Swivel castors

Swivel castor or fixed castor

A swivel castor has a fork that turns, so it follows the trolley in any direction. A fixed castor has a rigid fork and rolls only straight. We make both in Postojna, pressing the forks from sheet steel and zinc plating them without chromium(VI). Wheels come in rubber, elastic rubber, polyurethane, polyamide, polypropylene or cast iron.

Choose by how the trolley moves, not by price. Four swivel castors let a trolley go in any direction, but it wanders on long straight runs. Two swivel castors at the handle end and two fixed castors at the far end give a trolley that tracks straight and still turns. That is the usual layout on trolleys and platform trucks. Four swivel castors pay off where the trolley is moved in tight spaces.

Fittings in the catalogue

The fitting depends on what the castor is mounted to. The catalogue lists top plate, bolt hole, stem, threaded stem and, for wheels without a fork, the wheel hub. A top plate is the most common on trolleys and containers and spreads the load over four bolts. A bolt hole, one central hole in the top of the housing, replaces the plate where there is no room, see bolt hole castors. Stems and threaded stems mostly go into tubes and furniture. Plate size, hole spacing and overall height are in the specifications of each castor.

Wheel and tread

The wheel decides floor protection, noise and rolling resistance. Elastic rubber starts with little force, runs quietly and is kind to the floor, even when the load stands for a long time. Polyurethane resists cuts and copes with stony floors. Rubber damps vibration and noise. Polyamide carries high loads and resists many chemicals, polypropylene resists acids and rolls easily; both are hard and noisy on rough ground. Cast iron carries the most and is hardest on the floor. For outdoor and uneven ground there are pneumatic tyre wheels and castors.

Where the floor must stay unmarked, filter for non-marking treads. A larger wheel starts more easily and rolls over joints and thresholds better.

Bearings and load capacity

Plain, roller and ball bearings differ in rolling resistance and price. A plain bearing is enough for short distances and light loads. Roller and ball bearings pay off where a trolley is pushed often and far.

The catalogue load capacity is per castor at 4 km/h. With four castors, divide the weight of trolley plus load by three, because on an uneven floor often only three carry. For loads of several hundred kilograms per castor, go to our heavy duty castors.

Swivel castors with brake

A braked swivel castor holds the trolley still when parked. We supply a brake that locks the wheel and a total brake that locks wheel and swivel. Waste containers use central brakes and our 3-STOP brake, see waste container castors. All braked swivel castors are under braked castors.

If you are replacing an existing castor, send us the drawing or the dimensions and we confirm the match. CAD models in STEP and IGES format are available on request.