How to Select the Right Industrial Caster

5 Steps to Selecting the Proper Industrial Caster for Your Application

Selecting an industrial caster can be overwhelming. For most, the biggest challenge is where to start!

Step 1: Calculating the caster’s capacity

It’s important to know how much weight your caster can hold. This also means knowing the weight of your cart. For safety, we suggest estimating the total cart load over three casters to ensure adequate support. When you’re dealing with uneven floor conditions, you can assume not all casters are contacting the floor. So, ensuring that the load can be supported by three out of the four casters (three casters make a plane) allows for adequate safety.

Step 2: Understanding the application.

Answering a few questions can help you determine the best caster for your situation. Such as, are there height or width limitations? If so, you may need to use a dual-wheel caster that offers the highest possible capacity at the lowest overall height while spreading out the load.  Do you need to protect the floor, or is the floor uneven or rough? Our polyurethane treads and our spring-loaded casters are designed for a variety of these types of conditions.

Step 3: Selecting your casters

Once capacity and the application are understood, caster selection is next. Once you have a better idea of the caster you need based on your answers to the questions above, now comes decisions on specific caster types, such as if you need a spring-loaded caster or if you need a swivel or a rigid caster. Our casters are all maintenance free.

Step 4: Selecting your wheel

Selecting your wheel is next. This step is heavily influenced by your application. For high-temperature settings, steel or high temp plastic casters are best. If maintaining floor conditions is priority 1, you will want a softer material like polyurethane. For heavier loads, you can use a larger polyurethane wheel. And to keep the overall height down, a dual wheel setup handles heavier loads in a smaller size.

Step 5: Caster Add-ons

Choosing your options. Caster add-ons such as brakes, swivel locks, and toe guards are also options to consider. Brakes lock the wheels in place to prevent the caster from rolling. Swivel locks will lock the swivel section in place to help maneuverability. In addition, you can get casters that are spark-proof or clean room certified, depending on your needs.