Glass manufacturing facilities use countless amounts of casters and wheels. On glass manufacturing equipment there are a myriad of wheels, rollers and belts which guide the glass panels through all the stages required to produce the glass. There are also what seems to be endless amount of carts, dollies and panel movers throughout these facilities used to maneuver and transport the glass panels safely and efficiently around the facility. Whether you are looking on the machines that are manufacture the glass or on the equipment that is used to transport the glass, casters and wheels are ubiquitous in this environment. For the purpose of this write up, I would like to highlight a “glass handling caster” which is specific to the glass industry and is used as a roller on the exit table of a glass panel manufacturing machine or a glass buffing table.
This glass handling caster has a 2″ x 15/16″ soft non-marking wheel tread and is made of neoprene rubber. Neoprene is a fantastic option for this glass application because it is soft enough to provide protection for the glass while being durable enough to withstand the temperature ranges in which the glass panels are manufactured at. This wheel should not melt or deform while rolling the glass panels safely out of the production machine. More highlights are listed below:
- Specially designed raceway system protects against debris.
- Caster is usually used in inverted position mounted to conveyor systems.
- Soft non-marking neoprene rubber wheels
- Ball bearing wheels for added rollability
- Zinc plated for corrosion resistance
In many cases the glass handling tables are outfitted with a round ball caster which can be referred to as an omni-directional caster or an omni-float caster. (Image above)
