Friday, July 24, 2015

Caster & Wheels, What is Light , Medium & Heavy Duty?



Caster and wheels are often categorized by their weight handling ability, these categories are simply "Light Duty, Medium Duty, Heavy Duty and Super Duty. To lessen confusion we will define these caster categories to better help you find what you are looking for. Most people will say, " I am looking for a heavy duty caster to replace the ones on my my office chair ". While it is understandable that you are looking for a more durable option, the term heavy duty in our industry would mean something completely different.
Light Duty, Dolly Caster, XS Rubber wheel, rigidThe light duty category of casters and wheels specifications are as follows.  Wheel size; diameter of the wheel is usually between 2" and 5" with a tread width of 7/8" to 1-1/2". The load capacity of Light duty casters is up to roughly 400lbs per caster. So as you can see the "Light duty" can still be very strong and substantial. Typical applications for Light Duty stem or plate mount casters in swivel or rigid would be: Medical equipment, dollies, office chairs, computer carts, Displays and fixtures, Rubbermaid carts and mop buckets, etc. Any cart that has 4 casters and is under 1200lb would qualify as light duty. Usually Rubber, plastic or Polyurethane wheel material.
Medium Duty, Polyurethane on Steel wheel, swivel, casterTo qualify as medium duty the wheel size is usually between 3" and 8" in diameter and 2" wide. We call these our 2" wide series and is by far our best selling, most common casters. These caster will have a capacity of up to 1,250lbs each and are used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications. These casters have the most options and the best availability. These casters are found in all industrial and commercial settings, like warehouses, factories etc. Ant industry that requires larger carts and heavier loads. Common wheels, Phenolic, Steel, Rubber, Polyurethane and Nylon
These caster are for industrial uses along with aerospace, foundries and more. The sizes typically range from 4" to 16" in Diameter and 2-1/2" to 4" wide. The weight capacities are up to 20,000lbs each and have options like special tapered bearings and kingpinless casters to Dual wheels. These wheels are usually very large and very heavy so freight shipping may be required. Below are a couple samples of Heavy and Super Duty casters and wheels. Typical Wheel types are Forged Steel, Ductile steel, Cast Iron, Polyurethane on Steel.

Heavy Duty, Ductile Wheel, Swivel Caster, industrial caster
Heavy Duty Ductile Wheel Swivel Caster

Super Duty, industrial,  Dual Wheel Caster
Super Duty Dual Wheel Caster