The Revolution Blog

Rail-Guided Casters Keep Robots in Line

Friday, Aug 28, 2015

Robots may have built your car, but Hamilton’s custom rail-guided casters helped them do so.

It began as a routine order: rigid casters with double-flanged track wheels to move an assembly system. But when our engineers saw the schematics, they offered up a better solution that would save the automaker money long term.

“Double-flanged wheels work great for most track applications. But this wasn’t a normal job,” said Jeff Spektor, Hamilton’s lead engineer. “The conveyer required a caster with wheels that wouldn’t slide from side to side.”

That’s why Hamilton designed and built a custom caster, which features a steel wheel and innovative guide bearings to keep it centered on rails.

Its street-sweeper-like design eliminates wheel wear, rolls more easily, and precludes the manufacturer from having to replace flanged wheels every few months.

“They save money on maintenance and repairs, but most importantly, they don’t have to shut down the assembly line to replace casters,” said Spektor.

Learn more about our custom capabilities.

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