A caster is a valuable and practical assembly of two components: a mount and a wheel. Casters mounted to the bottom of objects assist easier, faster, and smoother pulling and pushing movements. Here, you will learn about casters, including wheel materials, rotation types, caster characteristics, and practical examples.
Wheel Materials
Casters come in a variety of materials and load ratings to fit various situations and environments. A heavy duty swivel caster Is sturdy and can tolerate a heavy load, allowing easy maneuvering. Casters may be made from a variety of materials, including iron, steel, nylon, and rubber, to name a few. The different materials make the casters ideal for easy and safe movement on various floor surfaces, including hardwood, tile, carpet, asphalt, and concrete. Some materials may be corrosion, heat, moisture, or oil resistant.
Rotation Types
Casters come in two rotation types: swivel and rigid. The swivel casters’ wheels rotate 360 degrees. You may push and pull an object in any direction you choose. The rigid casters’ wheels are directionally confined to a straight motion, back and forth.
Caster Characteristics
Casters may be shock absorbent not to disturb the load placed on them. They may contain a noise-reducing mechanism not to present a disturbance as items move. Casters may have a braking mechanism to prevent the turning of wheels. They may have a total lock to prevent swiveling and rolling. Low-profile ball casters are made for low-lying objects while leveling casters allow for leveling the object. Casters also come in two mount types: plate and stem. Plate mounts have a flat square surface, while stem mounts have a cylindrical mount.
Practical Examples
Casters are ubiquitous. You may see them on large trashcans, desk chairs, luggage, and vacuum cleaners at home. You may see casters on office chairs, carts, and dollies in the office. In the grocery store, the shopping carts have casters. At the airport, the airline’s loose baggage transport uses casters. And the hospital bed and IV poles at medical facilities also use casters.
Casters are an ingenious invention. They are removable and exchangeable. They come in a variety of strengths, colors, and sizes. Casters enable a person of small stature to move or reposition a heavy load or equipment by him or herself with ease and without having to lift. They reduce the cause of injury attributed to lifting. Casters are indispensable and used daily around the world.
