An Industrial Caster Wheel is a wheel that is used in carrying heavy loads through carts and bins. They are one of the most basic and oldest tools for seamless material handling in heavy industrial applications. These industrial casters and wheel are one of the primary tools that are key to increase and improvements in productivity in numerous industrial applications. In some industries, the use of these industrial wheel casters is absolutely necessary. Without these casters, the production line in many sectors may not be the same. From the rise of the industrial revolution, there has been the use of carts and wagons for carrying and hauling industrial loads. The need for using industrial wheel casters arises from the need for using these carts and wagons. Caster wheels are nothing but tools that make the movement of the carts in the industrial units easier and smooth. And due to their affordability and flexibility, they have become tremendously popular. Owing to their increased popularity and demand they are manufactured to suit a variety of applications and needs.
In this piece, we will list the various types of Industrial Caster Wheels that are being manufactured and used. These Casters come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials such as rubber, plastic, steel, polyurethane, etc. Though there can be many ways in which any product can be grouped, however, the best way to group them is their load-carrying capacity in their various industrial applications. Based on their load carrying capacities they can be grouped in primarily 4 types which we will discuss in detail in the next section.
The Industrial casters can be made to suit all your needs and can hence be made in a variety of shapes, sizes, makes, and models. There can be numerous ways of classifying these wheel casters which can be on the basis of the materials used, shapes, sizes, usage, product category, etc. But the best way to classify these casters is on the basis of the main purpose that they are used for viz, their load-bearing capacity. On the basis of their load bearing and hauling capacity the wheel casters are classified in primarily four types as follows:
1. Medium Duty Casters ( 250 to 1500 lbs)
2. Heavy Duty Casters (450 to 5000 lbs)
3. Extra Heavy Duty Casters (1600 to 20000 lbs)
4. Super Heavy Duty Casters ( up to 50000 lbs)
We will look at these types along with their applications, advantages, and disadvantages of each one of them along with tips and advice on how to select the best one.
Let us begin with the Medium Duty Casters.
As the name suggests these are industrial caster wheels for hauling medium category loads in the range of 250 lbs to 1500 lbs. They are meant to perform tasks of hauling loads that are not so huge and humongous. These casters come in a variety of sizes and material types to ensure that you can pick and choose the one that best suits your needs. They are made using high-grade material – perfectly forged top plates, swivel buttons, and yokes. They are treated first in the heat so that brinelling is prevented and the swiveling action is improved. This also ensures that their service life is increased.
With medium duty casters, you can ensure that you have a truly versatile and easy to use the tool at your disposal. These medium-duty casters can be used in a large number of applications that operate in that weight range. Let us have a look at the applications of Medium Duty Casters in detail.
Let us begin with the Medium Duty Casters.
Medium Duty Casters (load capacity – 250 to 1500 lbs)
As the name suggests these are industrial caster wheel for hauling medium category loads in the range of 250 lbs to 1500 lbs. They are meant to perform tasks of hauling loads that are not so huge and humongous. These casters come in a variety of sizes and material types to ensure that you can pick and choose the one that best suits your needs. They are made using high-grade material – perfectly forged top plates, swivel buttons, and yokes. They are treated first in the heat so that brinelling is prevented and the swiveling action is improved. This also ensures that their service life is increased.
With medium duty casters, you can ensure that you have a truly versatile and easy to use the tool at your disposal. These medium-duty casters can be used in a large number of applications that operate in that weight range. Let us have a look at the applications of Medium Duty Casters in detail.
Applications of Medium Duty Casters
Medium duty casters are appropriate for applications that need a comparatively lesser weight hailing and load-carrying capacity. We can list the applications of the medium-duty casters as follows:
1. Shopping Carts – A shopping mall is unimaginable without the shopping carts and without the use of these wheel casters as the first thing you do as soon as you enter a shopping looking for a cart. Shopping outlets and malls everywhere across the world make use of these shopping carts for their customers to carry their stuff and groceries in. In fact, these carts make the life of the shoppers a lot easier. They can roam around the entire shopping complex without sweating out. These are medium-duty carts as they do not need to be of very high weight-bearing or hauling capacity and the medium wheel casters are a perfect fit for these applications. You might have noticed the swiveling and the moving of the wheel casters installed in these carts that make it easy for you to maneuver your cart through bumps and obstacles. So, these are the carts that come to you as your helping hand in carrying all your burden while in a shopping mall.
2. Electronics & Appliances – More closer to you, you will find those wheels at the bottom of some of the electronic appliances that swivel around and let you move your appliance seamlessly. These appliances too fall in that mid-range of up to 1500 lbs and make use of the medium wheel casters. The size of these wheel casters is however definitely smaller since they need less ground clearance being home appliances. But they sure make your life extremely easy. For instance, in electronic appliances such as washing machines, there are these swiveling wheels at the bottom that make their movement pretty easy and smooth. There is much other electronic equipment that now comes with medium duty caster wheels installed so that the movement of the equipment is easy. So, next time when you push your washing machine around the house remember there is a caster beneath it that does the trick.
3. Factory Floor Carts – The next very important and one of the first applications of these medium duty caster wheels was their use in those wagons and carts on the factory floor or the manufacturing unit. This is perhaps one of the oldest applications that you can possibly think of when it comes to medium duty casters. In a factory or an industrial environment, there will be a need for all kinds of equipment and of course carts and wagons of all sizes to move raw materials, tools, and other stuff from one place or section to another. In doing so, the factory floor carts come very handy. Life without a factory floor cart would be a life full of tired and unsatisfied workers in a factory set up. The use of these medium duty casters and carts and wagons in factories has not only reduced the effort required in work but has helped in improving the overall wellbeing of the workers as well.
4. Medical Equipment – Healthcare and medical equipment are always very complicated and fragile and always need special care in terms of handling. As such it is not feasible to pick all the medical equipment all the time and carry it from one section of the hospital to another. The use of medium caster wheels in such medical equipment has made the lives of the doctors and the healthcare workers far more easier. They are now able to move medical equipment from one end of the hospital to another or maybe from the ward to the ICU and vice-versa. They are also used in patient beds and every other trolley and equipment that you can see in a hospital. They make the movement of patients, equipment, machines, and all other necessary stationery and supplies quick and easy with the help of these casters. In a hospital time is precious and hence the caster wheels used in medical beds and equipment are super smooth to facilitate super fast movement of men and materials. As such a modern-day hospital cannot be imagined without the use of these swiveling caster wheels.
5. Hospitality & Hotel Industry – Another area where the use of carts and wagons is indispensable is the hotel and hospitality industry. From laundry carts and wagons to aircraft food carts the medium wheel casters are now used in almost all hotel applications. They are used in carts that move stationary and material in hotel operations to carry food and other essentials. They also find their use in the hospitality sector in aircraft as well as in various other sectors to carry food for the customers. So, next time when you are in a hotel or flying, do not forget to notice those swiveling smooth wheels in the bottom of those carts that carry the food and all the stuff that you need.
6. Worker’s Cart – In almost every industry be it manufacturing, construction, housekeeping, or even others, you will always find a little cart or a wagon that helps the average worker to carry out their chores with ease. All these carts are medium-duty carts that make use of medium duty casters to help the worker working on the site to carry out different activities thereby minimizing the efforts the worker needs to take in order to carry out that certain activity. For instance in a brick kiln, where working without a cart or a wagon is herculean and will need herculean efforts on part of the worker, using a cart helps the worker in doing the same task with minimum efforts. The same is true for construction site workers and other sector workers where the use of a simple cart with some swiveling medium duty casters helps manifold in increasing the overall efficiency of the workers. You will never fail to notice one of these carts at a construction site or at times even with Janitors working in your premises.
After knowing about the medium duty casters, let us look in detail about the Heavy Duty Caster Wheels. These are casters that are manufactured specially to handle loads from 450 lbs to 5000 lbs. These are of much bigger sizes and are comparatively heavier with obvious large wheels. They are made out of a variety of materials based on the purpose that they are required to be used for. These various materials that they are made from include cast iron, rubber, and even plastic or polyurethane. While rubber is good for moist and slippery surfaces, for smooth floors or concrete surfaces materials such as phenolic resin may be used. But of all the materials Stainless Steel forged wheel casters are the best as they have the highest load bearing capacity. Carbon steel is used in their manufacture and hence they are extremely strong. Heavy duty casters should be able to absorb a lot of inadvertent shocks and sudden impacts that may be very common in an industrial environment. As such they are made from materials that are stress-resistant and absorb more shock than others.
You will have to keep all the above factors into consideration while selecting the right caster wheel. Let us look at some of the applications of heavy duty wheel casters.
Heavy Duty Casters (size range – 450 to 5000lbs)
After knowing about the medium duty casters, let us look in detail about the Heavy Duty Casters. These are casters that are manufactured specially to handle loads from 450 lbs to 5000 lbs. These are of much bigger sizes and are comparatively heavier with obvious large wheels. They are made out of a variety of materials based on the purpose that they are required to be used for. These various materials that they are made from include cast iron, rubber, and even plastic or polyurethane. While rubber is good for moist and slippery surfaces, for smooth floors or concrete surfaces materials such as phenolic resin may be used. But of all the materials Stainless Steel forged wheel casters are the best as they have the highest load bearing capacity. Carbon steel is used in their manufacture and hence they are extremely strong. Heavy duty casters should be able to absorb a lot of inadvertent shocks and sudden impacts that may be very common in an industrial environment. As such they are made from materials that are stress-resistant and absorb more shock than others.
You will have to keep all the above factors into consideration while selecting the right caster wheel. Let us look at some of the applications of heavy duty wheel casters.
Applications of Heavy Duty Casters
Since most of our weights that are handled in everyday life are within 1500 lbs medium duty casters are more widely used and are popular than the heavy duty ones. Let us look at some of the applications of the Heavy Duty Casters with a load bearing capacity of between 450 to 5000 lbs:
1. Waste Removal – Collecting community waste and moving them can be a challenge as that can be in thousands of pounds. Use of heavy duty casters can thus be used in casters that can have garbage bins and waste collection points thereby collecting all the waste and facilitating their movements to the garbage trucks or to other disposal points. As such, caster wheels are now used in all such heavy duty operations that deal with handling waste in housing societies and communities and effectively moving and disposing them. With the use of casters, waste can be removed quickly and effortlessly by one or two people. Moreover, the maneuverability that the casters add is an additional advantage.
2. Transportation and Moving – In many types of transportation and relocation requirements, these casters can be used to move around a lot of heavy stuff such as furniture, household goods, packages, etc. In many warehouses, these heavy duty casters are used to carry the material and goods in the warehouse from storage to the trucks for loading and vice versa. There are many other areas where these are used to carry the load in that weight range. Using these casters facilitate the movement of heavy packages, goods, and materials in warehouses or by relocation services seamlessly and easily.
3. Industrial Applications – Industrial setups have varying load hauling needs and therefore there are different caster wheels for all such needs. As such the heavy duty caster wheels can be used in all such industrial needs where a load hauling capacity between 450 to 5000 lbs is needed. These highly durable heavy duty casters help in pulling the loads with ease in all kinds of industrial setups.
4. Movement of heavy medical equipment – Some medical equipment may also be very heavy and may need Heavy Duty Casters to be moved. These may include units such as X-Ray machines, USG equipment, MRI equipment among other Critical Care Unit equipment. All such equipment may need to be transported and moved using these heavy duty casters. While some may have these installed beneath them, others may have to be mounted on caster platforms and transported. But in all such applications, their use is indispensable.
These casters are the next level of heavy duty casters and are useful to carry extra heavyweight and loads with ease. These are made from high quality materials that include stainless steel, cast iron, carbon steel among others. They are made to suit all the needs and criteria of an extra heavy duty caster. They are designed in such a manner that they are able to absorb any kind of shocks or strain during use. Their super strong build makes them extremely durable and long lasting and the technology they are manufactured with makes them suitable for extra heavy duty performance.
One of the most important features in heavy and extra heavy duty casters is their wheel size. All heavy and extra heavy casters have big wheels so that the load is effectively distributed and it does not result in a breakdown of the caster. These extra heavy casters find their specific applications as discussed in the next section.
Applications of Extra Heavy Duty Casters
Extra Heavy Duty Casters are just the next level to heavy duty casters with more or less the same type of features, manufacturing processes, and applications with an additional load bearing and weight capacity. Let us look at these applications in detail.
1. Manufacturing Units and Assembly Lines – They are used in a lot of industries and manufacturing units as a seamless method of carrying materials from one area of the assembly line to another. They are also used in carrying the raw materials, equipment, parts, and sub-parts among others inside the factory unit or the industry. It is practically impossible for men to carry these very heavy materials manually and hence the use of extra heavy-duty casters comes very handy. Though the industrial units use all categories of casters for different purposes, this is one of the most important categories as most equipment and material fall in this category of casters.
2. Air Cargo Operations – The use of casters is widespread in the aviation industry. While the medium duty ones are used in aviation hospitality in carrying the food around for inflight passengers, the heavy duty ones are used for moving and shifting of luggage and air cargo. All the air cargo that is being loaded in the air cargo planes is being pulled and carried along by the Extra Heavy duty casters. Without them, it is almost impossible to load and unload the air cargo unless of course manual labor which is obviously not feasible for such heavy loads and weights.
3. Freight Operations – Along with air cargo the usual freight operations, the loading, and unloading of materials and goods from trucks, etc is also done using these extra heavy duty wheel casters. Again with varying weights caster with varying weight capacities may be used in Freight Operations as well. But in most cases, a capacity of up to 20,000 lbs is enough to carry to help loading and unloading a truck.
4. Warehouses – In warehouses operations that deal with extra heavy packages and consignments, these extra heavy wheel casters may be used. This involves moving of packages from one region of the warehouse to another or helping in loading and unloading of the consignments or materials from the vehicles. There may be many other needs for which these may be used in a warehouse.
This is the ultimate and the highest category of wheel casters that you may get. They have load bearing and carrying capacities of up to 50,000 lbs and are hence extremely useful for Super Heavy materials and operations. They have huge wheel diameters and are made of super strong materials that make them formidably strong and long lasting. They are manufactured with techniques that make them stress and shock resistant and extremely adaptive to changing weights and working conditions. Since they are only a level up from the Heavy Duty Casters the materials they are made up from staying the same with a difference in their size and the diameter of the wheel. Their large wheels ensure that they do not break when loaded to their full capacities and when used in conditions that may need them to get a little rough. For instance, there may be a need for moving the materials quickly and as such, they should be able to stand all the extra old.
The applications of Super Heavy Duty casters are a little different than the traditional -ones and the ones we discussed earlier for obvious reasons. In day to day scenarios, we do not see such heavyweights being handled anywhere apart from a few areas. We will discuss their applications in the next section.
Super Heavy Duty Casters (capacity to 50,000 lbs.)
This is the ultimate and the highest category of wheel casters that you may get. They have load bearing and carrying capacities of up to 50,000 lbs and are hence extremely useful for Super Heavy materials and operations. They have huge wheel diameters and are made of super strong materials that make them formidably strong and long lasting. They are manufactured with techniques that make them stress and shock resistant and extremely adaptive to changing weights and working conditions. Since they are only a level up from the Heavy Duty Casters the materials they are made up from staying the same with a difference in their size and the diameter of the wheel. Their large wheels ensure that they do not break when loaded to their full capacities and when used in conditions that may need them to get a little rough. For instance, there may be a need for moving the materials quickly and as such, they should be able to stand all the extra old.
The applications of Super Heavy Duty casters are a little different than the traditional -ones and the ones we discussed earlier for obvious reasons. In day to day scenarios, we do not see such heavyweights being handled anywhere apart from a few areas. We will discuss their applications in the next section.
Applications of Super Heavy Duty Casters
Since this is a level up from the Heavy Duty Casters, the applications will also be the ones that have weight requirements a notch more and above the traditional ones. The following are some of the applications of Super Heavy Duty Casters:
1. In the Shipping industry – Ever thought how those huge shipping containers are being moved from one region to another. Yes, they use cranes for the same. But it is the Super Heavy Duty casters that are used to move them within the port up until the loading points. The high strength and durability of these super heavy duty casters make them extremely suitable for super heavy loads such as shipping containers.
2. In the Aerospace industry – We discussed how industrial casters are being used in various areas of the aviation industry. And the same is true in the aerospace sector as well. Aerospace relates to the manufacturing of airplanes and airplane parts and assembling them. This also involves the manufacturing of spacecraft and such parts. The parts as such are huge and voluminous and hence they are shifted and transported from one region of a factory to another using these super heavy casters. They are very popular and their usage is a common sight in any aerospace unit.
3. Heavy Equipment Manufacturing – You must have come across that heavy equipment like the cranes and the dozers. Ever imagined how they are assembled. The assembly lines of all heavy equipment manufacturing units must have one of these super heavy casters to transport and move those super heavy parts through the assembly lines. Apart from that, it may be used in a wide number of other applications in heavy equipment manufacturing.
4. All Other Super Heavy Operations – Apart from the above these casters find their use in all the other applications where weights up to 50,000 lbs are to be pulled and carried. These may include all industries right from the electronics, to aerospace to the military. They are the apt hauling tools for all such super heavy stuff.
Now that we have covered all the 4 types of casters and their applications, let us look at the advantages of these Industrial caster wheels in detail.
Advantages of Caster Wheels
Now that we have seen and read about the four types of casters let us now look at the advantages of using these casters in detail. The applications in themselves are implicit of their advantages but to list a few the advantages of using Wheel Casters are as follows:
1. Improves the Working Conditions of Workers – The use of carts has helped in improving the working condition of the workers in all areas and sectors of work. Previously simple wheels were used in carts and wagons but off late the wheels are now being replaced with caster wheels. The use of the casters has helped in the overall improvement of the condition of the workers by leaps and bounds.
2. Ensures fast and smooth movement of materials – This is obviously one of the prime reasons why the carts are used in various applications. The use of casters ensures that despite being loaded with all the load they are able to transport and move materials seamlessly from one place to another swiftly and effortlessly. As such they have made the movement of materials in an industry or a shop floor or an industry fast and smooth.
3. Reduces fatigue and efforts required in a job – The invention of the wheel brought about a revolution in the lives of mankind. And the invention of casters has revolutionized the idea of carrying materials of all sorts. Earlier the use of simple wheels meant that you will have to put in extra efforts in keeping it in the right direction and the obstacle handling of simple wheels was also not that great. However, with the use of casters and swiveling wheels, the efforts required in a job is reduced by many times. As such, there is minimum fatigue and load carrying has become effortless.
4. Saves a lot of time – Use of casters in modern day applications have reduced the time taken to accomplish a task drastically. For instance, in the medical world carrying a patient on a stretcher is far more time consuming than a bed that has swiveling casters to negotiate any barriers and smooth movement within and out of the hospital premises. As such along with the effort, the time taken to do jobs using the casters has reduced and as such, they are a time saving way of doing work.
4. Ensures Increase in Productivity & Efficiency – When you get a tool at your disposal that is fast, saves time and effort, it is bound to increase the productivity and efficiency of the workers or in the overall industrial application in question. The same is true for all other sectors where casters are used. Be it hospitality, industries, aviation, or any other. That is perhaps why the use of these carts has become so popular in all other applications. Why do a job the old way when there are better and more efficient ways of doing it. Using Casters simply helps in achieving and improving the efficiency of the workers and also helps in increasing the overall productivity as well.
5. Facilitates movement of goods irrespective of their volume and weight – While the medium duty casters help in transporting goods and material of comparatively lower weight, the heavy duty, extra heavy duty, and super heavy duty casters help in transporting the highest weights. So, no matter what the volume or the weight that is to be moved, there are carts, wagons, and ways and means to move them – thanks to these casters that can be attached to any of these. As such, with the help of these casters, nothing remains impossible. They have made the movement of the most humongous weights that looked like moving mountains once upon a time possible.
6. Highly durable and last long without breaking – One of the best advantages of using these casters is the fact that they are made from highly durable materials based on their load bearing capacities and as such can handle any amount of load without breaking or getting damaged. They make the movement of heavy to super heavy loads look like a piece of cake. They are designed and made in such a way that their load bearing capacity is much higher than the conventional wheels.
7. Comes in all types of materials, shapes, and sizes – This is another advantage of these caster wheels. You already saw the four types that they are available in on the basis of their load bearing capacity. Moreover, within those types as well they come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. While the smaller wheels are perfect for lightweight and compact objects such as electronic appliances and other medium weight purposes. The larger wheels are more suitable for moving heavy objects and they will be better in terms of durability when it comes to moving heavy machinery or equipment.
8. Reduces labor and operational costs – When you are saving so much time, efforts, and also are seeing a rise in productivity and efficiency levels, the overall cost of production and labor will come down as well. Simple maths – with the help of these carts where the task that was supposed to be done by two or three people can be done by one, industries can save a lot on labor costs and subsequently on the overall operational overheads.
Now that we have seen the advantages of using the casters, these are still machines and if not used properly they may even fail as well. So, in the next section, we will point out certain ways or factors due to which these caster wheels may fail.
How Caster Wheels may fail?
Though caster wheels are made from high quality material and if used properly they may even last a lifetime, there can be many reasons for the breakdown of these caster wheels which are listed as under:
1. Overload – Special care must be taken in ensuring that the caster capacity is not exceeded. It may still bear the extra load a few times but overloading it consistently over a period of time can lead to a complete breakdown of the caster wheels.
2. Impact Loading – While moving the casters at its total rated capacity through its area of operation, it must be ensured that it does not bump or come across a large obstacle. Doing so can result in a breakdown. This also includes loading the casters with care and not throwing heavy materials in them as that may result in an impact to the wheels.
3. Brinelling – This is one very common issue that is experienced with casters. This refers to the wear and tear of the caster wheel when running on a hard surface. Brinelling affects the performance of the caster as such by impacting it’s swiveling and mobility.
4. High Speeds – Using the casters at high speeds may impact the performance of the caster. The caster may overheat and lead to the wear and tear of the wheel material and in turn into a catastrophic breakdown and damage of the caster wheel. So, using the casters in heavy speeds is not recommended.
5. Environmental factors – Environmental and working environments can impact the performances of the casters as well. Exposure to extreme temperatures, moisture, etc can lead to an adverse effect on the caster conditions – some may start melting when exposed to heat or may corrode and rust.
6. Manufacturing or Design Issues – Apart from the above reasons there can be manufacturing issues and design flaws that may lead to the failure of caster wheels and a subsequent breakdown. These include excessive swivel offset, use of wrong bearings, use of not so durable top plates, and the kingbolt or rivet failure.
Now that you know about all these issues, you can be more careful in using them and will be more cautious to choose the right caster for your applications. After all, choosing the right one is the key.
With all that knowledge about the various types of Industrial casters, it should now be not difficult anymore to choose the caster that best suits your needs. You can get a medium duty caster for your day to day needs, a heavy duty caster for maybe your shop floor, a very heavy duty one for your factory operations, and so on. We serve all customers and business scales right from the mall or the shop in your neighborhood to a company that makes airplanes.
Now get your industrial caster wheel custom made. All you need to do is provide us with your design requirements and purpose and our team of skilled engineers will examine your requirements and put together all the critical components and create a caster that is functionally complete and fulfills all your specified needs and purposes.
We are a world class caster wheel manufacturer that manufactures high quality industrial casters that include casters made of Polyurethane (PU), plastic, fixed or rigid, stem swivel, etc. You name it and we have it for you. You will love our exhaustive range of products. With so many different types of casters for all your exclusive needs, you will surely not be disappointed. And to add to your delight, our amazing customer service is sure to win your hearts. So, without wasting any more time or any second thoughts you can contact us for all your industrial caster needs. Pick up your phone or send in an inquiry.
