At Hamilton, we believe in reinventing the wheel. There’s always room for innovation, and our latest custom creation – a three-wheel, kingpinless swivel caster – proves it.
An aerospace manufacturer uses four of them to move a cart full of airplane equipment from the factory floor to an industrial, high-heat autoclave. Each caster is equipped with two removable Nylast wheels on the outside, and a mounted V-grooved forged steel wheel in the middle.
When the rig rolls on the factory floor, the premium cast nylon wheels (9” by 3”) protect the concrete surface without the smaller steel wheel (8” by 4”) touching the ground. Once it reaches the autoclave, it’s time for a switcheroo.
“Nylon would melt inside the 650-degree (F) autoclave, so all eight Nylast wheels have to be removed before the cart enters the vessel,” said Jeff Spektor, Hamilton’s lead engineer. “To minimize downtime, we designed the caster so the outer wheels could be removed without removing the axle.”
Inside the autoclave, the remaining four steel wheels roll on an angled track while the 8,500-pound load undergoes the high-heat treatment.
Modern engineering. Snappy mechanics.
Our new creation drastically improves upon the original we built nearly 20 years ago.
“We made the manufacturer’s first three-wheel casters back in 1996,” said Spektor. “They held up well, but the caster axles had to be removed every time the outer wheels were removed. The whole process took about five minutes.”
Now, it takes about 30 seconds. It’s easy to see why this manufacturer is fired up about its new casters.
Have a tricky application? Lay it on us. Email or call Jim Lippert, vice president of sales, at 1-800-733-7655.