Low Profile Casters.

What are Low Profile Casters?

Low profile casters, also known as low level casters, keep mounting heights to 70 mm or less, making them the casters to choose from Accu’s Casters & Wheels range when equipment must be made mobile without being raised more than necessary. A small low profile caster wheel, from 14 mm to 50 mm, sits in a shallow fork and plate, so the caster stands only a few millimeters taller than its own wheel: the 32 mm caster, for example, has a mounting height of just 34 mm. Keeping the equipment close to the floor preserves headroom, lowers the center of gravity and lets units slide under benches, counters and machinery that a standard caster would not clear.

Two European standards apply across the range: EN 12528 for furniture casters and EN 12530 for casters used in institutional settings such as stores, hotels and hospitals. They are used on instrument cases, drawer units, display stands, small machines, under-bench cabinets and light apparatus, wherever height is limited and loads are modest.

How Low Profile Casters Work

A low profile caster fixes through a small rectangular or square plate, a single 11 mm bolt hole or an M10 threaded stem, and the short fork places the axle as close to the plate as the wheel allows. On swivel versions, a compact swivel head with an offset of 18 mm to 25 mm keeps the wheel following the push, sweeping a swivel radius of just 37 mm to 77 mm. Because a small wheel concentrates the load on a smaller contact patch and rolls over obstacles less easily, ratings are modest, from 25 kg to 75 kg per caster, and smooth floors give the best results. Twin-wheel versions spread the load across two wheels on one axle, nearly doubling the rating at the same height.

A typical case is an under-bench tool cabinet in a maintenance shop, 725 mm tall and weighing 200 kg loaded, that has to roll in beneath a bench with 800 mm of clearance. Divide the weight by three and each caster carries about 67 kg, within the 70 kg rating of a 50 mm twin-wheel caster whose 69 mm mounting height leaves the cabinet 6 mm clear of the bench. Two of the four can be wheel-braked versions rated at 75 kg, holding the cabinet still while a technician works from the open drawers. A standard 100 mm caster with a mounting height of 128 mm would leave the cabinet stranded in front of the bench.

Materials Low Profile Casters Are Made From

Accu’s low profile casters combine pressed steel housings with engineering-grade polymer and rubber wheels, chosen for compact strength, smooth running and floor protection:

• Steel: Shallow pressed steel forks in light and medium-duty grades, zinc plated to resist corrosion, many with a blue passivated finish.
• Plastic - Nylon: Solid polyamide wheels at 65 to 75 Shore D, from the 14 mm wheel upwards, rolling easily on hard floors.
• Plastic - PP: The center of the twin-wheel and 50 mm polyurethane wheels and the solid 38 mm to 50 mm wheels on the smallest swivel casters.
• Plastic - PUR: Injection molded polyurethane treads at 40 Shore D, combining quiet running with wear resistance rated Very Good (4 of 5).
• Rubber: Gray and dark gray rubber tires for cushioned, quieter running on 40 mm and 50 mm casters.
• Rubber - TPR: A thermoplastic rubber tread at 87 Shore A on the twin-wheel casters and the 32 mm compact caster, rated Very Good (4 of 5) for noise.

Sizes & Types of Low Profile Casters Available

Accu’s range of low profile casters is available in a variety of compact sizes and fixings to suit equipment where every millimeter of height counts:

• Wheel Diameter (D): 14 mm to 50 mm.
• Wheel Width (T): 13 mm to 24 mm.
• Mounting Height (H): 17 mm to 70 mm.
• Approximate Load Capacity: 25 kg to 75 kg.
• Castor Type: Swivel Castor or Fixed Castor.
• Braked/Unbraked: Braked or Unbraked.
• Fixing Type: Bolt Hole Fixing; Rectangular Plate; Square Plate, 60 x 60 mm.
• Plate Fixing Hole Centres (ExG): 33 x 33 mm to 48 x 48 mm, plus 36 x 28 mm on the 38 mm compact caster.
• Fixing Hole Diameter: 4 mm to 6.5 mm.
• Bolt Hole Diameter: 11 mm.
• Thread Size: M10 x 25.

These small casters trade capacity for height, so nothing in this range is rated above 75 kg, and the twin-wheel casters carry the most. The casters under 50 mm tall are compact fixed casters on small rectangular plates, with a single 38 mm swivel caster at 50 mm, while braked versions come with 50 mm wheels only. Threaded stem versions use 40 mm and 50 mm wheels on an M10 x 25 stem and carry 25 kg to 55 kg.

For loads that need to move in any direction with even less height, why not browse Accu’s Mini Ball Transfers instead, which start from an overall height of just 8.5 mm.

FAQ

Q: What is the smallest caster wheel?

A: The smallest in Accu’s range is the 14 mm polyamide wheel on a compact fixed caster, which stands just 17 mm tall and carries 25 kg. The smallest swivel caster has a 38 mm wheel with a mounting height of 50 mm, also rated at 25 kg. Where even less height is available and the load can roll over the support rather than the other way around, Accu’s mini ball transfers start from an overall height of 8.5 mm.

Q: Are there heavy-duty low profile casters?

A: Not in the strictest sense, because load capacity rises with wheel size and wheel size sets the height. Every low profile caster in Accu’s range is rated at 75 kg or less, the lowest caster rated at 200 kg stands 108 mm tall on an 80 mm polyamide wheel and the lowest rated at 500 kg or more stands 164 mm tall. If you are looking for heavy-duty low profile casters, the 80 mm casters in Accu’s Swivel Casters range and the 125 mm casters in the Heavy-Duty Casters range are the lowest options at those loads.

Q: What is a low profile caster?

A: A low profile caster is one whose mounting height, measured from the floor to the top of the mounting plate, is kept as close as possible to the diameter of its wheel. In Accu’s range that means a mounting height of 70 mm or less, with the most compact casters standing only 2 mm to 4 mm taller than their wheels. They are chosen where headroom is limited or where equipment needs a low center of gravity, rather than for heavy loads.

Q: Do twin-wheel casters help?

A: Yes, when height is limited and the load is too much for a single small wheel. Accu’s 50 mm twin-wheel casters carry 70 kg, or 75 kg in the braked version, at a mounting height of 69 mm, compared with 40 kg for a single-wheel 50 mm caster at 70 mm. The two wheels share the load and turn in opposite directions as the caster swivels, which reduces scrubbing and makes the caster easier to steer, while their thermoplastic rubber treads are rated Very Good (4 of 5) for noise.

Bespoke Low Profile Casters Manufacture.

High precision, bespoke manufacture of Low Profile Casters to customer specification. State of the art facilities specializing in both small batch prototyping and large scale manufacture.