Industrial Plate Casters to Meet Your Needs

A top plate caster consists of a wheel, an axle, and a plate. The plate is typically the component that holds the axle and the wheel in place. The plate is usually square or rectangular and has screw holes in each corner. These industrial casters can be mounted directly on the item that it’s designed to add mobility to, via screws or bolts. Another mounting choice is to have the caster permanently welded for more long term, durable jobs.

The Benefit of Industrial Plate Casters

The primary benefit of a plate model caster is stability. The plate usually forms part of the wheel housing, and so the plate has a larger surface area than a threaded stem type of caster. These industrial casters are extremely stable and will provide excellent mobility for your items. Further, when affixed by screws, the effort of the caster is supported across four separate points.

Many industrial duty casters use face contact brakes, and these are the best in the industry. These brakes are welded onto the frame of the casters and provide the security of knowing the wheels will not move until needed. Trusted companies, such as Access Casters Inc., have many models of light, medium, and heavy-duty casters on rubber, cast iron, or steel wheels.

Make the Investment in Swivel Casters

At Access Casters Inc., there are various styles of swivel casters for every material handling situation and a wide variety of wheel sizes, materials, designs, and capacities from which customers may choose. With all the possible configurations, selecting the right swivel casters for your work environment often boils down to a few fundamental considerations:

• How much space do I have to maneuver?
•  How often will I need to move the materials?
• Over how far a distance do I need to move the materials?
• How much weight do I need to move?

Swivel Wheel Casters Can Turn on a Dime

When you’re working in confined or tight spaces or other environments where flexibility and maneuverability are required, swivel casters are the way to go. Swivel casters can rotate 360° and can respond nimbly to changes in direction. These casters swivel on ball bearings that help keep the wheel turning even under heavy loads. Loads on swivel casters can take more effort to set in motion than rigid casters because it takes a stronger push to get all four wheels pointed in the same direction before the cart or truck will roll. Additionally, because it can be quite challenging for a truck or cart with all swivel casters to roll in a straight line, this configuration is typically used to travel short distances.

What to Know When Purchasing Industrial Casters

When you are searching for the right industrial casters for your business, there are choices to make. Made of a rolling wheel housed inside a swivel frame, casters can turn stationary objects into mobile ones. After fastening them to the bottom of a stationary object, you can easily roll the object to a new location. While all casters feature this fundamental design, their specifications and features vary. So, consider these three top points when choosing casters for your business.

Mounting Method

Industrial casters are usually mounted in one of a few ways. Some casters have a flat plate on top, which can be bolted into the bottom of a large object, and others feature stems that are screwed or snapped into an object. Some also use brackets for vertical mounting.

Housing Material

Also called a rig or yoke, the housing is the frame surrounding the caster's wheel. Caster housings are manufactured in several different materials, some of which include anodized aluminum alloy, oil-coated steel, zinc-plated steel, and traditional stainless steel.

Load Capacity

Industrial casters' load capacity refers to the maximum weight a caster can support. If the object exceeds the caster's load capacity, the housing may collapse or break. Some cheap casters, usually found on office chairs, have a load capacity of only 150 to 200 pounds. However, industrial casters are made to support up to 100,000 pounds.

Finding the Right Industrial Wheels to Meet Your Needs

If your business has stock and material handling challenges, you are very familiar with ergonomics, worker safety, noise, productivity, and cost savings. Choosing the right heavy-duty industrial wheels for your handling application can sometimes be a challenge. Here are the top two considerations for industrial wheels when choosing the right casters from trusted manufacturers like Albion casters and Darnell Casters.

Wheel Size

When you think size, think load weight. Determine the maximum load weight to which the dolly, cart, or AGV will be subjected. Increasing the industrial wheels' diameter means less effort to start rolling and to keep the wheels rolling. If you have casters on all four corners of your cart or rack, you will need casters that are rated to hold at least the weight they will carry.  Additionally, to compensate for shifting or unbalanced loads, you should shoot for about 30% over the maximum weight.

Tread Material

There are many materials to consider for treads on industrial wheels. So what's best: rubber, steel, wrought iron, or polyurethane? Knowing the pros and cons of each is crucial in determining an acceptable balance between floor protection and material load capacity. Typically, the heavier the caster load capacity, the harder the material will be for the industrial wheels. But remember, harder wheels have a higher risk of damaging your floors, whereas softer treads are more resilient and offer more floor protection.

Why You Should Choose Hamilton Casters

When you need to move equipment safely and efficiently, casters are the way to get it done. The key to selecting casters is to find the best ones for the item. At Access Casters Inc., we know all about them, and we’ll provide advice here.

The main thing to keep in mind is that there are multiple types of casters. It’s not a one-size-fits-all product. It’s more the case of finding the right size or type that works best for a specific piece of equipment.

Hamilton Casters is a company providing casters that can meet every need. They have specialty casters designed to operate in challenging conditions while providing robust support and mobility. They have products that can endure temperatures from as low as -22° to 750°F while supporting weights as much as 9,000 lbs.

Businesses large and small know that they can rely on Hamilton Casters for products to meet all their unique requirements, including:

• High Temp Extra Heavy Duty Casters
• Aerospace Shock Absorbing Casters
• Dual Wheel Casters
• Heavy Duty Casters

Products from Hamilton Casters are made to withstand extreme conditions just as well as they face regular ones. They also provide ergonomically correct models specifically designed to protect workers from injuries by operating as easily and smoothly as possible. They are a dependable source for casters for companies large and small.