Vidir Medical Supplies Carousel: Automated Vertical Storage for Hospital Supplies
A fully enclosed vertical carousel that rotates shelves of vials, syringes, gloves, tape and small boxed supplies down to one counter-height opening. Divided carriers, optional security gate and inventory software, built to fit your supply room’s footprint and ceiling.
6, 8 or 10 ft
Carrier widths Vidir lists
750 to 2,500 lb
Carrier capacity range
13,000 to 39,000 lb
Overall chain rating range
26.5 ft/min
Published retrieval speed
Shop Clear Supply Bins for Carousel Shelves
The carousel itself is quoted to order. These Metro clear stacking supply bins are sold online and, at 8 and 9 in tall, sit under the 12 in shelf height Vidir lists, so loose items can be binned on a carrier shelf. Confirm bin sizes against your carrier configuration before you order in volume.
What a Medical Supplies Carousel Stores
Most hospital supply rooms run out of floor long before they run out of height. Static shelving stops at the top shelf a person can safely reach, so the space above it stays empty while new shelving units crowd the aisles. The Vidir Medical Supplies Carousel is Vidir’s answer for the small, high-count items that fill those rooms. Vidir names the typical contents itself: vials, syringes, rubber gloves, medical tape and small boxed supplies.
Inside the enclosure, carriers travel on a chain loop. Each carrier can be split with removable intermediate shelves and dividers, so one machine can hold cases of gloves on one level and rows of small boxes on the next. Vidir lists the machine under health care, with medical supplies and boxed items as its inventory types, and notes that the same style of machine is often called a medical supplies paternoster in Europe.
Whether a particular item belongs in the carousel is your facility’s decision. Temperature, storage conditions, packaging and handling rules for medical products are set by your own policies, your infection prevention team and the authorities that govern your building. We size the machine around the item list you give us and leave those criteria with the people responsible for them. For the wider picture of Vidir equipment in hospitals, see our vertical storage for hospitals and healthcare section.
How the Carousel Works at the Counter
A vertical carousel follows what Vidir calls the product-to-person principle. Instead of walking an aisle, the operator stands at a single opening and calls a carrier. The loop rotates and the carrier stops at the opening, at counter height, regardless of where it was stored. On the medical model that opening sits above a stainless steel workbench, which is part of Vidir’s standard package, so items can be set down while a pick is sorted.
The standard controls are automatic retrieval with a manual jog function and an emergency stop. Add Vidir’s inventory management software and the carousel can work from pick lists: the software knows which carrier and compartment each item lives in and brings them forward in turn.
Call
Enter the item or carrier at the control, scan a bar code, or work down a pick list from the software.
Rotate
The carrier loop turns and the requested carrier stops at the counter-height opening.
Pick or restock
With Pick to Light fitted, a light bar marks the position on the shelf; the operator takes or puts away the item.
Next
The next line on the list is called, or the operator closes out and the opening is clear.
Access during a power outage
Vidir includes an Emergency Drill Drive, which lets staff turn the carrier loop by hand with a drill so items remain reachable when the building loses power. Plan where the drill is kept and who is trained to use it as part of handover.
Medical Supplies Carousel Specifications
Vidir builds this carousel to order, so it publishes ranges and a model matrix rather than a single size. The current product page lists 378 models built from five carrier sizes, three carrier widths and the number of carriers. Height grows with carrier count: in the 10 ft wide series with 12 x 19 in carriers, for example, a 9-carrier unit is listed at 8 ft 7.5 in tall and a 24-carrier unit at 18 ft, both 12 ft 8 in wide and 6 ft 7 in deep.
Vidir’s older Medical Supply Carousel brochure describes a compact configuration of 97 in high by 68 in deep, in 96, 120 or 144 in widths, with 12 x 18 in shelves rated 700 lb each. Use it as an example of a low-ceiling layout; the drawing on your quote is what governs.
| Specification | Published figure (Vidir) |
|---|---|
| Carrier sizes (height x depth) | 12 x 18 in, 12 x 19 in, 13 x 19 in, 17 x 24 in, 18 x 24 in |
| Carrier widths | 6, 8 or 10 ft |
| Carrier capacity | 750 to 2,500 lb |
| Overall capacity | 13,000 to 39,000 lb chain rating |
| Off-balance | 23% of load capacity |
| Retrieval speed | 26.5 ft per minute |
| Controls | Automatic retrieval with manual jog and E-stop |
| Electrical | 208/230 V 15 A or 460/480 V 10 A, 60 Hz, 3-phase; other options on request |
| Enclosure | Fully enclosed, stainless steel workbench at the opening |
| Standard colors | White panels and structure, grey carriers and chain path; RAL colors optional |
| Listing and warranty | cCSAus mark; 2-year manufacturer’s warranty |
| Brochure example (HPCAR2020R00) | 97 in H x 68 in D x 96/120/144 in W, 13,000 lb; shelves 12 in H x 18 in D, 700 lb each |
Off-balance is the figure that shapes a loading plan: a carousel is rated for total weight and for how unevenly that weight sits around the loop. With light gloves on some carriers and dense boxed product on others, we work out the fill order with Vidir so the plan stays inside the published limit. Full literature is on our Vidir brochures page.
Controlling Who Opens It
Because every item comes out through one opening, the carousel gives a supply room a single point of control. Vidir lists three features for this: password protection on the controls, access logs that record use, and an optional lockable bi-parting security gate that closes across the opening when the machine is not attended.
These are physical and software access features. Which items need restricted storage, who holds credentials, how long logs are kept and whether a gated carousel satisfies a particular policy are decisions for your pharmacy, security and compliance staff. For locked medication storage that sits outside a carousel, our pharmacy and pharmaceutical vertical storage page covers the other Vidir options.
Options and Accessories
Vidir offers the same option set on the medical model as on its pan and parts carousels, which keeps accessories and service familiar across a facility:
- Shelf kits and dividers. Intermediate shelves and removable dividers turn a carrier into small compartments and add surface area for small SKUs.
- Pick to Light. A horizontal LED bar shows where on the shelf the requested item sits.
- Bar code scanner. Pick or store with a scan, either with Vidir’s software or tied to your own inventory system.
- Touchscreen PC. An industrial touchscreen that runs the inventory software.
- Inventory Management Package. Touchscreen PC, ergonomic arm mount, scanner, Pick to Light and Vidir’s inventory control software in one bundle.
- Bi-parting security gate, RAL color change to match your interior, and PM packages for annual inspection.
More detail on each accessory is on our carousel accessories and options page, and preventive maintenance and parts are covered under Vidir parts and service support.
Medical Supplies Carousel or VLM Mini?
Vidir offers two automated machines for healthcare supplies, and they solve different room shapes. The carousel rotates whole shelves on a loop; the Vidir VLM Mini for healthcare is a compact vertical lift module that stores trays in a tower and delivers one tray at a time. For tall bed storage there is a third machine, the Vidir Hospital Bedlift.
| Medical Supplies Carousel | VLM Mini (Healthcare) | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage method | Shelved carriers rotating on a chain loop | Trays stored in a tower, extracted by a lift |
| Height | Model matrix from under 9 ft to taller units as carriers are added | Vidir describes it as under 10 ft tall |
| Best fit | Large counts of boxed consumables, wide shelf runs | Small footprint rooms, tray-based picking |
| Access control | Password, access logs, optional bi-parting gate | Locking door, user authentication, managed tray access |
| Our page | This page | VLM Mini healthcare page |
Vidir VLM Mini (Healthcare)Compact tray-based lift for pharmacies, clinics and hospital rooms with limited ceiling height.
Vidir Hospital BedliftStores hospital beds vertically to clear corridors and storage rooms.If you are weighing the two machine types in general terms, our vertical carousel vs. vertical lift module guide walks through the trade-offs, and the generic vertical carousels hub covers carousel types for every industry we supply.
Planning a Medical Supplies Carousel Project
Most of the work happens before the order, because the machine is built to the room. These are the items we collect from every hospital or clinic before a quote is final.
- Item list. What will be stored, in what packaging, with approximate counts and the largest box sizes, so carrier size and divider layout can be chosen.
- Clear height. Measured to the lowest obstruction, including sprinklers, lights and ducts. Height sets the carrier count.
- Footprint and access. Room at the opening for staff and a cart, plus the route supplies take in and out.
- Power. Which 3-phase service is available near the location, so the electrical option matches the building.
- Software. Whether the carousel runs Vidir’s inventory software on its own or connects to your materials management system, and who owns that on your side.
- Facility review. Floor condition for anchoring, fire protection around tall enclosed storage, and any infection-prevention or cleaning requirements. Those criteria come from your facility team and the authority having jurisdiction, and we design to them.
- Delivery path. Door sizes, elevators and corridors from the dock to the final room.
Room and item data
You send measurements, ceiling height, photos and the item list.
Configuration
We select carrier size, width and count with Vidir and lay out shelves and dividers.
Drawing and quote
A drawing places the carousel in your room with its electrical requirement; the quote states supply-only or supply and installation.
Delivery and handover
The unit is set and anchored, and staff are shown retrieval, restocking, the drill drive and access settings.
What drives the price of a vertical carousel is explained in our vertical storage cost and pricing guide; every medical carousel is quoted individually because size, options and installation scope change it. Installation scope is covered on the installation services page, and every other Vidir machine we supply is on the Vidir automated storage hub.
Get a free quote
Tell us what you are storing, the room size and your timeline. A project specialist will follow up with layout options and pricing. Prefer to talk? Call (800) 326-4403.
Medical Supplies Carousel FAQs
What does the Vidir Medical Supplies Carousel store?
How big is a medical supplies carousel?
How much weight can it hold?
Can we restrict who uses it?
What happens if the power goes out?
Does it connect to inventory software?
Is it the same as the VLM Mini?
What does it cost?
Planning Supply Storage for Your Facility?
Send us your room measurements and item list. We will size a Vidir Medical Supplies Carousel with Vidir, show it on a drawing in your space and quote supply or supply and installation.