Decide whether another pattern family is worth reviewing
A planner has a satisfactory uniform layer and wants to know whether searching mixed orientations would improve the case count. The answer depends on the shapes, not on a general rule that mixed layouts are always denser. A uniform layout points every case in one horizontal direction. A mixed layout can place identical cases at both zero and ninety degrees on the same layer. Both remain rectangular, axis-aligned footprint models.
This guide uses two invented comparisons with zero added gaps and edge clearance. They are arithmetic exercises rather than customer results or packaging recommendations. Case dimensions mean measured outside packed dimensions. Pallet dimensions mean the available base rectangle. The calculations assume the contents may rotate horizontally; they do not authorize turning a case onto its side.
Compare a case that already tiles with one that leaves a strip
In comparison A, the pallet is 1200 by 800 mm and the case is 400 by 300 mm. The straight uniform grid has three cases along length and two across width, giving six. The rotated grid has four along length and two across width, giving eight. Eight case areas of 120,000 square millimetres exactly fill 960,000 square millimetres of pallet area. The best uniform grid already reaches the area ceiling, so Mixed cannot increase the count.
In comparison B, the pallet is 1200 by 1000 mm and cases are 600 by 400 mm. The straight grid holds four, while the rotated grid holds three. A mixed construction puts two straight cases in a 400 mm-deep strip and three rotated cases in a 600 mm-deep strip. The five cases together fill the footprint. Here the residual strip left by the uniform grid is large enough to accept another orientation.
| Input | A | B |
|---|---|---|
| Pallet / case footprint | 1200 by 800 / 400 by 300 mm | 1200 by 1000 / 600 by 400 mm |
| Straight uniform | 6 | 4 |
| All-rotated uniform | 8 | 3 |
| Best uniform | 8 | 4 |
| Mixed result / area bound | 8 / 8 | 5 / 5 |
| Mixed status | Optimal | Optimal |
Run the same dimensions in both modes
Open comparison A, then select Uniform and Mixed in turn. Both should report eight cases per layer. The drawing or coordinate order can differ without changing the count. A result using one uniform orientation does not need to mix directions merely because Mixed is selected.
For comparison B, Uniform should report four and Mixed five. Save the coordinate list for the five-case pattern. Its two straight cases can start at (0,0) and (600,0); the three rotated cases at (0,400), (400,400), and (800,400). These millimetre coordinates show the strip construction independently of the diagram.
Translate the improvement into the actual order question
With a hypothetical 144 mm base, 250 mm case height, and 1500 mm total height limit, both comparisons allow five complete layers. B's uniform capacity is twenty cases and its mixed capacity twenty-five. A fifty-case order therefore needs three uniform-capacity pallets or two mixed-capacity pallets, assuming the five-layer packaging plan is approved. A forty-case order needs two under either pattern. A layer gain does not save a carrier for every order quantity.
The configuration tool's height calculation is separate from physical stack approval. It does not evaluate label access, package strength, weight limits, or how layers support each other. If the operation requires every label to face one direction, the five-case mixed option may be unsuitable despite its count. Record that requirement and choose the valid pattern family before calculating order batches.
Identify the saved work rather than reporting density alone
In B, mixed orientation increases the complete layer from four to five, a twenty-five-percent count gain. That percentage describes this layer comparison only. It does not calculate labor time, freight price, or receiving effort. If the operation already uses two pallet positions for a forty-case order, the gain does not remove a position. Record the actual order threshold or handling change that matters before treating a denser diagram as a business improvement.
Test the assumptions that make the improvement possible
B's five-case construction has no spare area. A carton bulge, requested edge clearance, or inter-case gap changes the problem. Do not copy the five-case drawing and add spacing only to its label. Rerun the measured footprint with the allowances the process needs. The Uniform comparison should use those same inputs so the difference isolates the pattern family.
Case height stays vertical in both modes. The layer calculation compares horizontal footprints and does not search a new three-dimensional orientation. Mixed directions can also change where labels and closure projections sit. Review those concrete packaging details with the responsible operation rather than assuming that a higher area utilization creates stronger or faster handling.
Input record for the five-case comparison
Tool: configuration calculator. Units: mm. Pallet: 1200 by 1000 by 144. Case: 600 by 400 by 250. Gap and edge clearance: zero. Selected family: Mixed, with horizontal rotation. Maximum loaded height: 1500. Returned TI: 5; area upper bound: 5; status: optimal. Height-derived HI: 5; complete capacity: 25; loaded height: 1394. Retain coordinates and compare with Uniform TI 4. Packaging approval, weight constraints, and receiver orientation requirements are unresolved.
The useful decision is whether the additional valid placement changes an order or handling requirement enough to justify reviewing another pattern. Consult the methodology for the algorithm contract and the TI-HI tool for explicit stack constraints. Keep the layer family with the specification so another planner does not silently substitute a count from a different mode.