Industrial default bearing. One-piece stamped steel outer raceway with hardened balls pressed into the wheel hub. Pre-greased and shielded. 5-7 year service life.
The threaded fastener that retains the wheel on the caster axle. Over-tightening preloads the bearing and shortens service life.
Rectangular bolt-hole spacing on a top plate. Center-to-center measurement. Part-number specific — must match the existing cart bolt pattern for retrofit.
Permanent indentation in a bearing raceway from a shock or impact load that exceeds the elastic limit. Causes rough rotation and shortened bearing life.
Highest-capacity wheel material. 1,500-16,000 lb per caster. Operating temperature 500°F continuous. Destroys finished floors. Required for ovens, foundries, forge shops.
A wheel assembly mounted to equipment to enable rolling movement. Comprises wheel, axle, fork (yoke), and mount (plate or stem).
Automated washdown cycle in food processing equipment. Runs 140-180°F with caustic and acid chemistries. Destroys non-sealed bearings within months.
Overall caster height when fully loaded. Casters compress 1/8 to 1/2 inch under rated load. Critical for dock door clearance and conveyor handoff.
Acetal resin polymer bearing. Self-lubricating, no maintenance, washdown safe. Temperature ceiling 180°F. Capacity tops out around 600 lb per caster.
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement specialty metals clause. Requires US-melt forged steel and bearing steel on defense procurement.
Rubber and polyurethane hardness scale. Shore A typical range 70A-95A. 85A is the general-purpose default. Softer = better floor protection. Harder = higher capacity and easier roll.
How often a caster is in motion. Light: under 1,000 cycles per day. Heavy: over 1,000. Continuous: AGV/AMR. Drives bearing selection.
Maximum load the caster can support while rolling at walking speed (3 mph). Typically 60-80% of static rating. The number to spec to for any moving cart.
Stem mount with a tapered rubber sleeve that compresses inside a cart tube as the central bolt is tightened. Used for tube-frame retrofits.
How a component fails: kingpin shear, bearing brinelling, wheel flat-spot, axle bend, raceway separation. Defines whether the caster needs replacement or service.
Aerospace term for any loose object that could damage an engine or airframe. Casters must be FOD-safe: sealed bearings, locked fasteners, non-shedding wheels.
Highest shock-resistance wheel material. 5,000-16,000 lb per caster. Operating temp 800°F+. Used for aerospace tooling, dies, and forge applications.
Smooth stem with a spring-loaded retaining ring that snaps into a corresponding groove in the receptacle. Push-and-click install. Light-duty only (75-500 lb).
NSF-certified grease for incidental food contact. Required for sealed bearings on casters in food contact zones.
Top-plate mount with a through-hole instead of a protruding bolt. Mounts with a single bolt passing through the hole into the cart frame. Low-profile.
Momentary load spike from dock plate transitions, expansion joints, or equipment handoffs. Typically 3-5x the static rating. Standard ball bearings brinell under impact.
The central bolt or rivet that holds the swivel assembly together on a conventional swivel caster. Common failure point under heavy duty shock loads.
Swivel construction that eliminates the central kingpin bolt. Integral upper and lower raceway captures the swivel bearings between two hardened rings. Required for heavy industrial duty above 2,500 lb per caster.
The maximum load a caster is rated to support. Listed as static (stationary) and dynamic (rolling) in catalog data. Always spec to dynamic for moving carts.
Shipboard shock requirement standard. Required for submarine and surface combatant applications. Adds 8-12 weeks to lead time for testing.
Rubber bonded to a metal core (steel or aluminum). Higher capacity than solid rubber, resists flat-spotting better than soft natural rubber.
Flat rectangular steel plate on the top of a caster, with 4 bolt holes. Bolted directly to a flat cart surface. The industrial standard mount for any application above 1,200 lb.
Food equipment materials standard. Wheel materials and frame components in food contact zones must be NSF/ANSI 51 listed.
Floor-to-mounting-plate height of the caster, measured under rated load. Critical for dock door clearance and tilt-cart geometry.
Compressed laminate with phenolic resin. Budget heavy-duty wheel material. Capacity 800-2,500 lb. Operating temperature to 250°F continuous. Cracks under impact, marks all floors.
Smooth steel sleeve riding directly on the axle. No rolling elements. Cheapest bearing. Highest friction. Used only for light institutional carts with low push-cycle counts.
Industrial default wheel material. Non-marking, chemical resistant, 200-2,000 lb capacity. Available 85A through 95A durometer. Common cores: aluminum, cast iron, polyolefin.
Ball bearing with full contact seals on both sides, factory-greased for life. 10+ year service life. Required for AGV, AMR, clean room, food processing.
Force required to keep a loaded caster rolling at constant speed. Driven by wheel diameter, wheel material, bearing type, floor condition. Drives push-force ergonomics.
Hardened steel cylindrical rollers in a cage, riding inside a split-sleeve outer race. Distributes load across a larger surface than ball bearings. Capacity 1,500-5,000 lb per caster.
Multiplier applied to calculated load to account for real-world variables. Industrial default 1.5x. Use 2-3x for uneven floors, dock plates, or impact-prone applications.
Bearing with full contact seals to prevent contamination ingress and grease loss. Required for washdown, clean room, AGV, and any continuous-duty application.
Re-lube schedule for serviceable bearings. Annual for ball under heavy use. Quarterly for roller and tapered roller under continuous duty. Sealed bearings have no re-lube schedule.
Momentary high load from impact. 3-5x static rating typical. Brinells standard bearings, shears kingpins. Drives selection of kingpinless construction and roller bearings.
Forces parallel to the axle, generated when the caster turns under load. Standard bearings handle limited side load. Tapered roller bearings handle continuous thrust.
Maximum vertical load the caster supports without rolling. Catalog rating. Always the highest number. Use only for stationary equipment.
Caster with a threaded or grip-ring stem instead of a top plate. Faster to install. Capacity limited by stem strength, typically tops out around 1,200 lb per caster.
The bearing assembly that allows the caster fork to rotate around a vertical axis. Different from the wheel bearing. Lives between the top plate and the fork.
A caster designed to rotate freely around a vertical axis, enabling directional changes. Most industrial carts use 2 swivel + 2 rigid in a 4-caster setup.
Mechanism that converts a swivel caster to rigid behavior for straight-line tracking. Useful for tow lines and long-run material handling.
Tapered rollers running on conical races. Handles both radial and thrust loads. Required for tow lines, dock plate transitions, and any caster that turns under load. Capacity 2,500-8,000 lb.
Synthetic rubber compound. Non-marking, FDA-acceptable, quiet, doesn't flat-spot. Standard for medical, food service, lab carts. Capacity 75-900 lb per caster.
Threads per inch on a threaded stem caster. UNC (coarse): 3/8-16, 1/2-13. UNF (fine): 3/8-24, 1/2-20. Must match the receptacle exactly.
The flat rectangular steel plate that bolts the caster to a cart's mounting surface. See Mounting Plate.
Brake mechanism that locks BOTH wheel rotation and swivel motion. Used for full immobilization on uneven surfaces, slopes, or when staff lean on equipment.
Continuous-duty cart application where carts are pulled by an overhead or floor chain. Side loading during turns plus continuous duty cycle. Requires tapered roller bearings and kingpinless construction.
Steel wheel with a V-shaped groove that rides on a V-rail. Used for tracked production lines, fixed-path tooling, foundry pour lines, automotive body-in-white fixtures.
Distance across the wheel through its center. Drives push force, obstacle clearance, and impact tolerance. Each 1-inch increase reduces push force 10-15 percent.
The material the wheel is made of: polyurethane, rubber, nylon, phenolic, cast iron, forged steel, TPR, Delrin. Drives capacity, floor protection, chemical resistance, temperature range.
The U-shaped fork that holds the wheel and axle in the caster assembly. Connects to the top plate via the swivel bearing. Also called the fork.
Cost-effective corrosion-resistant finish on steel caster frames. Acceptable for dry-zone industrial applications. Use stainless steel instead for washdown, food, or chemical exposure.
If you need clarification on a spec term, callout, or industry standard, our engineering team responds within 4 business hours.
