Heavy Duty Casters

Heavy duty casters carry the loads that general purpose casters cannot: machine bases, welding tables, hydraulic stations, heavy trolleys and structural fixtures, with 1.5 to 8 inch wheel sizes and ratings from 50kg to 1000kg per wheel. The line includes the FOMA heavy series and is built on reinforced Sumatic 01 and 011 series forks, predominantly in rubber, TPR and PU wheel compounds, with rigid and brake configurations as standard options.

At this load level the sizing rule is unforgiving. Take the maximum loaded weight, divide by the number of casters, and multiply by 2.5 for swivel casters on hard floors. A 1000kg machine base on four casters needs a 625kg rating per wheel, which points to 6-8 inch heavy wheels near the top of this line. A 400kg welding table runs on 4-6 inch casters at 250-400kg. Sizing an inch too small is the most common heavy duty failure mode: the wheel rim deforms within weeks and the bearing seal is destroyed.

Wheel material is decided by the floor and the cycle. Solid rubber is the workhorse of heavy duty: it carries the highest per-wheel loads, resists grit and oil on concrete, and tolerates dock edges and levelers. TPR heavy wheels suit clean machine shops where noise and floor marking matter. PU wheels handle high-abrasion routes. Where the machine shifts under load or is pushed with the full weight on one pair, rate at 1.5 times the static per-wheel load and use rigid casters at the front.

Mounting on heavy duty equipment is top plate with 4 holes for even load transfer; the reinforced forks in this line use thicker plate and higher-strength steel. Rigid and brake casters are standard options, not add-ons: a heavy machine that must hold position on any floor slope needs brakes on at least one axis. Threaded stem heavy casters exist for cast-iron machine bases where tapped holes already exist.

Sumatic is a factory, so heavy duty programmes get custom forks, extra-thick plates, and consistent wheel compounds across the order, with material certificates and load test reports per batch. For loads beyond 1000kg per wheel we develop a special fork and wheel combination and quote it as a project.

Send the machine weight, footprint, floor and whether the unit must hold position through the RFQ form. We return a complete caster set specification, load tables and pricing within one business day.