PEM Tool Shelving

In 2020, I took on a project to design a new shelving unit for a large PEM (clinch fastener) tool inventory. The legacy wooden shelves capped out at 225 tools, which had become a bottleneck for the workshop, which wanted to expand its capabilities.

My sheet metal design increased capacity to 1,050 tools - nearly 5x the original - while keeping a comparable footprint. It was my first sheet metal CAD project in SolidWorks, and I learned a lot about tolerances in the process to make sure the parts would fit together cleanly the first time.

Two custom shelving units were laser-cut, formed, powder coated, and had self clinching fasteners attached in-house, then I assembled it with no revisions needed. Watching a part go from a CAD model to a finished shelf in the same facility - and seeing the assembly drop into place exactly as drawn was a formative experience and it taught me a lot about working with sheet metal. Since it was not intended to be sold as a product, I was then given permission to use the model for my portfolio.