Quick Caster Tutorial - Caster Wheel Materials

Casters 101: A Quick Tutorial: Wheel Materials

Chapter 3 of the Apollo Caster learning guide. Keep in mind, you can always call for assistance.

Tutorial Chapters:

Lesson 3: Wheel Materials

Here is some quick information on the wheel materials availble by caster type and considerations of each. Clicking on a picture will take you to a product listing. At that point, use the product filters to select the wheel material.

For more detailed information go to our Caster Wheel Materials page.
Click image to browse these products.	Ball Casters wheel material options *Metal tread:* Good for carpet, chair mats and other durable floors. *Rubber tread:* Use with linoleum, vinyl, marble, tile and floors that require protection.
Click image to browse these products.	Twin Wheel Casters Wheel Materials *Nylon:* Most economical type. Good for carpet, chair mats and other durable floors. Not floor protective. *Polyurethane:* Softer than nylon and safe for use with hardwood, laminate, linoleum, vinyl, marble, tile and floors that require some TLC. Slightly higher price point than nylon. *Thermoplasticized Rubber (TPR):* Softer yet than polyurethane, very quiet, and safe for use with hardwood, laminate linoleum, vinyl, marble, tile and similar floors. Commonly used in institutional settings. Close in price to poly.
Click image to browse these products.	Spherical Casters wheel materials *Polyolefin tread:* Economical, hard, non-marking. Best for carpet and durable floors. Available for the 2" ball size. By their design, spherical wheels concentrate the weight. As a result, they can leave grooves in soft floorts. *Rubber tread:* Softer, quieter and better with hard floors. Available for the smaller 1-5/8" ball size.
	Single wheel casters offer a wide choice of materials *Rubbers, TPR, and Polyurethane* are softer materials providing for non-marking, quiet-running, and floor protective casters. *Nylon, polyolefin, phenolic* are harder materials with higher weight capacities. Also non-marking and less quiet with higher weight capacity. *Cast iron and steel* are for higher workloads in industrial applications. *Pneumatic, semi-pneumatic, foam-filled wheels* provide easy rolling and shock absorbing casters over rough terrain. *V-groove and flanged wheels* are typically cast iron or steel and used in specific applications.