyor
  3. Sortation Conveyors
    1. Swing arm deflector sorter
    2. Impact sorter
    3. In-line sorters
      1. Pop up skewed wheel sorter
      2. Pop up chain with roller system
      3. Shoe/surfing sorter
    4. Tilt tray sorters
    5. Cross belt sorters
  4. Powered Overhead Conveyors
    1. Chain conveyor, flanged track
    2. Chain conveyor, tube track
  5. Vertical Conveyors
    1. Single mast, single rail VRC with flat deck
    2. Double mast, double rail VRC with roller deck
    3. Paternoster type vertical conveyor
    4. Platform type vertical conveyor
  6. Asynchronous Conveyors
    1. Overhead power and free conveyor
    2. Inverted power and free conveyor
    3. Car-on-track type system
    4. Inverted automated electrified monorail
    5. Sorting transfer vehicle
    6. Miscellaneous assembly conveyors

4. Variable Path Conveying

  1. Automatic Guided Vehicle System (AGVS)
    1. Unit load pallet AGVS with roller deck
    2. Unit load low lift pallet AGVS
    3. Unit load, container AGVS with lift lower deck
    4. Tote carrier AGVS
    5. Fork lift, stacking AGVS
    6. Paper roll AGVS
    7. AGVS with assembly deck
    8. Tugger AGVS
  2. Automated Electrified Monorails (AEM)
    1. Heavy load AEM
    2. Automotive assembly AEM
    3. Light load, tote AEM
    4. Light load, tote AEM with flow rack interface
    5. Inverted AEM
    6. Electric track vehicle
  3. Pneumatic Tube Systems
    1. System schematic of multi-path installation
    2. Work station demonstrating carrier loading/unloading

5. Dynamic Storage Systems

  1. Flow Delivery Systems
    1. Pick-to-light split case rack system
    2. Unit load, high density rack system
    3. Case load system with automatic extraction
  2. Horizontal Carousels
    1. Horizontal carousel with manual paicking
    2. Horizontal carousel with light tree directed picking
    3. Horizontal carousel with automatic extraction
    4. Rotary rack with manual picking
    5. Rotary rack with automatic extraction
  3. Vertical Carousels
    1. Vertical carousel with manual picking
    2. Vertical carousel with automatic extaction
  4. Storage Columns
    1. Storage column with manual picking
    2. Storage column with automatic takeaway
  5. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)
    1. Unit load, single shuttle AS/RS
    2. Mini-load, single shuttle
    3. Micro-laod system
  6. Split Case/Item Order Picking Systems
    1. Robotic picking system
    2. A frame dispenser system
  7. Miscellaneous Dynamic Storage Systems
    1. Case dispensing system
    2. Case accumulation and dispensing system

6. Lifting, Leveling and Work Positioning Systems

  1. Stationary Systems
    1. Floor mounted pick and place robot
    2. Overhead pick and place gantry robot
    3. Manually operated lift table
    4. Overhead vacuum lifters
    5. Floor mounted vacuum lifter
    6. Mechanical manipulator with gripper
    7. Jib crane
  2. Overhead Mobile Cranes
    1. Single girder, underhung bridge crane
    2. Double girder, top running bridge crane
    3. Light load, manual bridge crane with tubular track
  3. Gantry Cranes
    1. Light load, double leg, wheeled gantry crane
    2. Single leg, track guided gantry crane
  4. Stacker Cranes
    1. Manually operated floor controlled stacker crane
    2. Powered stacker crane
  5. Hoists
    1. Hand chain hoist
    2. Electric wire rope hoist, electric chain host
  6. Balancers

7. Unitizing Systems

  1. Pallets
    1. Wood block pallet
    2. Wood notched stringer (GMA) pallet
    3. Plastic pallet
    4. Composite, formed one-way pallet
  2. Industrial Metal Containers
    1. Corrugated metal container
    2. Welded wire container
  3. Plastic Containers
    1. Erected plastic, unit load container
    2. Collapsed plastic, unit load container
    3. Plastic totes for mini load AS/RS
    4. Plastic totes for order picking
    5. Corrugated plastic tote
    6. Plastic totes, stack and nest
  4. Mobile Containers and Carts
    1. Wire frame cart
  5. Palletizers
    1. Floor based robotic palletizer
    2. Gantry mounted robotic palletizer
  6. Load Stabilizing Systems
    1. Automatic shrink wrap work station
    2. Automatic stretch wrap work station
    3. Automatic unit laod steel trapping work station
    4. Pallet stacking frame

8. Package Management Systems

  1. Scanners
    1. Hand held scanners
    2. Fixed scanners
  2. Package Management
    1. Cubing and weighing system
  3. Printing
    1. Ink jet printing

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Last modified: September 30, 1999