Hard to lift small parts?

An excellent take on the pallet jack, who knew that there could be a new application for one...

Caster Mounting - Part 2 - Threaded Stems

A threaded stem is quite simple, it's a round piece of metal with a cut thread, as the name implies. The threaded stem is more broadly used, yet less common than the grip ring stem; because threaded stems come in nearly any size, metric or standard, small to large diameter, fine or coarse thread, the options are many. Threaded stems are available standard on institutional and furniture casters, and through special order on industrial casters.

A threaded stem provides a more secure mounting than any other stem mount. Where grip ring and grip neck stems can become loose over time, the threaded stem, short of the stem shearing, will remain in place. A fair comparison between grip and threaded stems is nails to screws.

In order for a threaded stem caster to be attached to equipment, the equipment must have a tapped bore to accept the stem. For the most part adding the tapped bore is part of manufacturing the equipment. However, certain materials, by nature, don't accept a thread very well. In these instances certain adapters are available. Pictured to the right is an adapter for wood, it is installed by drilling a hole to the appropriate outside diameter of the adapter, then the adapter is hammered into place, secured by the webbing off the flange.

Threaded stems, as stated above, are available in nearly any size.  Standard size threaded stems are generally 1/4" to 1/2" coarse.  However, stems as large as 1" in diameter are readily available, although they are special order and can have a slightly longer lead time. 

Noting the disadvantages, installation time is increased as compared to grip style stems. Further, manufacturing time of the equipment may be increased due to the bore and tap requirements.

In summary, the threaded stem provides a near universal method of caster mounting.  The increased manufacturing costs can be a problem, but the secure mounting may offset this.  If you have questions about your application, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Caster Mounting - Part 1 - Grip Ring Stems

The grip ring stem is quite possibly the most common caster stem in use. Used predominately on consumer and commercial office and shop equipment, this stem provides rapid installation and quick change. Grip ring stems are typically available on furniture and institutional casters.

The stem works by utilizing a piece of round steel with a channel machined in the top portion. The machined channel is then fitted with a locking ring, either brass or steel. This ring is slightly larger than the stem itself. The mounting sockets are made to match the stem, with a recessed race in the top portion of the socket, so as to accept the locking ring from the stem. When inserted the locking ring expands into the recessed race, locking the stem into position. The mechanism provides positive retention, without impeding removal should it be required.

Grip ring stems are most commonly used on molded plastic components, wherein the socket can be made an integral part of the equipment. This reduces overall cost and makes for faster manufacturing.

These stems can also be used in equipment made of round or square hollow tube. Pre-sized sockets are available for common mill sizes. Socket inserts are quite inexpensive and provide an easy and simple way to make equipment mobile that otherwise would not be.

There are some noted disadvantages of using a grip ring stem caster. Capacity being the first. Generally speaking, 200-lbs is about the limit of a grip ring stem. This is in part due to the nature of the casters it is sold with, and that it is a narrow distribution of the load. The load being focused on the kingpin entirely. Secondly, over time, it is possible for grip ring stem casters to come loose. So these are not generally indicated for abusive or rough applications.

All in all, the grip ring stem provides a great solution for many mobility applications. Its rapid installation and change-out, high availability, and the variety of casters fitted with grip ring stems, make it a tempting choice for designing a mobile product.

If you have questions regarding your mounting options, please contact us.

So many ways to mount a caster

There are many different ways to mount a caster to a piece of equipment, generally there are six industry standard methods, pictured below. In the coming week we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each and why it should be used on equipment. The posts are directed at design minded people, but could prove an interesting read regardless. If you need help deciding, please don't hesitate to contact us.

From left to right: Top Plate, Grip Ring, Expanding Adapter, Grip Neck (Wood) Stem, Threaded Stem, and Plain (Round) Stem

Now spin....

In most situations, standard casters, like our institutional, industrial and kingpinless line provide adequate maneuverability. But, when hitting your mark is more important than anything else, super maneuverable casters are required.

A tri-swivel caster, with a trade name of StageMaster, by Darnell-Rose, is a perfect solution for rolling equipment around a live stage.  They work by utilizing multiple swivel sections.  Pictured to the right is a custom application using our 75 Series swivel section, welded to a custom plate.  The wheels are Swivel-Eaz by Aubin.  This provides the ultimate in mobility in the smallest possible space. Low-profile and high capacity, these quiet casters allow for props and scenes to be placed with precision, in a hurry.  Because, as we all know, "The show must go on!"

We are able to custom fabricate nearly any size or capacity tri-swivel caster, fitting nearly any equipment.  Contact us for more information.

Rolling right along

For as much importance that is stressed on the choice of wheel materials, sometimes, bearing selection doesn't get a fair shake. The right bearing can be the difference between a successful solution, and a problem in the making. When selecting a caster, consider the following when selecting the bearing for the application:

• How much does the cart and load, combined, weigh?
• For lighter applications, you can use Delrin, Roller, or Plain bearings
• For heavier applications, use Roller or Precision Ball Bearings.
• In what manner will the equipment be moved?
• If it's a push pull application, consider Delrin, Roller or Precision Ball Bearing
• If it will be towed all the time, use a Tapered Bearing.
• If it's a combination of the two, use a Precision Ball Bearing.
• Will it be exposed to considerable amounts of moisture, like a wash-down application?
• If so, use a Delrin or Stainless Steel Precision Ball Bearing.
• If not, any bearing will do.

Take a look at these questions, by answering them, you should be able to get a good idea of what kind of bearing you're application requires. Beyond these, consider any ergonomic or environmental requirements.

If you need some more information, please contact us for help!

Shopping Cart Safety

Good work Target!   This must be why prices went up...

Pallet Rack Safety

A question came in to the office from one of our remote salesmen that peaked some interest. His customer had asked about damaged pallet rack. They are looking at reconfiguring their current warehouse space and during this time it will be easy to replace the damaged uprights. The client had requested information relating the amount of damage to a correlating reduction in capacity.

This created a bit of a problem on our end. The information he was seeking doesn't really exist. As an example, a pallet rack upright can be damaged in a multitude of ways, and each way would affect capacity with differing magnitude. An impacted crease to an upright is different than torsion damage, for example. So, we went digging for a response.

We decided that the best course of action would be to reference the Rack Manufacturers Institute, part of the MHIA (Material Handling Industry of America). There are three really excellent points of reference in their FAQ's.

1. What should I do if a rack upright column or other component is damaged?

The RMI Specification states, “Upon any visible damage, the pertinent portions of the rack shall be unloaded immediately by the user and the damaged portion shall be adequately repaired or replaced.” If the damage were to re-occur, the application of the racks should be reviewed to see if modifications could be made to lessen the severity or the frequency of the damage. Forklift driver training is essential.

2. What is an acceptable repair of a damaged rack component?

The detail used to make an acceptable repair should be designed or reviewed by a qualified design engineer and installed by people who are qualified to make the repair. The rack repair should be reviewed for compliance to the ANSI/RMI MH 16.1 Specification. A good repair will result in a structural member or connection that is at least as strong as the original.

When welding is prescribed, the welders must be certified for the types of welded joint required.

3. How far out-of-plumb can my rack be before I need to repair it?

The ANSI/RMI Specification shows the maximum out-of-plumb ratio for a loaded rack column as 1/2” per 10 feet of height. Columns whose out-of-plumb ratio exceeds this limit must be unloaded and re-plumbed. Any damaged parts must be repaired or replaced. This ratio could be used for straightness also. In other words, the out-of-straightness limit between any two points on a column should not exceed 0.05” per foot of length (1/2” per 10 feet).

An out-of-plumb or out-of-straight condition will reduce the capacity of a rack column. The reduction can be significant. A rack that is out-of-plumb from top to bottom or a rack column that is not straight is likely to become further out-of-plumb or out-of-straight when it is loaded.

The out-of-straight limit is given to prevent excessive “bows” or “dogleg” conditions that may exist in a rack column. A column could be plumb from top to bottom but have an unacceptable bow at mid-height (see figure (a)), or a 20 ft. high column could be out 1” from top to bottom, which could be acceptable using a simple top-to-bottom out-of-plumb measurement, but the entire out-of-plumb could be between the floor and the 5 ft. level (see figure (b)). This dogleg condition would be very harmful. This condition could be caused by fork truck impact. The column could have a sine wave shape and be out of straight as shown in figure(c). A column could also become bent and exceed this limit (see figure (d)). As re-written the specification now prevents these situations from being acceptable if they exceed the 0.05" per foot out of straight limit.

This information is valuable. Damaged pallet racks are dangerous and the affected area should be unloaded immediately upon discovery. Our most common advice to our customers regarding repairing or replacing a damaged upright is typically to replace the upright. It's cost prohibitive to repair an upright and keep in line with the ANSI RMI specifications.

If you have questions regarding your pallet rack, don't hesitate to contact us.

All locked up

Standard caster brakes, like face and cam styles, work pretty well for many situations. They hold the cart in place, but if it gets nudged it may move, as the swivel section of the caster is still free to roam.  For lighter duty applications, enter the 34 Series. 

The 34 Series Institutional Casters feature the same top plate, wheels and overall heights as the 32 Series, however the swivel models are available with a Total Lock Brake.   A Total Lock Brake, as the name suggests, completely stops a swivel caster from moving in any direction.  They work by integrating a face brake and a swivel lock.  On our 34 Series a forked piece of metal is pushed up against the swivel section, which is notched to accept it.  When engaged, the swivel section is prevented from moving, and the wheel, because of the face brake, is arrested. 

Take a look at the selection available on our site. 

Case Study: Modular Rollback Rack

Storage space is always at a premium for manufacturers. Premium Building Products, a leading manufacturer of PVC fencing systems, needed more storage space for raw materials. Having decided to add capacity to their manufacturing processes, Premium Building Products (PBP) searched for a way to more effectively store the additional materials required in their existing facility.

The traditional methods were ruled out:

• Standard pallet rack required too much aisle space for forklifts.
• Drive-in rack could not handle the variety of pallet sizes.
• Conventional flow-through or push back rack could not accommodate the different pallet sizes

Faced with a costly expansion of their building, PBP contacted Conveyer & Caster—Equipment For Industry for help. The engineers at CC-EFI reviewed all of the raw materials, pallet configurations, capacities and plant configuration. Read more...

Plain for me, Thanks!

We're probably guilty of this... but, a lot of advertising and marketing effort is spent promoting new and hyped up casters.  Whether it be a new bearing, rig, or wheel, they certainly generate a lot of buzz, but for most people, they just don't fit.   Remember, for many applications in the medium duty range, our standard 44 series casters work just great!  Made of quality steel, iron, plastics and polyurethanes, they are an excellent value at a great price! 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Towing the line

Tugger and trailer operations are incredibly efficient.  They allow a facility to reduce their requirements for forklifts, reduce cross aisle traffic, protect pallet rack and add a level of safety.  We like the idea, so much so, that a few years ago we wrote a white paper on this very subject.  However, towed trailers move at much higher speeds, typically under heavier loads, than a cart that is hand pushed. 

The capacity requirement is easily met by increasing the diameter of the wheel, sometimes the tread width too.  But, that's simple enough.  The real tricky part is that higher speed.  The average person walks at about 2 to 3 miles per hour, and that's a pretty good pace.  A tugger can easily do 7 miles per hour.  This creates a whole new set of problems for the caster. Typically, we recommend using a heavy duty rig, kingpinless or otherwise, in our 60, 65, 75, or 76 series.  The wheels should be slightly resilient, thus providing some grip against the floor.   Most important, the right bearing needs to be used.  Roller bearings will fail at 7 miles per hour, without even really trying.  The preferred bearing is a tapered roller bearing, sometimes referred to as a thrust bearing.

Tapered bearings come with their own problems, though.  They are hard to push and pull, requiring a large amount of force to start the cart rolling.  If carts are to be moved by tugger and by employees, you can use a precision ball bearing in the towing operation. 

The best thing to do is call on the experts at Conveyer & Caster - Equipment for Industry. Our staff is well versed in the complexities and solutions for towing applications.  Let us know how we can help.

Add some chrome to your office

Chrome makes everything better, be it a car, the internet, a boat, a plane, a shirt, the list is seemingly endless.  Chrome really is the best thing since individually wrapped cheese slices or, perhaps, breakfast sausage wrapped in a blueberry pancake on a stick.  Your office needs it too!

Our 18 Series Furniture Casters truly capture the beauty that is chrome.  Two wheel choices exist, a black neoprene that offsets the chrome's brilliance or a patented material known as Vipor.  The Vipor wheel can best be described as roller blade wheel meets office chair.  Take a look.

Office Chair Figure Skating

Olympic quality office chair figure skating. The only thing that could have made it better would be using the 18 series casters with Vipor Wheels.

Keep it on the level

Modern production and automation equipment needs to be kept nearly perfectly level to operate in good order. Failure to keep the machine level can result in undesired results, including failure and damage.

The BSW series of carbon steel level mounts provides precise leveling at a budget price. Capacities range up to 20,000 lbs per mount, there is almost no limit to how much these can hold.

When you need help with a leveling application, don't hesitate to call on us!

Don't Throw Out that Old Dresser

This morning, on the Dallas Examiner's website, Cindi Hinton posted a great article! Old dressers, that may be headed for the trash, have a chance to be re purposed, even upcycled, as great slide-away storage bins.

Hinton Writes:

Have an old broken dresser that has seen its better days and headed for the trash? Well think again! Take out the drawers, put casters on the bottom, and put a nice drawer pull on front. Now you have a new easy to use storage area for under the kid’s beds or other numerous places around the house. Use to store toys, crafts or just about anything. You can even paint or decorate any way you wish.

Using small furniture casters, most likely with top plates, would be an easy an inexpensive way to take on this project. Consider the 12 or 14 series, they perform well over carpet, are very durable, and are a great value

Time to Fix Things Up

On DC Velocity's website, an interesting article catches the eye, titled: "If it ain't broke, should you fix it anyways?"

The article posits an interesting question, when is the best time to make operational upgrades? It's a tough answer for most people, as it should be. Upgrades cause problems before benefits are reaped. Often they are disruptive, painful, and downright annoying. But, during these slow times, the interruption may not be as bad.

Not to sound plain, but selling less means producing less. When put in these terms, the option to upgrade, replace or overhaul equipment seems a little bit more enticing. Each business is unique, every situation is different. But, if you've been considering upgrading or overhauling, now may be the time to take a look around.

Ease your burden

Injuries to workers are costly, time consuming and painful for the worker and the company. An easy way to help avoid those injuries is to use a caster that's designed for push-pull applications.

Many wheels can work well for this application, but the new new PMB wheel in a 71 series rig is absolutely perfectly suited. The wheel, a donut shape polyurethane on aluminum wheel with a precision ball bearing, provides single point of contact on the floor and in the bearing. This intern leads to reduced start and push forces. The kingpinless rig turns smoothly under load and without load.

Available in 5, 6, and 8 inch sizes, these casters are perfect for nearly any application. The rest of our 71 series lineup provides a wide array of wheel options, from phenolic to polyurethane, plastic to forged steel.

A different thought for used pallets

Pallets, the ubiquitous shipping tool, used every day by nearly every company. When they have hit the end of their life, wooden pallets normally end up in a burn pile, the garbage dump, or stacked up behind a building.

This article from GreenUpgrader shows Nina Tolstrup of Studiomama in London has given recycling pallets a new face. Upcycling, as it's known, means that a product, normally considered waste, is used to create new goods.

Her products include chairs, stools and lamps.

There are instructions on here website for how to make some of the pieces.

A simple way to extend the life of all of your equipment is to make sure the casters are in good condition. A bad caster can make a perfectly good cart seem useless.

Slide on over

From time to time, a truly unique design comes about in the world of casters and wheels. Normally, new designs focus on bearings, tread, brakes, etc. However, once in a great while, not to sound punny, someone really does reinvent the wheel.

Rotacaster, Ltd., of Newcastle, NSW, Australia, has done just that. The Rotacaster is an "omnidirectional" wheel. No swivel rigs are needed, the wheel, in a rigid mounting can go in any direction. Each wheel is covered with directional rollers, allowing the wheel to move from side to side. The design solves many problems, including failure of swivel sections, ergonomic issues, and tight turning situations.

The wheels can be used for so much more than just casters. Applications include hand trucks, appliance dollies, conveyors, furniture dollies, and much more.

Contact us to learn more.

Networking

Sitting in our Monday morning meeting, I heard a theme run through the reports from the staff. It was that networks pay off, whether professional, social or otherwise, the previous relationships you have add to your success.

An interesting article from Pew Research shows that usage of social networking sites such as facebook and linkedin, are surprisingly used more by adults than teens or children. This contradicts the common perspective that it's just for the kids.

During these tough times, it's necessary to maintain your networks. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin allow you to manage your social and professional networks, to maintain those relationships pretty easily, and in the unfortunate circumstance that you become less than employed, you can call on your friends for help.

We're on Twitter

Follow us on twitter @ccefi for up to date industry information.

Welcome to the Team!

We'd like to welcome Michael, our newest product and design engineer to the Conveyer & Caster - Equipment for Industry family. His new and abstract influence will surely help us in providing the most innovative and revolutionary casters.

His training is from the University of Cleveland School of Design. Here he learned that there are no wrong ways to design. His innovations have earned many awards and distinctions.

Michael, welcome to the family!

Picture courtesy of failblog.org

That Polished Look

The Chrome Hospital (CH) series casters feature a nice polished chrome finish. They really are the perfect answer to a cleaner look on a cart. They are compatible with the 32 series for plates and the 21 series for stem casters.

Available in sizes from 3" to 6" and total capacity up to 240 lbs. Wheel choices are polyurethane tread or thermoplastic rubber tread, all with precision ball bearings. These make a perfect fit for most light to medium duty applications.

Take a look here to see more.

Some neat thoughts on selling

Sales, the veritable life spring from which all business flows, isn't so easy right now. A stagnant economy, fearful buyers, and tight pockets have all sent chills down the spines of salespeople.

The only way to get out of a slow spot is to sell your way out. Dave Kahle has some really great suggestions.

A thorn in the lion's paw

The other day, I heard one of our inside salesmen on the phone with a customer. Apparently the customer was commenting on how often their cast iron wheels would seemingly "lock-up". The salesman handled the call correctly, and here's how:

Cast Iron wheels are very hard, as that's the nature of cast iron. This presents a problem, however, as the wheels are susceptible to being stopped by floor debris. Since the wheel is hard and the floor, assuming it's concrete, is hard as well, neither will give. Thus the object, say a small nut, is stuck between the floor and the wheel. The wheel will no longer spin freely and the cart becomes hard to push, due to the increased friction. If the obstructing object is big enough, and the speed fast enough, the wheel can even crack.

So, how do you get around it? Well, assuming that your floors often have obstructions strewn about, there are some pretty simple solutions. Using a polyurethane or rubber treaded wheel will help alleviate this problem. Poly and rubber will give to the obstruction, allowing the wheel to keep on turning. The other option, if capacity is the largest concern, is going to Vulkollan, a special polyurethane designed for heavy and abusive loads.

It helps to keep this in mind, hard floors want soft wheels and soft floors want hard wheels.

Check out the caster selection at our website.

Shameless Plug

QC Industries is the kind of company that you want to do business with. Recently, they mentioned us in their blog, for our content and news release regarding their Automation Series Conveyors.

QC Industries is a leading manufacturer of low-profile conveyors. Their service and support are second to none. Responding creatively to industry driven concerns, they will continue to grow, despite the current economy.

It just doesn't fit

Furniture, Medical and Institutional casters are available with a wide variety of mounts. Looking through our files, it seems that the biggest reason for returns and exchanges of furniture casters is an incorrect stem. It makes sense, they aren't the easiest thing in the world to measure. To start, there are three common kinds of stems: Grip Ring, Threaded, and Grip Neck.

Grip Ring stems are common in 3/8" and 7/16" diameters. This is critical, ordering the wrong diameter will positively ensure that the caster will not properly fit. The most accurate way to measure is to use a set of calipers, but most don't have them just lying about. So, here are a couple of quick ways to do it.

• Use a wrench, a 7/16" to be exact. If its loose, it's 3/8", if it's tight, then 7/16"


• Use a piece of paper. Measure the circumference by wrapping a thin strip of paper around the stem, marking where the start meets the paper again. If it's roughly 1-1/8" then its a 3/8" stem. Or if it's roughly 1-3/8" it's a 7/16" stem.

Threaded stems come in a more wide array of sizes; from 1/4" to 1/2". The same techniques can be used to identify the diameter. Or, if you have extra bolts lying about, a visual comparison, end to end, will work just fine as well.

Grip neck stems are by far the easiest for us. There exists only one standard size: 5/16" dia x 1-1/2" long.

To find out more about furniture casters, click here. Or for institutional casters, click here.

And just what is Phenolic anyways?

We hear this a lot. It's an odd material, looks like plastic, has the strength of cast iron and the absorbency of a nice cotton towel.

You read that right, a cotton towel. A phenolic wheel, or phenolic anything for that matter, is made pretty simply: take shredded denim, add phenolic resin, press and cure. This creates a few problems, most notably the cotton towel thing. Cotton is hydrophyllic, meaning, in a literal sense, it loves water. Phenolic is hard and brittle, just like cast iron. So when the wheel rolls across the ground, it cracks a little bit. Expose it to moisture and it will suck up water through the cracks.

This is especially problematic for operations where hygienic conditions are a must, like food production. Phenolic wheels, when they absorb the water, also absorb all the floating microbes. The cotton on the inside becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. So now, as the wheel passes across an unprotected floor, the bacteria come back out, and thus contamination.

So, the question is, how do you get around phenolic? It's cheap, it's relatively durable, and carries a heavy load. There is no easy answer.

We still sell a lot of phenolic wheels, but the numbers are fading away. Materials like Nylon and Polypropylene can carry almost as big of a load and do not have the problems with moisture. In heavier duty applications, more focus has been given to longevity than to acquisition cost, so polyurethane tread wheels (iron or aluminum core) have been slowly replacing them in some applications.

To consider your alternatives, click here for medium duty or click here for heavy duty casters.

Kingpinless? That sounds made up

It is. Well, the word at least, it doesn't appear in Websters. But that's okay.

For the longest time, swivel casters were made of three basic pieces, a yoke, a plate and a kingpin. Between the yoke and the plate is the bearing race, the kingpin holds it all together. It works well enough for most applications. They can be quite heavy duty, but then it starts getting expensive, using tapered bearings or hot forged steel. The kingpin has always proved to be the single greatest point of failure in a caster.

Now, we have "kingpinless". A kingpinless caster, as the name implies, doesn't have a kingpin. It's actually a simpler design, when examined closely. The swivel bearing actually holds the yoke and the plate together. This makes the caster especially strong, as the surface area for thrust loads is increased, exponentially. In the end, they are cheaper to manufacture, take less parts, and break less often. It's a killer combination.

To take a look at some kingpinless casters, click here.

Moving Film

The Great Lakes Science Center recently called on Conveyer & Caster - Equipment for Industry to help find a solution to move their IMAX(r) film. It was an interesting and fun project, tight spaces and public view were just the beginning. Click here to read more.