Castors
Haodeli: Leading Castors Manufacturer in China!
Shenzhen Haodeli Furniture Fittings Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Haodeli Hardware Fittings Factory") is a manufacturer specializing in the production and sales of furniture hardware accessories and furniture plastic accessories manufacturers. The main products are: inner and outer tooth nuts, three-in-one connectors, casters universal wheels and so on.
Wide Product Range
We can export various custom fasteners with a wide variety of plating, which includes different colors of Zinc, Black Oxide, Black Anodizing, Tin, Silver, Waxing, Passivation, Nickel, Antique Brass, Chrome, Cadmium, GM Spec, Magni Coating, Chrysler spec, and so on.
Quality Raw Materials
We supply both inch and metric fasteners. Our fastener line includes a wide range of materials such as steel, stainless steel, brass, silicon bronze, Hastelloy, Inconel, Monel, aluminum, alloy 20, 17-4PH, 17-7PH, titanium, and other non-ferrous metals.
Quality Guaranteed
From quality testing of raw materials to the careful management of manufacturing processes and the comprehensive testing of finished products, we can deliver customer orders that live up to and exceed expectations.
Advanced Equipment
With state-of-the-art Japanese technology power coating lines and professional fabrication machines such as automatic welding and tube laser cutting machines, customers can be assured that every product will be fabricated with precision and care.
Introduction of Castors
A caster (or castor) is an undriven wheel that is designed to be attached to the bottom of a larger object (the "vehicle") to enable that object to be moved. Casters are used in numerous applications, including shopping carts, office chairs, toy wagons, hospital beds, and material handling equipment. High capacity, heavy duty casters are used in many industrial applications, such as platform trucks, carts, assemblies, and tow lines in plants.
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Castor Manoeuvrability
Rigid Castors
Rigid castors are designed for use on equipment that needs to be moved in a straight line because the wheels are mounted in a fixed position, which doesn’t allow for much manoeuvrability. However, rigid castors can typically support more weight than swivel castors – making them ideal for use on heavy duty equipment.
Swivel Castors
Swivel castors, on the other hand, have wheels that can rotate 360 degrees. This allows for easy manoeuvring around tight corners and spaces. While they’re not able to support as much weight as rigid castors, they’re still able to hold a considerable amount. As a result, they’re commonly used on office chairs, carts, and other light applications.
Castor Hardness
When selecting castor wheels, it’s important to choose a hardness that is appropriate for the surface on which they will be used, as it will have an impact on the surface, as well as the castor itself – so it’s important to understand the differences between soft and hard castors.
Soft Castor Wheels
While most castor wheels are hard, there are some applications where soft castors are preferable. For example, if you’re using the castor on a piece of furniture that will be moved frequently, such as a chair or sofa, then soft castors will reduce the amount of noise that is generated making them ideal for use in sensitive environments such as libraries and museums. In addition, they’re less likely to leave marks on flooring. Of course, the trade-off for these benefits is that soft castor wheels have a shorter lifespan than their hard counterparts and are not suitable for use in applications where high weights need to be supported.
Hard Castor Wheels
Hard tread castors are, in general, easier to start rolling than their soft counterparts. This makes hard castors a considerably more appealing option for applications that involve transporting items on carpeted surfaces. Hard wheels, on the other hand, will be noisy on vinyl, tile, and hardwood floors, making them an unsuitable choice for applications where a quiet cart is required. The following are some of the advantages of using hard tread castors:
● Maintain their shape over time
● Less force needed to keep product rolling
● More durable
● Typically have longer lifespans
● More economical for heavy loads
Comparing the Different Types of Casters
Plate Casters
The most common type, plate casters are characterized by a flat, square-shaped mounting surface. They usually have four holes — one on each corner of the mounting surface — which are used to secure the plate caster to the object. They are called “plate casters” because the mounting surface resembles as a square-squared plate.
Locking Casters
As the name suggests, locking casters feature a locking mechanism. Conventional casters are designed to roll and swivel freely. While perfectly fine for some applications, other applications require casters to remain locked in place. If a workbench with casters is placed on a sloped surface, for example, it may roll downhill unless the casters are locked. Locking casters offer the freedom to lock the wheels in place, thereby preventing the object on which they are mounted from rolling or swiveling.
Stem Casters
Stem casters also feature a wheel in a mounting frame, but they are unique because of the way in which they are mounted. While plate casters have flat, square-shaped mounting surface, stem casters feature a cylindrical-shaped rod for mounting. In the image displayed above, the caster in the middle is a stem caster. The cylindrical-shaped rod is placed inside an object’s mounting slot of the same shape and size. Some stem casters feature a threaded rod, whereas others feature plain round rods. Regardless, they all use rods for mounting.
Hollow Kingpin Casters
Hollow Kingpin casters are characterized by a stemless design with a hole on the top of the mounting surface. To mount a hollow Kingpin caster, the caster is positioned against the object, after which a fastener like a screw or bolt is driven through the hole and into the object.
Rigid Casters
Also known as fixed casters, rigid casters are characterized by their limited range of movement. Unlike other casters, rigid casters can’t swivel in a complete 360-degree range. Rather, they can only roll forwards and backwards. Rigid casters are usually stronger than conventional casters, but their limited range of movement makes them a poor choice for certain applications.
Caster Basics: Mount Types
Grip Ring Stems
Grip ring stems are quite possibly the most common caster stem in use. Used predominantly in consumer and commercial office and shop equipment, this stem provides rapid installation and quick change. Grip ring stems are typically available on furniture and institutional casters, and are most commonly used on molded plastic components wherein the socket can be made an integral part of the equipment. Due to this design element, grip ring stem casters usually offer lower overall weight capacity. The stem works by utilizing a piece of round steel with a channel machined in the top portion. The machined channel is then fitted with a locking ring, either brass or steel. The mounting sockets are made to match the stem, with a recessed race in the top portion of the socket, so as to accept the locking ring from the stem. When inserted the locking ring expands into the recessed race, locking the stem into position. The mechanism provides positive retention, without impeding removal should it be required.
Threaded Stems
A threaded stem is quite simple – it’s a round piece of metal with a cut thread, similar to a bolt. Because threaded stems come in nearly any size, metric or standard, small to large diameter, fine or coarse thread, the options are many. Threaded stems are available standard on institutional and furniture casters, and through special order on industrial casters. A threaded stem provides a more secure mounting than any other stem mount. Where grip ring and grip neck stems can become loose over time, the threaded stem, short of the stem shearing, will remain in place. A fair comparison between grip and threaded stems is nails to screws. In order for a threaded stem caster to be attached to equipment, the equipment must have a tapped bore to accept the stem.
Grip Neck
A grip neck or wood stem, as the name implies, is ideal for equipment made of wood. They are found only on furniture and institutional casters.A grip neck stem uses a flanged top to capture the stem in the pre-manufactured socket. Though most commonly used on wood furniture, they are used on certain plastic and metal equipment. Unlike a grip-ring stem, grip neck stems are available in one size, 5/16″ diameter x 1-1/2″ long. Given that, they are the easiest to find replacements for should they break. However, they are incredibly hard to remove from the socket once installed.
Expanding Adapters
Expanding adapters are a hybrid design, utilizing a threaded stem with a flexible socket adapter. Typically they are constructed with 4 parts: a threaded stem, a compression nut, a rubber expansion ring, and a plastic washer. In essence, they are a hybrid of a grip ring and threaded stem. Because the rubber insert can dry-rot, these stems should not be used in wash-down or autoclave applications. Once the rubber has dried out the caster may, for lack of a better phrase, fall out of the equipment. These stems are usually used on equipment where a standard socket is not available because of the inside diameter of the round tube or pipe. They are installed by inserting the stem into the pipe and then turning the nut on the bottom side of the swivel section to tighten into place.
Round Stem
Round stems are by far the simplest stem design around. It is literally a piece of round stock riveted into the kingpin of the caster. Instead of using a locking ring to hold it in place like a grip ring, it is a simple compression fit. Round stem casters are very rare. Normally a grip ring or threaded stem is used due to their locking ability. We do not recommend using a round stem, if at all possible.
Top Plate
From small to large, light to heavy, top plates provide the most secure and convenient method of mounting, making them the most common means of mounting a caster. While a top plate is just a piece of metal with four bolt holes, it is critical to get the correct hole pattern when replacing a caster with a top plate. A typical bolt hole pattern is 2-⅝” x 3-⅝” slotted to 3” x 3”. This means that the holes on the outside most part of the plate are 2-5/8″ x 3-5/8″ then slotted to the inner part at 3″ x 3″, as seen in the image to the right. Some top plates do not come with slotted holes, others have holes slotted in other directions. Generally speaking, a caster series, with the exception of furniture casters, is defined by its top plate size. Top plate casters are available in furniture, institutional, industrial and kingpinless types.
How to Choose the Right Castor for Your Industry & Application？
Different Types of Castors
Swivel castor or rigid castor: Practically all castors are divided into two categories. You can either choose a swivel castor that is able to rotate in any direction, even when carrying a heavy load. If you need the wheel to move in a straight line you can choose for a rigid, also known as fixed castors, which can not be steered but can only move back and forth.
Locking castors with brake system: You specifically need locking castors when you need to move up and down a slope or when you want to prevent the load to suddenly move. In most cases, a castor with a lock is needed for safety, either to prevent the load from damaging or to ensure a safe working environment. The brake system is traditionally mounted on the swivel castor as it combines the braking of the wheel rotation with the braking of the horizontal “swiveling” rotation. Castors with locks are often used on containers, platforms, scaffolding, furniture or containers. There are different castor brake types that you can use, you can choose for.
A brake that presses only the spinning of the wheel, these are single braked castors.
A double working brake that brakes the rotation of the wheel and the swivelling of the swivel castor.
Or a brake that pushes on the floor and lifts up the platform or trolley, this can be levelling castors or floor brakes, also known as truck locks.
Plate castors, bolt hole castors or stem castors: Plate castors are used in a wide variety of applications and are available as both rigid castors as well as swivel castors. The mounting plate makes it easy to attach the wheels to the appliance which needs to be able to move. The mount plate consists of a rectangular steel plate with 4 drill holes to fasten the castor with. Depending on your preferences or requirements we can create various hole patterns on our top plate castors. Stem castors are mostly used when there is little space to connect your castor on. The stem on these castors is the connection point for the wheel. These stem mounts are often threaded, but we can also provide them non-threaded in a round or square shape with mounting holes or expandable stems.
Bolt hole castors: Bolt hole castors are a certain type of stem castors that you can fasten through the centre of a swivel head. These castors are often used on equipment like trolleys, carts or medical equipment.
Requirements for Your Castor
To find the right castor for your application there are several questions you should ask yourself.
How much space do you have for your wheels or castor?
How often do you need to move your applications and how far?
What load capacity do the castors need to have?
How far do you need to move your load?
Determining the load capacity: Bigger wheels and castors are able to carry a heavier load. To determine the load capacity for each castor wheel you should divide the total weight of your application by the number of castors that you need (* 0.75. E.g. when using 4 castors you divide the total weight by 3 to include a safety factor that not all load is equally distributed over the wheels). When you are moving heavy loads, we advise you to use a wheel with roller bearings or ball bearings, as they are easier to move.
Plain bearing, Ball bearing, Timken bearing or roller bearing? Plain bearings are the most common type of bearing. The bearing surface is in direct contact with the bearing shaft. When you choose roller bearings, the bearing consists of cylindrical elements which will reduce friction and make your appliances easier to move. A ball-bearing castor is somewhat alike, but instead of cylindrical elements, balls are used to reduce friction. Ball-bearing castors are most commonly used in industries with high accuracy. In another article, we dive deeper into bearing types. In general larger wheels are easier to move, especially when you have a wheel with ball bearings. Ball bearings, however, can’t carry the same load as roller bearings. If you need to move your appliances often over large distances? Try to choose the biggest ball bearing castors.
Thread Material
Rubber: Solid or pneumatic rubber wheels and tyres are most often used on uneven surfaces. The material can absorb shocks, vibrations and gives good traction.
Plastic: Plastic wheels made from materials like nylon, polyamide and thermoplastic are used in a wide variety of applications. The most important characteristics of plastic wheels are their chemical resistance, non-marking treads, heat resistance and extensive possibilities for customisation.
Polyurethane and vulkollan: Polyurethane is a material that is wear- and tear-resistant, good load capacities and is perfect for smooth surfaces. Polyurethane wheels can easily carry loads up to 1000 kg. Vulkollan is also suitable for smooth surfaces and is a much better alternative for polyurethane. Vulkollan is a very durable material with high load capacities, low rolling resistance and a high level of customization for your custom made wheels and castors.
Cast iron and steel: Cast iron and steel are excellent for industries where heavy duty load capacities and high wear- and tear resistance are required.
Environmental circumstances: In some industries, wheels and castors are exposed to extreme temperatures and/or chemicals. Choose polyurethane wheels if you need castors that are chemical resistant. When you need castors that can handle extreme temperatures, you should look for castors made from heat-resistant rubber or nylon or choose cast iron castors.
Heavy-duty castors: At Industrial Wheels we are experts when it comes to shipping container wheels. These heavy-duty wheels and castors are able to carry and move extremely heavy loads with ease. These castors are equipped with twist locks for fitting and locking in an ISO 1161 corner of a freight container. Thanks to our shipping container castors, moving your freight containers is made easy.
What Is the Difference Between Castor and Caster?
Castor is a British term for caster wheel, whereas caster is an American term for caster wheel. A caster or castor is a pivoting roller attached to the bottom of furniture or a portable machine for easy movement. Casters are available in two different styles: swivel casters and fixed casters. A caster has an axle with a wheel on either end that can be rotated to move the piece of furniture across any flooring surface.
Mobility
Fixed casters have both wheels mounted onto one metal plate; they cannot rotate 360 degrees around their axis as swivel casters can. Fixed casters work best for heavier pieces of furniture or those that do not need to be moved often because this style does not allow for much movement. On the other hand, Swivel casters offer more mobility than fixed casters by allowing the caster to rotate 360 degrees around its axis. Swivel casters are a top plate, an axle, two caster wheels, and two caster plates at the bottom. The caster wheel has a metal rod through its center, which makes contact with both of the caster plates on the floor of the furniture piece. This caster wheel will allow the piece to move in a 360-degree rotation.
Design
Fixed casters have two caster wheels mounted onto one metal plate, with a rod going through the middle of the caster wheel. This makes for less movement and can cause problems when moving furniture over uneven surfaces. The caster wheel functions as the support for casters. Caster wheels are made of sturdy metal alloys specially designed to hold the weight of furniture pieces. Caster wheels can break if they are not made with quality materials. Swivel casters have caster wheels made out of solid cast aluminum, which is lighter than cast iron but still strong enough to support heavy pieces of furniture. Aluminum caster wheels also work better on many types of flooring surfaces.
Wheel Diameter
Caster wheels or casters come in different sizes depending on the weight of the piece of furniture they must support. A giant caster wheel can carry heavier items or pieces of furniture; caster wheels should be large enough to fit the width and length of the casters it supports. Standard caster wheels range from 2.5 to 6 inches in diameter, and caster plates on the floor of the piece of furniture should be at least 1/2-inch thick cast iron or cast aluminum. Swivel casters commonly come in sizes ranging from 3 to 8 inches, while caster wheels used with fixed casters range from 4 to 9 inches. The caster wheels will be as wide as the caster plates they support.
Common Problem of Castors