Creform Corporation engineers have designed and built an A-frame kitting cart with dividers that helps long and slender parts to be presented and stored vertically. Vertical storage is a good way for the manufacturer to sort not-so-common multiple-length products for quick visual identification and retrieval. Three sets of pins keep the components separated for protection and easy selection by an associate. The kitting cart allows the associate to handle the parts directly with no packaging to deal with, which helps improve the overall efficiency of the operation.
The components held are supported by a base that features a half-inch thick HDPE plastic shelf supported by Creform pipe. The continuous plastic shelf ensures that nothing falls through and the box design of the base ensures stored parts are firmly secured and that nothing will kick free out the bottom. An upper and lower retaining strap ensures the product is secure for long-distance transport. Another shelf at the back of the cart provides a place to store items that need to accompany the cart during production with supplies such as hardware.
The cart, designed for either manufacturing or warehouse use, features four 5 in. diameter swivel casters wheels for easy, stable, and safe movement. A separate floor lock is integrated into the cart’s base in order to hold the cart in place. The cart is ideal for transporting from point to point or the temporary storage of all the parts needed for a job. The user can “kit up” his parts in the warehouse supermarket area in order to efficiently maximize time. The cart pictured measures 44 W x 30 D x 80 in. T and is designed to hold up to 425 lb.
Options can include feet, rather than wheels for stationary operations, label holders to identify positions, hooks, and clipboards. The cart can be outfitted with a hitch for towing by a Creform AGV Tugger unit to make the cart part of an AGV-supported kitting system.
As with all Creform carts, higher capacity and custom cart sizes and configurations are possible with the Creform system of 28, 32, and 42-mm plastic coated steel pipes and metal joints. They can be configured for ESD (anti-static) applications and are available as a kit or an assembled structure or in the component form for a complete DIY solution.
