modified casters for precision swivel

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whateg0
Posts: 1114
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 3:54 pm
Location: Wichita, KS

modified casters for precision swivel

Post by whateg0 »

I don't know if precision is the right word, but most of the casters I have used have some amount of slop in the swivel. I installed a set for a customer and they have worked well, but recently he said they have gotten very sloppy. I suspect they wore, lost some bearings, and now are bad. He uses the machine constantly and it is always getting rolled around. We looked for some time for swivel casters that didn't have a bunch of slop in the swivel, were stem-mounted, had the right kind of brake, and locked the rotation. Didn't have any luck finding that combination, so I finally decided to just make them. Bought a COTS caster and cut it apart. It now works perfectly with a double-row AC bearing for the swivel. My zinc plating process apparently needs some work. I had trouble getting the inside of the caster fork plated well, and there were some areas on the outside that also don't seem to have done well, as the black chromate peeled off when I took some tape off. Still, I'm pretty happy with the mechanicals of it.
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Dave
pete
Posts: 2518
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:04 am

Re: modified casters for precision swivel

Post by pete »

NASA level castors, a very nice job. Not too shabby on the welding as well.
whateg0
Posts: 1114
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2009 3:54 pm
Location: Wichita, KS

Re: modified casters for precision swivel

Post by whateg0 »

pete wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:41 am NASA level castors, a very nice job. Not too shabby on the welding as well.
My customer went to space camp as a kid and loves all things space related. He'll get a lick out of calling them NASA level! Thanks!
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