Decide whether you want a maximum or a check of a proposal
A planner may want to know the largest whole HI under supplied constraints, or may want to check a specific selected HI. These are different questions. Maximum-constraint mode chooses the minimum of the active whole-layer limits. Validation mode keeps the planned HI and reports whether it meets each entered constraint. TI-only mode answers the footprint layer question without calculating a stack quantity.
Confusing the modes can lead to reporting a failed four-layer proposal as though it were automatically reduced to three. The tool does not silently edit a planned stack in validation mode. Preserve the mode with the numeric record so a reviewer knows whether HI was derived or supplied by the planner.
Use one common input record for all modes
Assume fictional cases 400 by 300 by 250 mm, packed mass 12 kg, on a 1200 by 800 by 144 mm base. Tare is 25 kg and ancillary mass 3 kg. Rotation is allowed with zero gap and edge clearance. Uniform TI is eight. Enter hypothetical total-height and gross budgets of 1500 mm and 400 kg.
Height permits five complete layers. Gross budget leaves 372 kg for cases, so 96 kg layers permit three. Maximum-constraint mode therefore derives HI three, twenty-four cases, 894 mm height, and 316 kg gross. Validation of HI four instead returns thirty-two cases, 1144 mm, and 412 kg, with height within and gross exceeded.
| Mode | HI | Cases | Gross | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum constraints | 3 derived | 24 | 316 kg | Within supplied constraints |
| Validate planned four | 4 retained | 32 | 412 kg | Gross check failed |
| Validate planned two | 2 retained | 16 | 220 kg | Within supplied constraints |
| TI only | Not calculated | Stack total not calculated | Stack gross not calculated | Layer TI remains 8 |
Reproduce a derived HI and a retained HI
Open maximum-constraint mode and validation of four layers. Check the actual mode and planned-HI field before comparing results.
The second record's gross check is exceeded by 12 kg. It identifies the problem with that proposed HI; it does not authorize another arrangement or decide which layer to remove. The three-layer maximum record supplies the numerical alternative under the same assumptions. Its physical packaging and equipment suitability remain separate review questions.
Record the mode after changing a saved calculation
A planned-HI value can remain part of a local input record after switching to maximum-constraint mode. In that mode, the derived minimum limit controls the returned HI; a retained value of four is not the result. Conversely, selecting validation makes the supplied four the question again. Check the active mode and returned quantities after every switch. Keeping both records with clear labels prevents a reviewer from seeing the same dimensions and assuming they ask the same stack question.
Use validation when a smaller stack is intentional
Maximum HI is not an instruction to use every available layer. A planner might select two for a batch size or a handling requirement. Validation keeps two and confirms its 644 mm height and 220 kg gross against the supplied numbers. A lower selected count can be sensible for reasons the numeric model does not know, but those reasons should be recorded.
The mode requires a positive whole planned HI. A fractional layer is not a valid planned-HI input here. A partial top layer is a separate quantity and placement problem. Do not enter 2.5 and expect the tool to distribute half a layer or infer the partial pallet envelope.
Understand what TI-only deliberately leaves unresolved
Open TI-only mode with the common input values. It returns the eight-case footprint count while HI and stack quantities remain uncalculated in this mode. The presence of numbers in height and weight fields does not change the explicitly selected question.
Read the status of each check. With no calculated stack, an applicable constraint is not a passed check of a proposed HI. Save the mode rather than replacing unset stack fields with an assumed one-layer maximum. Other site tools may use a one-layer preview when height is blank; that preview is not this dedicated TI-only result.
Check limit presence separately from a pass
Validation can calculate a proposed stack even when no numeric constraints are entered. Its arithmetic result then has checks not set, not a demonstrated fit below unknown equipment limits. If a gross limit is entered, packed-case mass and tare are required. If only height is entered, a derived HI does not establish any weight check.
The same distinctions apply after switching the layout family. A mixed TI may differ from Uniform, changing layer mass and all dependent stack quantities. Recalculate in the intended mode and preserve the selected pattern. A manually copied HI from another family can answer the wrong question even when the height field is unchanged.
Mode comparison record
TI 8 from Uniform, case 400 by 300 by 250 mm at 12 kg, base 1200 by 800 by 144 with tare 25, ancillary 3, zero spacing, rotation allowed. Height 1500, gross 400. Constraints mode: HI 3, gross 316. Validate planned HI 4: gross 412, gross check failed, height within. Validate HI 2: gross 220, both within. TI-only: HI and stack totals not calculated. Preserve these as distinct records.
The useful result is the answer to the selected planning question. Keeping a derived maximum separate from a checked proposal makes the next review concrete and prevents a mode change from silently rewriting the intended stack.