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Patented Heavy-Duty Caster Wheels Provide Relief That’s Easy On The Ears – And Your Wallet

Industrial carts are critical to most manufacturing processes. They are like the lifeblood that runs through the veins of the production system. Almost anywhere you look in a plant, there is a cart zooming along, delivering parts or materials to a production area or removing finished goods.

This process is continuous – in some robust operations, carts can be shuttling across three daily shifts. Of course, their presence is generally heard as well as seen – cart movement generally is accompanied by noise that, at peak levels, can eclipse 100 decibels (dB(a)). With so many large machines and heavy equipment in use in a manufacturing plant, one may think the noise created by cart or a rack is no big deal – actually, it is.

Finding a solution to this ear-drum-splitting noise can be a challenge – often, the sources of noise are fixed, and the people that work near them have to resort to protective gear or frequent breaks in order to limit their exposure.

While ear plugs and ear muffs are common ways to manage exposure to cart noise, they can be uncomfortable and can make it hard to communicate. Truly effective noise control must be enacted at the source, and must address the most pervasive source of cart noise — vibration. As the carts zoom along, they are crossing surfaces laden with cracks and imperfections, bumps, debris and other little things that make a big impact when coming in contact with the industrial casters on the bottom of the cart.

Interestingly, the solution to cart noise reduction may be as easy as a simple change to these heavy-duty caster wheels upon which these carts glide. One such solution, which we at Caster Concepts have developed —  is trade-named CasterShoX® — an industrial caster wheel specifically engineered to significantly reduce noise and vibration.

The CasterShoX® industrial caster wheel features a patented ShoX® absorption system, that offers damping — the ability to quickly stop a repetitive motion — and achieves unparalleled noise and vibration reduction.

In lab testing, CasterShoX® has been demonstrated to reduce cart noise by as much as 90 percent and vibration by as much as 80 percent. That’s not insignificant — a reduction of just 15 decibels of noise (105 dB(a) to 90 dB(a)) can mean the difference between one hour of exposure and eight hours of exposure, as mandated by OSHA Regulations on Occupational Noise Exposure (Regulation 1910.95).

How are you addressing your cart noise challenges?

For more information visit our website.