In storage, merchandising, and picking areas, Rotary Shelving is often overlooked for other methods such as modular storage or rectangular shelves with bins. However, in production areas, warehouses, parts counters, and retail, rotary shelving is often a better solution - especially when space is a big issue.
Rotary shelving has the ability to concentrate storage of bulk items into less space than rectangular shelving or modular cabinets. While they don't provide the security of a lockable modular cabinet, for the right application, it's difficult to create a better system for small parts, bulk storage. Because they are sub-dividable, rotating circular shelves can be sorted, housing many different kinds of items on the same shelf.
Rotating circular shelves create space where it's typically lost. A rotary shelf can use more of a corner. It can sit atop a workbench or a countertop. It fits neatly and smoothly into these areas, and best of all it brings parts right to a picker.
Concentration is the key to this efficiency. The revolving circular shelf design packs more parts into less space while it cuts picking time and enhances accessibility.
With Classic Shelving: A typical small parts storage area shelved with rectangular warehouse shelving: 72 conventional shelf units, 36"w x 12"d x 7' h occupies 216 square feet. The six aisles add another 324 square feet, for a total of 540 with 216 lineal feet of shelf frontage to be walked.
With Rotabins: The same small parts storage area looks vastly different with 24" diameter rotary shelving, including overhead storage, 36" x 30" x 7'h. The rotary shelving occupies 216 square feet. Two aisles add another 108 square feet for a total of 324 square feet and just 72 lineal feet of shelf frontage to be walked.
The savings are magnified when you consider the time this could save in walking and picking. Rotary shelving enables one person to pick more parts while standing in one spot. The parts are easier to reach and easier to see than on conventional rectangular shelving. You also don't need to buy bins separately, since they're built into a rotary shelf.
See Drawings, above: By eliminating wasted space found at the back of a rectangular shelving unit, rotary shelving can save space within the unit as well as on the floor. It creates more usable space per square foot. For example, in a 36" square area, you can fit twelve 6" wide compartments. However, a 36" diameter Rotabin shelf you can fit fifteen 7" wide triangular compartments.