There are three words you never want to hear when a piece of equipment is down: “It almost fits.”
That was the problem facing one of Hamilton’s distribution partners, which supplies replacement casters for a customer’s gantries around the country as part of its MRO program. These five-ton aluminum portable cranes are built to lift and position serious loads, so the heavy-duty casters underneath them have serious work to do, too.
The caster used on this particular model, however, was becoming a headache. Lead times were stretching, costs were climbing and replacement components weren’t available. If one part failed, the customer had to buy an entire caster. So, the distributor came to Hamilton looking for a better option: comparable or better performance, faster availability, lower cost and components that could be purchased separately.
Hamilton’s standard S-72166-PR-DCB came tantalizingly close.
The catch was the mounting plate. Our standard caster used an Extra Heavy Duty top plate, while the existing gantry required our Champion Series mounting dimensions. The overall height and several other measurements also had to match the equipment already in the field.
So, Hamilton Engineering developed the XC0681 specifically for the application. The new caster gave the customer the exact fit it needed, plus a custom RAL paint color to match its equipment. According to our distribution partner, it also reduced the customer’s cost by roughly 40 percent and cut lead time by more than half. The distributor can now stock complete replacement casters as well as individual components for repairs.
But the story doesn’t end there. The real world handed our engineering team one more assignment when one of the early casters was towed while its brake was still engaged. The brake held so firmly that the towing force bent part of the assembly.
That’s what makes the XC0681 worth a closer look. It began as a very specific fit problem. Hamilton engineered the right solution, then improved it again when field use revealed an opportunity to make it stronger.
Because around here, going the extra mile is rarely out of the way.
XC0681 Special Swivel 7200 Caster with Custom Mounting Plate
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Custom Brake Pad Size:
16.375” x 3.4375”
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Weight:
97.3 lbs.
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Load Capacity:
2300 lbs.
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Bearing Type:
1” Tapered Cup Bearing and 1” Tapered Cone Bearing
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Wheel Type:
16” x 4” Pneumatic Tires
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T-Handle Swivel Lock Assembly
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Four-Position Swivel Lock (4sl) and Contact Brake