Stainless Steel Shelving

Stainless Steel Shelving

Shelving units are common in automotive, garage, chemical and food processing, textile, publishing and virtually every modern industry. Stainless steel shelves are particularly well suited to food, medical and chemical industries where they must be hygienically cleaned on a regular basis or may be exposed to volatile compounds. As shelving systems can be configured to support as much as thirty five thousand lbs, they provide safe and secure storage for everything from totes, boxes, paper and cases to pallets, motors and large equipment. The use of stainless steel, however, is not limited to warehouse, factory and other manufacturing settings. The elegant appearance of this silvery-white metal makes it a popular choice for highly visible home and office shelving systems as well. The versatility is due in part to the alloyed nature of stainless steel. The term actually applies to a group of metals rather than a singular metallic composition. Variable performance features to be considered when selecting application specific shelving include resistance to corrosion, wear, heat and shock as well as pressure ratings and weight capacity. The capacity of a shelf should always exceed the total weight of items it will hold to avoid mechanical failure due to overloading.

While other metal shelving is widely available, stainless steel offers several unique qualities that are essential to harsh industrial environments. Like all other steels, stainless steels are iron alloys with varied amounts of carbon content. What makes this particular group of alloys stainless, however, is the addition of chromium. Chromium content also adds to corrosion resistance and can even create a thin layer of chromium oxide under the proper conditions providing the metal with a slight degree of self-repairing ability. This is integral to industrial storage shelving where accidental impacts and extreme wear are not uncommon. Additionally, because stainless steel is a group of alloys rather than a specific metallic composition, it can be very versatile. The grade, gauge, shape and size of steel shelving components further the possibilities of stainless steel shelving. There are two main options with regards to shelving design. Wire shelving is a series of interwoven rods welded together to form a grid. This lattice work becomes the base or surface upon which inventory is placed. Alternatively, panel shelving uses sheet metal to create a solid surface. Stainless steel is well suited to a number of manufacturing processes. Most often, rolling and forging are used to create sheet metal while cold rolling, extrusion and stamping are used to both the small rods needed for wire shelves and the thicker poles and bars that provide the framework and support for shelving systems.