Optimal Maneuverability at a low noise level

LH-ALES_Kunde

Heavy duty caster with elastic soft rubber wheel Blickle “SoftMotion” LH-ALES 160K-SG-FS35

The customer 

… is a Czech car and engine manufacturer that belongs to a German automotive group. With roughly 33,000 employees in the Czech Republic alone, the car maker sold over 1.2 million vehicles in 2017, corresponding to sales of roughly 16 billion euros.

LH-ALES_KundeThe application

Noise levels are high in an assembly plant of the car maker. Just-in sequence trolleys for plant-internal transport of vehicle parts are continuously moving over the concrete floor. The floor in the hall is in fact smooth, but it is regularly punctuated by expansion joints featuring cast iron gratings.
The trolleys used are still equipped with competitor casters with non-marking gray elastic solid rubber wheels. Because these casters have been in use for some time and the rubber treads are relatively hard, the maneuverability is not optimal due to the relatively high rolling and swivel resistance. The noise produced by moving the just-in sequence trolleys also exceeds the specified noise protection standards. The foot guard of the casters, which is attached for safety reasons, comes into contact with the floor during crossing of the expansion joints, resulting in a short lifespan for this accessory part. The customer would therefore like a new caster solution with significantly lower rolling and swivel resistance as well as a tread with particularly low noise properties. The spacing of the also desired foot guard to the floor must prevent contact when crossing the thresholds.

LH-ALES_Loesung

Our solution from the standard range

Due to the outstanding damping characteristics and the noticeable noise reduction of the soft rubber tread Blickle “SoftMotion”, the Blickle wheel series ALES offers the optimal solution for this application. The thick tread cushions in 55 Shore A, which are permanently affixed to the aluminum wheel center, enable particularly quiet travel and are highly elastic, meaning low rolling resistance.

The robust heavy duty housing of the Blickle LH series and the stable steel foot guard with a ground clearance of 35 mm round out the wheel as an optimal and complete solution that meets all the customer requirements.

The result

The Blickle casters of the LH-ALES series are characterized in regular operating tests by outstanding dampening characteristics and significantly improved rolling and swivel resistance. The manual handling has also been noticeably improved in this way. The foot guard no longer hits the ground when crossing thresholds, and wear on both the casters and the floor is reduced, which lowers repair and replacement costs. Last, but not least, the car maker is excited by the clearly noticeable noise reduction from the use of the elastic soft rubber wheels Blickle “SoftMotion”.

 

 

Product advantages and success factors LH-ALES 160K-SG-FS35
• Low-noise operation thanks to Blickle “SoftMotion” tread
• Low rolling and swivel resistance
• Stable foot guard that does not come into contact with the floor
• Improved ergonomics thanks to significantly better operational comfort
• Cost reduction thanks to fewer failures