Wheels and castors
norelem offers a comprehensive range of high quality wheels, rollers and castors for demanding industrial applications. Swivel, fixed and elevating castors as well as guide rollers for use as standard transport rollers or heavy-duty castors are available from stock. You can choose wheels and castors made from resilient materials such as rubber, plastics or metal for your transport equipment. Depending on the application, the versatile treads ensure high temperature resistance, increased corrosion protection or reduced electrical conductivity for our wheels and castors. Soft, floor-protecting and noise-reduced rubber treads are suitable for sensitive environments. In demanding applications, break and abrasion resistant rollers made of polyamide or steel are used. Choose the appropriate solution for your floor type and transport equipment from our catalogue.
Types and differences
Whether it is heavy duty castors for industrial trucks or guide rollers in logistic applications such as packaging lines and conveyor systems: wheels, rollers and castors from norelem offer specific advantages for each area. Mobile devices are not only used in branches such as intralogistics or machine and plant construction, but also in sectors with special requirements for hygiene, electrostatics, temperature or safety. We guarantee high quality standards for the best running performance and highest system safety in your application.
swivel castors,
The wheels of swivel castors are mounted with a horizontal distance, the projection. The projection enables easy swivelling without additional aids and gives the castor stable running behaviour. This makes it easier to manoeuvre machines and equipment. With locking devices such as the "stop-fix" wheel or slewing ring lock, you can securely fasten your application in place.
Fixed castors
Fixed castors, combined with swivel castors, provide directional stability for machines and equipment. Our castors are available in different material versions for use in e.g. hygienic or electrostatically protected areas.
guide rollers
Guide rollers are made from exceptionally break-resistant polyamide. They have a low rolling resistance for easy running on smooth floors. They are particularly suitable for conveyor belts and gates to provide quiet running. They are particularly suitable for conveyor belts and gates for low-noise operation.
Elevating castors
Elevating castors made of break-resistant polyamide are suitable for lifting and securely fastening devices. An ergonomically shaped operating lever makes it easier to operate your application with elevating castors. With optional swivelling elevating castors, you can manoeuvre machines and devices more easily.
heavy-duty castors
We have hard-wearing heavy-duty castors in our range for pallet trucks or forklifts. Heavy-duty castors have a cast-on tread on a steel wheel body. They are floor-saving and have a high restoration elasticity with a long service life.
Material variations for diverse treads
Wheels and castors from norelem are available in a wide range of material versions to suit the application sector. In addition to plastic and PU, rubber wheels and castors as well as polyamide wheels and castors from the range are particularly suitable for industrial applications. If you choose rubber as a floor-saving tread, you will benefit from vibration-damping properties. Rubber wheels and castors are resistant to many aggressive media, with the exception of oils. These products also impress with their smooth running and drive quality. Thanks to their low starting and rolling resistance and high abrasion resistance, rubber tyres offer a high level of ride comfort. Plastic wheels made of polyamide are particularly resistant to breakage and abrasion and are temperature resistant from -40°C to +80°C. Special heat-resistant polyamide can be used at temperatures of up to +250°C.
It's the mixture that counts! How to optimise your transport application
Finding the optimum castor for a specific application is not always easy. Starting and rolling resistances, floor protection and rolling noise can be influenced by various factors.
Starting and rolling resistance
Power is required to bring a wheel from rest to motion. The force to be applied results from the starting resistance. The same applies to the rolling resistance required to keep a wheel in uniform motion. For an optimum set-up, you should consider the following factors for starting and rolling resistance:
- Wheel diameter
- Tread
- Tread hardness
- Elasticity of the tread
- Wheel bearing
- Ground
Robust, hard steel wheels, for example, are characterised by low rolling resistance. Nevertheless, they cannot be used everywhere and at all times, as steel rollers place greater stress on the floor than soft treads.
Floor protection
A harder tread puts more strain on the floor than a softer one. The mean surface pressure provides information about the pressure exerted. It is important to create an optimum balance between material design, transport weight, tread and the surface. The following values for the average surface pressure can be assumed for tread materials:
- Pneumatic tyres ~ 0.8 N/mm²
- Soft rubber ~ 0.8 N/mm²
- Super-elastic solid rubber ~ 1.5 N/mm²
- Elastic solid rubber ~ 1.8 N/mm²
- Solid rubber/polyurethane ~ 3.5 N/mm²
- (ca. 75° Shore A)
- Polyurethane ~ 8.0 N/mm²
- (ca. 92° Shore A)
- Thermoplastic ~ 11.0 N/mm²
- polyurethane
- Polypropylene/polyamide ~ 40.0 N/mm²
- Cast polyamide ~ 60.0 N/mm²
- Cast iron ~ 350 N/mm²
- Steel ~ 500 N/mm²
Running noise
If resistances are kept as low as possible and low abrasion is combined with floor-friendly rolling behaviour, the resulting rolling noises are reduced. The larger the wheel and the softer and thicker the tread, the quieter the vehicle.
Use the correct wheel, castor or roller
We would be pleased to advise you on the selection of suitable wheels and castors for your application. Let us know your application specifications and your requirements. We will find the best solution for you.