Cylinders

This comprehensive guide will walk you through creating and loading cylindrical cargo. Cylinders appear in the load plan as proper rounded objects (not boxes), and hollow cylinders show the internal cavity. Supported in excel exports, placement and instructions and can be targeted with settings and custom rules. They are applicable to all modules, and can be loaded together with rectangular shapes.

Overview

The cargo planning system supports multiple geometry types beyond standard rectangular boxes, including:

• Cylinder: Solid cylindrical cargo (pipes, drums, rolls)
• Hollow Cylinder: Cylindrical cargo with internal cavity (tubes, pipes with hollow interior)

Understanding Cylinder Geometry

Creating and loading cylinders differ from rectangular shapes and have 3 special considerations that need attention:

1. Setting Geometry Type:

• Click on the “Geometry” column dropdown
• Select “Cylinder” for solid cylinders or “Hollow cylinder” for tubes

2. Setting Cylinder vs Box Dimensions:

When working with cylinders, the dimension fields have special meanings:

For Regular Cylinders:

• Length: Outer diameter of the cylinder
• Width: Outer diameter of the cylinder (typically same as Length for circular cross-section)
• Height: Length/height of the cylindrical object

For Hollow Cylinders:

• Length: Outer diameter
• Width: Inner diameter (the hollow cavity)
• Height: Length/height of the cylindrical object

3. Orientation Settings:

Cylinders are per default ”standing up” on its circular cross section.

• Rotatable (index 3 orientations): Standard rotation options (default)
• Longship (index 1 orientation): Cylinder cannot rotate - useful for very long pipes
• Tiltable (index 63 orientations): Can be oriented in any direction - use carefully with cylinders

Note: The system automatically filters orientation options that are appropriate for cylindrical geometry.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Visual Display Issues

• Cylinder appears as box: Check that geometry is set to “Cylinder” not “Box”
• Incorrect proportions: Verify length/width entries represent diameters
• Rotation problems: Ensure orientation settings are appropriate for cylinders

Calculation Problems

• Won’t fit in container: Check if cylinder dimensions exceeds container dimensions
• Poor space utilization: Consider different orientations or container types
• Weight issues: Verify weight entries and container payload limits