Flipper racksSeparator and dunnage flipper racks
A flipper rack holds large panels standing on edge in a row, with a pivoting flipper on each side of every part. Swing the flippers open to load, close them to separate and protect the parts. PSS designs and builds them in steel, around your part, with the dunnage to match.
How a separator flipper rack works
Two rows of flippers hang from a holder on each long side of the rack. With the flippers swung up, the operator drops a part in from the top, sets it on the dunnage logs below, and swings the next pair of flippers down against it. Part by part, the row fills.
The flippers keep the spacing near the top of the part. The weight sits lower down, on dunnage logs that are combed to the part, usually two per row. The load end has no cross member, so nobody has to duck under steel to load the rack.
On a shipping rack a lock down bar swings over the closed flippers and latches, so nothing moves on the truck. Racks that stay in the plant for work in process usually go without it.
What flipper racks are good for
Large panels
Hoods, doors, liftgates and tailgates, roof panels, fenders, body sides and quarter panels.
Painted surfaces
Parts touch only the flippers and the logs, never each other. Class A (painted or show) surfaces never touch bare steel.
Handed parts
Left and right flippers are mirrored parts, so a left-hand and a right-hand part are each held the way they should be.
How PSS builds them
- Welded steel frame with corner posts and stacking caps, so loaded racks stack.
- Low profile or truss base with 4-way fork entry, and an expanded metal deck.
- Flippers and logs notched and combed to your part, with a tapered lead-in so the part guides itself into place.
- Flippers in molded urethane, HDPE, cross-link foam, ARPLANK EPE foam or vinyl on steel. The logs can match.
- Up to three tiers of flippers when the part allows.
A rule of thumb we design to: keep the rack about 53 in tall or less, so parts are easy to load and unload. A rack only goes taller when the part needs it. Tall panels like hoods and doors standing on edge sometimes need more, and the Studio tells you when.
Flipper tower racks, for large parts
A flipper tower rack is the version for big parts. Steel towers stand on the base, each carrying a column of linked steel flippers faced with vinyl, and the parts hang on the flippers between the towers.
They are built for a few large parts at a time, usually fewer than 6 on a rack.
Open the Studio on a flipper tower rack →
Collapsible option
A flipper rack can be made collapsible. The two sides that carry the flippers fold down flat over the base, holders and lock down bar with them, so empty racks take fewer trucks on the way back. PSS reviews every collapsible design before anything is built. More on collapsible racks.
How a PSS rack project runs
- Try it on your partOpen the 3D Packaging Studio, free in your browser. Upload a STEP, IGES, STL, OBJ or GLB file, or type in the part size. Your CAD file stays on your computer.
- Send it to PSSRequest a PSS review from the Studio, or send us your part and ask for a free concept design.
- Design and prototype3D CAD around your part, then a prototype to check fit, function and durability before production.
- Build and supportProduction fleet, delivery, and later repairs, reworks, replacement dunnage and fleet additions.
Questions we hear
What is the difference between a separator flipper rack and a load flipper rack?
On a separator flipper rack the parts stand on edge and the flippers keep them apart; the weight sits on the dunnage below. On a load flipper rack the parts lie flat and the flippers carry them, tier above tier.
How many parts fit on a flipper rack?
It depends on the part's thickness and shape and on the rack size. Upload your part to the 3D Packaging Studio and it packs the rack and shows the count and the rack size, before anyone builds anything.
What are the flippers made of?
Molded urethane is the most common. HDPE, cross-link foam, ARPLANK EPE foam and vinyl on steel are options, chosen for the part's surface and weight.
We already have an approved design. Can PSS build it?
Yes. Send the drawing, BOM or CAD through the project request form and PSS will quote production from it.
Other rack types
Load flipper racks
Flat parts lie tier on tier on swing-down steel flippers. Frame rails, crossmembers, floor pans.
Read more ›
Bag racks
Sewn fabric dunnage cells for lighter parts. Soft trim, carpets, insulators, trim panels.
Read more ›
Shelf racks
Levels with strips, combs, trays or dividers, and a lock across the front. Tanks, radiators, modules.
Read more ›
Cantilever racks
Arms reach in from the back, so the front stays open. Carpets, trim and panels.
Read more ›
Dunnage carts & dollies
Steel carts on casters for lineside delivery, pushed by hand or towed in a tugger train.
Read more ›Start with your part
Upload your part and the Studio lays it out on a flipper rack with the flippers set to your part, so you can see the count, the rack size and the dunnage. Or send PSS the part and ask for a free concept design.