Floats like a turntable
August 1st 2005

Turntables that float on a film of air are being utilised by Waitrose supermarkets to get them out of a tight situation. Airgonomics has installed airfilm turntables in the warehouses of stores, capable of turning articulated trucks in very confined areas.

The system allows trucks to be simply driven straight into the unloading area, rotated to an offloading position, and then indexed to the exit/entry position for the truck to leave.

The trucks are positioned very accurately on the turntables using a laser positioning system. Once in the correct position the trucks are simply rotated at the press of a button on a film of compressed air.

Safety whilst rotating the trucks is key feature of the system. Both light guards and bumper bars are used due to the very confined areas the turntables are installed within. In some cases the trucks are rotated with just 50mm clearance.