Rigid and Swivel Casters: What’s the Difference?
Caster wheels are used almost everywhere. You can see them on shopping carts, office chairs, in hospitals, trailers and much more. If you are looking for caster wheels, but you don't know how to choose the right ones, you are in the right place. When choosing the right casters, the first thing to think about is if you should decide for rigid or swivel casters. For being able to understand what type of casters you will need for your specific work environment, it is essential to fully understand the difference between rigid and swivel casters, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, which will be explained in this article.
The importance of selecting the right type of casters
Casters are available in various shapes, materials, and sizes. To get the best result from your casters it is important that you choose ones that are right for you. To be able to know, if rigid casters or swivel casters work better for you, it is important to think about your requirements before you choose a specific product.
• How big is your workspace?
• How often do you have to move material?
• Where do you have to move material?
• How much weight do you have to move around?
The different type of caster wheels
wheels are used in nearly every industry such as food and beverage, hospitals, electronics, homes, offices, warehouses and many more. There are many different types of casters, including rigid and swivel casters.
Rigid casters are also known as fixed or stationary casters. A rigid caster is a wheel that is mounted in a set of forks that only permits straight-line movement. These type of casters only roll materials forward and backward in a straight-line path. That means that rigid casters can't be steered. The maneuverability of the cargo with rigid casters is very limited. The benefit of rigid casters compared to swivel casters is that they are built stronger and can handle higher weight capacities. When you use rigid casters you always have to make sure that they line up correctly, otherwise, it can be hard to move your items smoothly.
Swivel casters rotate 360 degrees and respond immediately if you want to change the direction. If you have a small and tight workspace and you need to have great maneuverability, swivel casters are probably the best choice for you. Swivel casters have a swivel yoke and wheel assembly that permit easy movement in any direction. The main difference between rigid casters and swivel casters is that the swivel caster mounting and the top plate of swivel casters are never molded from one piece. They are made out of two separate pieces that can move independently from each other. Swivel casters keep turning even under very heavy loads.
The problem with swivel casters is that they require more effort to get all wheels turned in the right direction before the cart will start rolling. It can also be a challenge to roll it in a straight path, which is why swivel casters shouldn't be used for very long distances.
Why both types of casters can be a good choice
A lot of time work requires both, the ability to roll easy forward and backward and the ability to change the direction smoothly. The solution for such tasks is to combine rigid and swivel casters, to install one type of casters in the front and the other one at the back of the cart or truck. This kind of configuration can also be used for medium to heavy loads.
Examples of carts that have rigid and swivel casters are shopping carts and flatbed carts, which are available to people in all different kinds of shopping centers.
The benefits of rigid casters
The most important benefit of rigid casters is safety since items can only be moved in straight-path lines. Furthermore, it is much easier to control the movement of the cart or truck with rigid casters. Another benefit is that rigid casters are cheaper than swivel casters because of its very simple manufacturing process. Rigid casters won't get damaged easily and if they do, it is very simple to fix them and mostly even cheaper to just replace them. They are a great choice if you need to move items from point A to point B and back.
The benefits of swivel casters
The main benefit of swivel casters is maneuverability. If items need to be moved around a lot to various points within your work environment, swivel casters will be necessary.
The things you should consider when buying swivel casters are that they are more expensive than rigid casters and that they are easier to maneuver than items moved with rigid casters, but they are more difficult to keep in one place. This is also why you should think about investing in swivel casters with brakes. The maintenance of swivel casters can be a little difficult since they have many moving parts compared to rigid casters.
To pick the right caster wheels is important to make sure material can be moved not only fast and easy but safe. Caster wheels are offered in many different sizes, hardness, and material, which makes it hard to choose ones that are right for your needs. CoolYeah Casters offers a great variety of many different wheel casters that are strong, versatile and easy to install. In their selection, you can find casters that are suitable for every kind of environment.
Before choosing caster wheels you should think about all the things mentioned above, such as your workspace, the floor surface, your budget, and the maximum load. CoolYeah casters easily glide across any type of surface and protect hard floors. If you are looking for high-quality casters that don't make a lot of noise and offer great durability, CoolYeah casters are the right choice for you. Furthermore, you enjoy a quality warranty that is valid for one year.
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