A Smooth Ride
Polyurethane wheel casters are used for everything from shopping carts, heavy duty moving equipment and food service items to automotive and aerospace applications. Hamilton Casters manufactures this type of wheel, sold by Access Casters, which can be made with the capacity to hold up to 9,000 pounds. While polyurethane wheel castersmay be spotted in warehouses, offices and stores, this type of wheel can also be found somewhere you might not expect: skateboarding.
Caster wheel innovators have harnessed the qualities of polymers to create products with unique capabilities and improved performance. Polyurethane is a polymer that can be manipulated to provide a range of characteristics, making it suitable for many applications. Wheels made with polyurethane may be engineered to offer the best in durability, speed and stability.
In the 1970s, a young skateboarder named Frank Nasworthy helped popularize the use of polyurethane wheels on skateboards. Nasworthy found urethrane wheels at this friend’s dad’s plastics factory in Purcellville, Virginia, according to Washington Post writer Eric Weiss. Nasworthy put the wheels on his skateboard and found a much better ride. It was an improvement from the traditional design of metal and clay wheels.
The skater went on to start a company called Creative Urethanes and make “Cadillac Wheels” for skateboards. Other manufacturers adopted polyurethane wheel technology and the materials for the modern skateboard were established. Wheels were designed to provide traction, allow for speed and have long-term resilience. Around this time, as the sport was experiencing resurgence, skaters discovered the new wheels offered smoothness and stability.
Today almost all skate wheels are made from polyurethane, allowing skaters to surf the streets with wheels made for durability and abrasion resistance. Skaters can experience a balanced ride with less wobbling. The durometer (a measure for hardness) of skateboard wheels is another feature that can be manipulated to make riding smooth.
These same qualities of being shock-resistant, offering stability and having durability makes polyurethane wheel casters ideal for industrial, commercial and food service applications. Items can be safely moved without damaging floors or jostling products. Wheel are engineered to retain their shape and handle the wear that comes from movement. Transporting heavy items with polyurethane wheels may not provide the same thrill as riding a half-pipe on a skateboard, but both activities depend on discoveries made by polyurethane wheel innovators.