Arguably, one of the best inventions of all time, wheels are found in practically every industry, office, home, and outdoor areas. When it comes to heavy lifting in the industrial world, heavy-duty casters are the main choice because of their ability to move very large loads and withstand the high pressures of temperature, gravity, and other areas of exposure.
Move Heavy Loads: A Few Examples
These heavy duty wheels aren’t just used to move items around manufacturing plants. You’ll also find them in shipping yards. Casters are found on shipping containers that must be moved to trains or ships. The shipping containers often weigh thousands of pounds when empty, so caster wheels are used to bear this weight plus the weight of the goods inside. Imagine trying to move those containers around without wheels!
You may have noticed waste removal receptacles in your community. When construction projects are underway, the construction company may have large metal containers for storing and transporting wood pieces, metal remnants, and garbage. When it’s necessary to move those containers, caster wheels make it possible for one or two workers to maneuver the receptacles.
Caster wheels are even used within the transportation and aerospace industries. You may have noticed quite a few wheels on the runway at your local airport. Heavy-duty casters are even used to move airplanes around as necessary. On a smaller scale, furniture, platforms, and dollies are often equipped with wheels to simplify shipment and transportation of goods from one part of the neighborhood to another.
Choose the Best Casters
Naturally, you can’t use the same caster for every application. You need to carefully consider the size of the wheels, the load capacity, construction material, and configuration of the wheels. Very large loads should be fitted with larger wheels, and so on. Some casters are better suited to smooth surfaces, while others are useful on rough surfaces. It’s also important to consider whether you want casters that move in a consistently straight direction or casters that offer movement in any direction. In some cases, you can get casters equipped with brakes or locks that change the movement ability of the wheels.
Recognize the Impact
How have you benefitted from the use of caster wheels? The next time you go out grocery shopping, recognize the ease and convenience of transporting your groceries in the shopping cart. It’s exciting to see how one “little” invention can have such an impact on the world. Let the sight of caster wheels remind you of the power of one seemingly small and unobtrusive