3 Essential Things to Consider Before Choosing Your Castor

If you thought that choosing a castor was easy business, then you probably haven’t seen the vastness of its varieties. Castor wheels are available in a plethora of configurations and material choices. Choosing a castor wheel for your new or existing equipment is not that easy considering that each type of castors serves a specific function.

That doesn’t mean that you have to buy one blind because we are here to help you out through the whole process. Let us walk you through the different use cases where castors are necessary so that you can choose one that suits your requirements the best.

Primary objective: Determine the load requirement and application

The first question that you must ask yourselves before purchasing a castor is the type of equipment that you are going to mount on the castor. It will give you an idea of the type of load the castor must carry. There are a lot of variables that change with the type of load that a castor carries, for example, the diameter of the castor. Another aspect is the type of surroundings where the castors will be used.

Note: Lightweight applications will use low diameter castors while Heavy-duty castors have a larger diameter.

Floor conditions: On what surface are you going to use the castor?

Once you have decided the application for which you need the castors, you must consider the floor conditions. It will help you select the right type of material for your castor. Do not take this step lightly because it will have a profound effect on how the castors will perform in different conditions. For example, cast iron castor wheels in UAE are suitable for gravel while rubber wheels offer more resistance on the same surface.

Let us give you a quick review of the most common types of castor wheels and their performance in different floor/environment conditions.

Cast iron castor wheels: Cast iron is one of the strongest materials used in the manufacturing of castor wheels, and they can handle high temperature with ease. They are best for asphalt, concrete or gravel floorings. However, they are not suitable for tiled, vinyl or carpet floorings.
Nylon castor wheels: Nylon wheels are suitable for concrete and carpeted floors. They tend to slip around very smooth surfaces such as tiles. There is also a much stronger variant of nylon called Glass-filled nylon which can handle a heavier load than ordinary nylon wheels and are suitable only for concrete floorings.
Rubber Castor wheels: Rubber is capable of gripping the floor much more than any other material. Hence, the rubber castor wheels tend to be the perfect choice for smooth surfaces like tiles, vinyl or carpeted surfaces.
Polyurethane castor wheels: Polyurethane has increased chemical resistance when compared with rubber and has the qualities of both rubber and nylon castor wheels. They can be used on almost all surfaces, however, can’t carry as much as load as cast iron.

There are many more varieties of materials used for the manufacture of cast iron, but the ones we mentioned here are used predominantly in both industrial and non-industrial applications.

Maneuverability: Rigid or Swivel

Another factor that you need to take into account is whether you need the castor wheels to swivel or stay in a fixed position.

Rigid swivel castor wheels do not rotate at all and stay in a fixed position. They are also not adjustable, but they are made rigid for a reason. When moving heavy loads, equipment with swivel castor wheels needs more force to get it moving as extra force is needed to point all the wheels in the same direction. With rigid wheels, heavy loads can be easily moved from one place to another at the cost of maneuverability.

Swivel wheels give the users 360 degrees of movement freedom when moving the equipment around. However, the higher the load, higher will be the actuation force.

Wrapping up…

There are many more factors that you need to keep in mind while choosing a castor but these quick tips will lead you in the right direction. If you are in search of the perfect castor wheelset, then Al-Humaidi Group give you provide you with expert advice as well as high-quality products. Visit the website to know more!