A pallet loading pattern describes how packages are arranged on a pallet or how loaded pallets occupy a vehicle floor. Those are different problems. Column stacking, interlocking carton layers and turning whole loaded pallets should not be treated as interchangeable controls or guarantees of a stronger shipment.
Start with the actual pallet and packed carton
An EPAL EUR footprint is 1,200 × 800 mm. Consider closed cartons measuring 600 × 400 × 400 mm. In an ideal layer, two 600 mm edges along the 1,200 mm side and two 400 mm edges along the 800 mm side produce four cartons. This leaves no allowance at the edges; packaging bulge, tolerances and handling requirements can invalidate the ideal arrangement.
Column and interlocking layers
In column stacking, carton edges line up vertically. Interlocking changes the arrangement between layers. Neither description proves compression strength, resistance to sliding or performance during braking. Package construction, full support, contents, friction, wrapping, restraint and testing matter. A visible overlap is not evidence that the bottom package can carry the upper load.
Two ideal layers of the example contain eight cartons. With a 144 mm EUR base, loaded height is 144 + 2 × 400 = 944 mm before any additional cover. At 12 kg per carton and an assumed, separately verified 25 kg pallet tare, gross mass is 121 kg. The tare is an example, not the exact mass of every pallet. Add the base and tare once, not once per layer.
Pinwheel and vehicle-floor arrangements
Pinwheel often refers to alternating orientations. State whether you mean cartons within a pallet layer or whole loaded pallets on the vehicle floor. Turning a loaded pallet horizontally does not authorize tipping it, changing its contents or ignoring fork access. A 48 × 40 inch pallet is 1,219.2 × 1,016 mm, not a 1,200 × 800 mm EUR pallet. Standard sea containers and Palletwide profiles also have different widths.
What CBM3 does and does not promise
The pallet calculator is for carton-to-pallet planning. For a pallet already built, use its complete outside dimensions and gross mass in the 3D cargo planner. Keep it upright and allow stacking only when the complete unit is approved for it. Horizontal Only is the starting orientation policy; Full 3D Rotation is an explicit cargo permission, not a universal space-saving switch.
This guide does not claim a dedicated automatic interlocking or pinwheel-layer generator in the current product. A returned geometric arrangement is not packaging certification, an optimum-capacity proof or a transport approval. Review placed and unplaced quantities, support assumptions, access and actual weight limits.
A repeatable comparison checklist
- Record pallet and carton outside dimensions, packed mass and permitted orientation.
- Compare the same quantity under the same constraints; do not improve one plan by silently disabling restrictions.
- Include pallet base, packaging and tare once. Measure overhang rather than assuming it is permitted.
- Check package strength, restraint and handling with the responsible operator before loading.
Continue with loaded-pallet container planning, the carton fit guide, or the 53 ft dry-van reference. Source for the EUR dimensions: EPAL. Arithmetic and software-scope review: 30 October 2026.