Telescopic Rails & Linear Guides for Automated Storage

Where telescopic rails and linear guides work in automated storage

Typical mounting points across the industry — the tag shows which product line does the job.

Telescopic rail

Shuttle load-handling devices

Full-extension telescopic sets extract totes and trays from single- and double-deep rack positions.

Telescopic rail

Stacker-crane telescopic forks

Heavy-duty rails carry pallet loads across the rack gap at full extension.

Telescopic rail

Vertical lift modules

Extractor slides pull storage trays onto the lift platform.

Telescopic rail

Transfer shuttles

Two-way telescopic travel serves racking on both sides of the aisle from one device.

Telescopic rail

Portal & gantry axes

Compact rails position grippers and load handlers on the mast and carriage.

Linear guide

Lift axes

VR roller and VB ball guides carry the lifting carriages of vertical lift modules and container lifts.

Linear guide

Gantry & palletising portals

VB ball guides run the X, Y and Z axes of picking and palletising gantries at up to 5 m/s.

Linear guide

Goods-to-person picking

Compact VB and VX guides position grippers and pushers at picking and packing stations.

Linear guide

Transfer & sorting units

Ball guides move pushers, diverters and transfer decks between conveyors.

What the application demands

The engineering constraints that drive series selection — and how Veltork answers them.

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Extreme cycle counts

A shuttle LHD can exceed 1 000 cycles per day. Induction-hardened raceways and captive ball cages keep wear — and pull-out force — stable over millions of strokes.

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Full reach, minimal deflection

Double-deep extraction demands 100 %+ extension with the payload cantilevered into the rack. Deflection budgets are set by the rack pitch, not by comfort.

speed

Dynamics without vibration

High extension and retraction speeds must not excite the mast. Zero-clearance and preloaded (K1) telescopic executions suppress rattle and overshoot; on the lift and gantry axes, linear guides with preload C1 or C2 keep positioning stiff at high acceleration.

Recommended series

Start with these series; the configurators weigh your exact load, stroke and service life against the whole range.

Telescopic rails

VT-H100 %+ ext

Heavy-Duty Full Extension

Modular heavy-duty sets (executions F / V / S) are the natural basis for shuttle and crane load-handling devices — configured per device, sizes 30–80.

Sizes 30–80modular executions F / V / S

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VT-X100 % ext

I-Beam Full Extension

I-beam intermediate gives the stiffest full extension per kilogram — the right choice for fast LHDs where moving mass matters.

Sizes 22–63best load-to-weight ratio

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VT-LCarriage in C-profile

Compact Rail

Compact rail for mast, carriage and gripper axes — up to 12 000 kg per carriage inside a C-profile.

Sizes 22–63up to 122 kN per carriage

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Linear guides

VBBalls · O-arrangement

Ball linear guide, O-arrangement

Gantry, picking and transfer axes: up to 5 m/s and 500 m/s², interchangeable carriages and rails, sizes 15–65.

Sizes 15–65up to 5 m/s · accuracy N to UP

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VRRollers · O-arrangement

Roller linear guide

Heavily loaded lift axes and long travel units: cylindrical rollers give the highest stiffness and load capacity, sizes 25–65.

Sizes 25–65up to 4 m/s · preload C1–C3

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Technical fit

Execution options of both product lines.

Telescopic rails

Working speed

≤ 0.8 m/s (derates with length) · max accel 1.2 m/s²

Surface coatings

Zinc per ISO 2081 (standard) · zinc-nickel · nickel · E-coat on request

Lubrication

Medium lithium grease; re-lube every 100 km or 6 months. FDA, cleanroom, marine & temperature greases on request.

Load basis

Telescopic series per pair of rails · VT-L per carriage

Linear guides

Accuracy · preload

Accuracy N · H · P · SP · UP; preload C0–C3 (roller guides C1–C3, C4 and C5 on request)

Speed · acceleration

VB up to 5 m/s and 500 m/s² · VR 4 m/s, 150 m/s² · VX 2 m/s, 40 m/s²

Sealing

End and bottom seals standard; double seals, metal scrapers, inner seal strips and rail cover strip on request

Corrosion protection

Oiled as standard; hard chrome, black chrome, nickel, black oxide or stainless steel

Load basis

Per carriage; load ratings to ISO 14728

Frequently asked questions

Which telescopic rail suits a double-deep AS/RS shuttle?expand_more

Double-deep extraction needs beyond-100 % reach: VT-H heavy-duty sets are configured per device (executions F, V, S), and VT-S one-way slides can be ordered with extended stroke to 130 % of rail length. Our engineers size the set from your payload, reach and rack pitch.

How many cycles do the rails survive in continuous shuttle duty?expand_more

With induction-hardened raceways, correct sizing and the 100 km / 6-month re-lubrication interval, VT telescopic rails are designed for multi-million-stroke service. High-frequency duty is verified per application against load spectrum and speed.

Can the slides extend to both sides of the aisle?expand_more

Yes. VT-S is available as a two-way S2 execution, and VT-P converts to two-way travel by removing the stop screw — one load-handling device can then serve racking on both sides.

What speeds and accelerations are permissible?expand_more

The range is rated to 0.8 m/s working speed (derating with length) and 1.2 m/s² acceleration. For fast automatic motion, external end stops are mandatory and preloaded executions are recommended.

Which linear guide suits a picking gantry or a lift axis?expand_more

Fast gantry and picking axes usually run on VB ball guides (up to 5 m/s and 500 m/s²) with preload C1; heavily loaded lift axes and long travel units on VR roller guides with preload C1 or C2. The linear-guide configurator sizes the carriage from payload, stroke, speed and required life.

Other industries

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Tell us your application — we return a part number.

Send the payload, stroke and envelope, or let a configurator narrow the range first. Our team returns a sized series, deflection estimate and dimension drawing — prototypes in under 14 days.

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