Swivel pneumatic caster with PP hub, mounted with top plate

Pneumatic caster in a swivel bracket with PP hub

This is a swivel caster with an air-filled tire and a hub in PP, built to roll softly over ground that is not smooth. The tire is a pneumatic rubber with a hardness of 65 degrees Shore A, and the air cushion itself lets the wheel give way when it meets gravel, cracks and small obstacles. It absorbs shocks before they reach the goods and the driver, which is the whole point of a pneumatic wheel.

Since the air carries a large part of the load the running becomes strikingly soft, but that also affects how the wheel rolls. An air-filled tire has higher rolling resistance than a solid wheel in hard plastic, so a little more force is needed to get moving and hold speed. In return you get a compliance no stiff wheel comes close to; the tire lays itself around whatever you roll over instead of bouncing. Compared with a solid rubber wheel the air-filled tire takes up shocks considerably better and is gentler on both goods and floor, while the stiffer option rolls more easily and is free of air pressure checks.

The PP hub is light and corrosion-free, which keeps the total weight down on a wheel that is fairly large. Inside the hub sits a roller bearing that handles high radial load and gives stable running straight ahead. The series carries up to 150 kg per wheel, which is plenty for manually pulled carts and hand carts where comfort weighs heavier than the maximum load.

The wheels come in diameters from 200 to 260 mm. A larger diameter rolls more easily over thresholds and bumps and lowers the rolling resistance further, while a smaller one keeps the overall height down. The wheel is mounted as a swivel caster with a top plate and four screw holes, so it swivels freely 360 degrees and makes the cart easy to maneuver in tight spaces. It comes with a total lock brake that locks both wheel and swivel, so the rig stands still while you load it or work at it.

Where does it fit? Pneumatic casters with a PP hub often sit under transport carts, parcel carts and equipment that is rolled between indoors and outdoors. The springy running makes them a good choice on asphalt, packed gravel, yards and in premises with uneven floors or high thresholds. They are used in warehouses, on loading docks, in garden settings and for lighter material handling where the ground changes.

Think about the operating environment. An air-filled tire needs its pressure kept at the right level; an underinflated tire rolls heavily and wears unevenly, and can puncture in the worst case. Check the pressure at regular intervals, especially if the wheel has stood unused for a longer period. Pneumatic rubber is happy at normal temperatures and handles wet conditions, but sharp objects are the tire's weak point.

Are you unsure whether a pneumatic wheel suits your cart, or whether a solid wheel would be better for your environment? Get in touch and we will go through the surface and the load together.