Pallet CalculatorLoad planning tools

How results are produced

Methods, assumptions and known limits.

A useful planning result should be reproducible. This page describes what the calculators currently do, what they do not do, and how reference content is reviewed.

TI and uniform-grid layouts

  1. Inputs are converted to a consistent internal unit.
  2. The box footprint is fitted as rows × columns on the pallet footprint.
  3. When rotation is enabled, the basic calculator compares a uniform 0° layout with a uniform 90° layout.
  4. The larger whole-number count is reported as TI, together with its rows × columns orientation.
Basic-calculator limitation: the uniform-grid result does not optimize mixed orientations, pinwheel patterns, interlocking, overhang or real packaging tolerances.

Mixed-orientation pallet configuration search

The Pallet Configuration Calculator applies the shared two-dimensional engine to cases on a pallet. It compares complete mixed strips with multiple deterministic MaxRects candidates, supports 0°/90° cases, and includes equal inter-case gaps plus four-sided edge clearance.

A candidate is labelled Proven optimal only when it reaches the area upper bound or matches a separately verified regression fixture. Other results are labelled Best found and keep the upper bound visible. The browser search is capped at 500 placements; reaching that work cap is never reported as a proof.

HI, stack height and weight

HI is calculated from the available height above the pallet base divided by the entered carton height, rounded down to a whole layer. Total cases equal TI × HI. Weight checks require both an item weight and a working limit; missing values are not silently assumed.

Container floor-layout search

  1. Preset or custom interior dimensions are converted to millimetres, then reduced by the chosen four-wall clearance.
  2. The engine searches identical axis-aligned pallet footprints at 0° and, when enabled, 90°.
  3. It enumerates mixed strip patterns and runs several deterministic MaxRects scoring rules, retaining the best valid coordinate layout.
  4. Every candidate is checked for boundary violations, overlap and the requested equal inter-pallet gap.
  5. The result is marked Proven optimal only when it reaches a valid upper bound or matches a separately verified regression fixture. Other valid results are labelled Best found and show the area upper bound.

Representative 20ft, 40ft and 53ft dry-equipment regression fixtures were checked against an independent exact normal-pattern set-packing oracle. The automated suite also covers rotation-only fits, decimals, gap boundaries, wall clearance and a non-guillotine pinwheel case.

Geometric fit is not an operational loading plan. The search does not prove a feasible forklift loading sequence or evaluate payload, axle distribution, dunnage, securement, pallet overhang, corrugations or carrier rules. Preset dimensions are representative and editable; confirm the assigned equipment and its door opening before loading.

The calculator therefore shows geometric capacity separately from a common planning baseline. A baseline is not a guarantee; it is a conservative comparison for familiar pallet standards and can be reduced further by real operating requirements.

Reference sources and reviews

Dimensions and regulatory statements should be supported by a specific standards body, government, manufacturer or carrier source rather than an organization home page. A visible review date is changed only after the relevant facts are checked; deployment alone is not treated as a content review.

How to report a reproducible issue

Send the page address, units, every input, the displayed result and—if possible—the expected calculation to support@pallet-calculator.com.