When shopping for casters, you may encounter rigid casters. They are used in a variety of applications, including material handling, manufacturing, furniture and everyday mobility.
Like all casters, rigid casters consist of an undriven wheel in a mountable frame. You can install them on the bottom of objects, after which you can roll the objects by pushing or pulling them. Here’s everything you need to know about rigid casters.
What Are Rigid Casters?
Rigid casters are characterized by their fixed movement. They can roll forward and backward, but they can’t roll to the side. This design makes rigid casters ideal for applications that require straight-line stability.
Rigid casters feature a yoke, which is the mountable frame. The yoke is fixed so that the enclosed wheel can’t turn. You can still move the wheel forward and backward. The yoke, however, prevents lateral movement.
You can find rigid casters in a variety of materials, some of which include the following:
- Rubber
- Polyurethane
- Polypropylene
- Phenol
- Nylon
- Cast iron
- Steel
- Aluminum
Rigid vs Swivel Casters
Casters can be classified as rigid or swivel depending on their movement. Rigid casters are restricted to forward and backward movement, whereas swivel casters can rotate in 360 degrees.
Most swivel casters rotate around a pivot point. Known as a kingpin, it allows the wheel to turn in all directions. There’s a ring of ball bearings around the kingpin. These ball bearings promote smooth, 36o-degree movement.
Benefits of Rigid Casters
While swivel casters offer improved mobility, there are still reasons to consider rigid casters. Since they don’t have a kingpin or ball bearings, rigid casters are less likely to break. You don’t have to worry about parts such as the kingpin or ball bearings failing.
Rigid casters typically have a higher load capacity than swivel casters. Some of them can handle 150 pounds (per caster), whereas others can handle 1,000 pounds. Swivel casters feature a more complex design that, among other things, includes ball bearings. As a result, most swivel casters have a lower load capacity than their rigid counterparts.
Another benefit of rigid casters is cost-effectiveness. They typically cost less than swivel casters due to their simple construction. For large-scale projects, such as manufacturing furniture, opting for rigid casters can result in meaningful cost-savings.
Rigid casters are very stable. Unlike swivel casters, they don’t have a kingpin. Instead, they feature a fork-like yoke. While this yoke restricts their directional movement, it improves their overall stability.