Types of Caster Wheels & Things to Consider While Choosing Them

Caster Wheels

Casters are non-powered wheels specially designed and created to be attached to larger objects. They are fitted strategically to the bottom of several vehicles or objects to facilitate seamless movement. According to Wikipedia, casters are utilized in several applications, and include office chairs, shopping carts, material handling equipment, hospital beds, and toy wagons. Moreover, heavy-duty casters have several industrial applications like platform trucks, assemblies, tow lines, and carts in plants. Caster wheels are available in various sizes, materials, and shapes to suit diverse applications, industries, and environments. 

Different Types of Casters

Rigid Casters: A rigid caster fundamentally comprises a wheel mounted strategically to a fork that is stationary. Moreover, the fork’s orientation is determined once the caster is successfully mounted to the cart or vehicle. For instance, these casters are placed at the back of shopping carts in many places, including North America. The chief purpose of choosing rigid casters is to effectively restrict vehicle movement to enable the vehicle to travel smoothly in a straight line.

Swivel Casters: Just like rigid casters, swivel casters comprise wheels mounted to forks. However, a swivel caster has an extra swivel joint placed strategically above the fork to enable free rotation about 360 degrees. The swivel joint is instrumental in rolling the wheel in all directions. You can move the vehicle effortlessly in any direction without changing its orientation.

Cast Iron or Semi-Steel Casters: Cast iron caster wheels are manufactured using gray iron. They are popular since they are abrasion-resistant and need hardly any effort to roll. These caster wheels are durable, capable of withstanding extreme heat, and ideal for high-capacity uses and applications.

Flanged Caster Wheels: The flanged caster wheel is manufactured for operating on steel tracks for minimizing rolling effort and guidance. They are best for floor protection, easier rolling, and handling higher capacities. These wheels are manufactured using steel and cast iron for boosting longevity and fortifying inherent strength.Caster Central offers caster wheels for saleyou may browse the extensive inventory for cost-effective deals.

Glass-Filled Nylon Casters: These casters are manufactured using a mix of glass and nylon for withstanding high temperatures. These casters are exceptionally durable and offer perfect resistance to hard impacts. Glass-filled nylon casters are resilient and resistant to greases, cleaning agents, and oils.

Hard Rubber Casters: These are gray or black and boast much higher load capacity.They do not get flattened due to excessive loads, unlike soft wheels. They are popular because of their incredible longevity, easy start-up, and smooth-rolling ability. Hard rubber casters can be highly resistant to oils, grease, chemicals, cleaning agents, and solvents.

Things to Consider While Choosing Casters

  • Maneuverability is a core factor to consider. Fixed casters can be the right choice if the equipment is supposed to move in a single straight line. A swivel caster is often used as an alternative when more maneuverability is essential.
  • The way of mounting the casters can restrict the type of castor that is selected for the assignment. Several applications need stem-mounted casters even though these caster wheels can restrict their weight capacity. Heavy-duty caster wheels rely on a plate mount for effectively dispersing the entire load over a wider mounting area. 
  • The purpose of using casters is another parameter to use while choosing casters. You can use heavy-duty, medium-weight, and light-duty caster wheels depending on the weight to be exerted.

Conclusion

Caster wheels have varied applications. You may choose a caster wheel to match your requirement. They are excellent for industrial and commercial uses.

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