samedi 25 janvier 2014

Know Something About Stainless Steel Casters

By Grace Rivas


Stainless steel casters are certain undriven, double, compound, or single wheels meant for mounting at the base of bigger objects also called vehicles. Their primary function is to make the motion of the vehicles they are mounted onto easier. They may be made from other materials like nylon, rubber, aluminium, and plastic apart from stainless steel. Some latest models combine various materials.

These products have a variety of uses in different settings. Some the settings in which they are applied include office chairs, material handling equipment, shopping carts, and theater and hospital equipment among many others. The high capacity, heavy duty models are used in industrial environments for a number of uses such as assemblies, platform trucks, and tow lines in firms. It is general knowledge that they work well on smooth and flat surfaces.

Stainless steel casters appear in a variety of makes including braking and locking, swivel, and rigid wheels. A caster may be mounted in a manner as to roll on a straight path. In such a case, they are mounted on a stationary point whose direction does not change. Some models are fixed onto a pivot so that they change direction automatically to align themselves in the direction of movement.

Rigid models consist of wheels that are fixed onto motionless forks. Orientation of the forks is established at the time when the caster is being installed on the vehicle. Usually the orientation of forks is relative to the objects they are fixed on. This commodity tends to confine vehicle travel so that it moves on straight paths only. The wheels usually resist any changes in direction of motion and may require some force for that to happen.

A swivel caster is similar to a rigid caster in all ways with a simple modification added to the joint over the fork. The additional swivel joint allows the fork to revolve freely through 360 degrees. This allows the wheel to roll in all directions hence making it easier to move the body in all for directions without altering its orientation.

Some casters incorporate braking mechanisms to prevent wheels from turning and/or moving. Braking mechanisms are made using levers which push against brake cams. Brake cams in turn push against the wheels hence stopping them from revolving. Modern makes come with braking mechanisms that stop all the wheels from rotating at once as contrasted with old ones where one had to move around them locking every brake mechanism separately.

Flutter is a key drawback on any caster. Flutter is the rapid side to side swinging movement of a single wheel during motion. This condition happens at certain speeds relying on the amount of mass the wheels are supporting and the length from the steering axes to the wheel axles.

Distance between steering wheel and wheel axle is referred to as trailing velocity and increasing the distance may remove flutter at moderate speeds. Stainless steel casters can be bought from any store around the world. Spoilt wheels can be replaced with new ones or can be repaired.




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