AS/RS design tool now available

New tool from MHIA optimizes storage capacity and throughput for a unit load AS/RS.

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 4/17/2008

If you’re considering automating your warehouse with an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), a new tool from the AS/RS experts at Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) can help you generate a preliminary design.

ExASRS is a Microsoft Excel-based software tool that determines the dimensions of a unit load AS/RS required to support specific throughput and storage needs.

Users input information such as maximum storage volume, the number of storage requests per hour, the speed of the S/R machine and the type of storage rack, and the tool produces a design configuration that includes the following information:

• Number of aisles
• Length of rack
• Height of rack
• Number of columns per rack
• Number of rows per rack

ExASRS v.20 is now available for free download at MHIA’s website. The tool comes with a users manual, a case study describing how one company used the tool, and a white paper that describes the tool's mathematical calculations.