How A Pallet Design System (PDS) Can Predict A Pallet’s Life

When you look at a pallet, what do you see? For most people, perhaps some wood and some nails that are put together to form a stable shipping platform. When an experienced pallet manufacturer looks at pallets, they see the type of wood, the way boards are assembled, the type of nail used in construction, and any treatments that pallet has undergone. When a Pallet Design System (PDS) looks at a pallet, it sees more than the human eye ever could. The technology grants us the ability to analyze every detail in order to design custom pallets for specific products. A Pallet Design System (PDS) considers every material that goes into pallet construction and design, including necessary pallet treatments, pallet capacity, and expected pallet life.

The PDS Does Not See Just Wood and Nails

The two key materials utilized during the pallet production process are wood and nails. When a Pallet Design System (PDS) is utilized to select these materials, it considers every physical characteristic important to the performance of the pallet. For lumber that includes the species of wood, which provides information pertinent to load-bearing qualities, such as density. In addition, the PDS considers the moisture content of the wood, an important characteristic when calculating the pallet’s weight. When it comes to nails, the PDS specifications are very detailed. They include nail type, length, wire diameter, helix number, flute number and MIBANT angle. 

A Pallet Specific to Your Needs

Material information is, of course, not the only information a PDS uses in order to create a pallet. The Pallet Design System (PDS) also considers the weight and shape of a load as well as the internal packing specifications in order to come up with an appropriate design. The PDS can also account for single use versus multi-use scenarios. In the case of multiple use, a PDS may perform a durability analysis that tells you what components will fail first and how many trips that pallet can take before failure is likely to occur. For those customers in need of pallets with heat or chemical treatments, a PDS accounts for such factors in the final pallet specifications.

What Does a PDS Provide?

Once a PDS has completed its analysis, it produces a detailed drawing of the pallet. Identifying markers can even be placed on the model that is then translated to the manufacturing process. In addition to the specification drawing, a PDS produces additional information such as the aforementioned durability analysis. It can even tell you how the weight of the pallet changes as moisture leaves the wood. Because the Pallet Design System (PDS) is so detailed and scientific in its approach to pallet design, pallet customers can be sure that the pallets they purchase are completely safe for their intended use. If a PDS says a pallet will hold 3,000 lbs, with the safety buffer built into the analysis, you can be assured it will hold 3,000 lbs. 

PDS is a powerful tool that is capable of considering multiple factors in the design of a pallet. It takes into account all aspects of the pallet use and material specifications in order to come up with the best design possible. From that design it can provide all sorts of useful information about the pallet including weight and durability.