At WheelsWay, we are committed to empowering educators and institutions with the tools they need to create safe, flexible, and engaging learning environments. With our extensive range of casters designed specifically for educational furniture and equipment, we strive to meet and exceed the unique requirements of our customers. Let’s keep knowledge rolling!
Castors for educational furniture and equipment are wheel mechanisms designed to be fitted to various pieces of furniture and equipment commonly found in educational environments such as schools, universities and training centres. These castors are designed to improve mobility, manoeuvrability and safety in classrooms, libraries, laboratories and other learning environments.
Some casters are designed with noise-reducing features to minimize disruption in the classroom environment, allowing for quiet movement during lessons and activities.
Castors are often non-marking to prevent scuffing or damage to floors, maintaining the aesthetic appeal of educational spaces.
These casters are subject to frequent movement, making durability a critical factor. High-quality materials and construction ensure that the casters can withstand the demands of the daily use, providing long-lasting reliability.
They feature smooth-rolling wheels that allow for effortless movement across different types of flooring surfaces, including carpet, tile, and hardwood.
Casters are equipped with locking mechanisms and reinforced bases to provide stability and prevent tipping, ensuring the safety of students and faculty.
They are designed to be compatible with a wide range of furniture and equipment, including desks, chairs, tables, AV carts, storage units, and more.
Designing and manufacturing custom casters for an OEM project involves several stages, we follow a detailed step-by-step process to ensure that your project runs smoothly and without any problems
Define requirements: Understand the customer’s specific needs and requirements. Consider special attachments, test standards, and industry standards. Give suggestions to improve the caster performance if the customer wants to eliminate the failure issues from their existing casters.
Material selection: Select appropriate wheel materials for the casters based on factors like load capacity, environmental conditions, and durability requirements.
Technical Drawings: Make detailed 2D/3D technical drawings of the caster based on the customer’s requirements or samples.
Prototyping: Develop prototypes to test the functionality and performance of the casters. It can be a 3D printing model or a small batch for initial testing.
Tooling and Equipment Setup: On the basis of the finalized design, set up and adjust the necessary tooling and equipment for mass production.
Production of Components: Manufacture individual caster components such as wheels and frames, according to technical specifications in confirmed drawings.
Surface Treatment: Apply surface treatments to enhance the aesthetics, corrosion resistance, hardness, or other functional aspects of the casters.
Assembly: Assemble the casters, making sure that each unit meets the design specifications and quality standards.
Load Testing: Test the casters according to the dynamic load test standard, such as EN12532, or conform to the test requirements of the customer. To ensure that the casters can handle the specified weight capacities without failure.
Durability Testing: Test the casters for durability under various conditions, such as different floor surfaces and temperature extremes, according to the customer’s demand.
Quality Control Checks: Implement ISO9001 quality control measures throughout the manufacturing process. Identify and correct any defects.
Packaging: Develop packaging solutions that protect the casters during transportation and storage.
Shipping Logistics: Plan and coordinate the logistics for shipping the casters to the client, and confirm the paperwork details with the customer, such as invoice and packing list, bill of lading, Certificate of Original, Form E, etc.
Customer Support: Provide ongoing support to address any queries, concerns, or further needs that the client may have after receiving the casters.
Cutting metal sheets into pieces, punching out the specific shape of top plate, fork, brake pedal, etc.
Bending the shaped pieces and form it into the caster fork, forming the steel ball track on the top plate sheet, etc.
Zinc plating, chrome plating, electrophoresis, etc.
Nylon wheel, PU wheel, TPR wheel, plastic wheels injection and die casting cast iron wheels.
Assemble all the caster components into one complete piece
Pack the casters in export grade thick carton box. Plastic bag, lable sticker, inner box, wooden crate, wooden pallet packing are also available.
Plate-type swivel Plate-type fixed Bolt hole type
Screw-in type With expander With leveling mounts … and more
Click here to contact WheelsWay for more available items or OEM solutions！
Here’s the formula for calculating load capacity per caster:
Load per caster with safety factor = (total load × safety factor) / number of casters
“Total Load” is the equipment’s net weight plus its maximum additional load
“Safety Factor“ is an additional weight allowance added to the calculated load per caster to ensure that the casters can handle unexpected or temporary overloads, variations in load distribution, and wear & tear over time. It typically ranges from 1.0 to 3.0, although the specific value can vary depending on the application and industry standards.
The bigger the wheel, the easier to push the caster forward, because it can roll over obstacles or rough and uneven surfaces more easily. This is because when the wheel is larger, obstacles look smaller compared to the wheel’s size, making it roll over them more smoothly.
However, larger wheels will elevate the center of gravity, when you want to make sure things don’t tip over, especially if what you are carrying is heavy on top, smaller wheels are the better options. What’s more, smaller wheels can increase the force required to move, which will help the equipment to stay in place.
Another factor to consider is safety. It’s recommended that the total height of what you’re moving, including wheels and loaded goods, does not exceed 1400 mm. This will help to see better and avoid accidents.
The following table describes the characteristics of some typical working environments that stage equipment casters often encounter.
| Application Environment | Environment Condition | Wheel Material Preferred | Noise Level Required | Cleaning | Corrosion Resistance necessity |
| Classrooms | Smooth, flat surfaces with occasional debris | Soft rubber, polyurethane, PVC | Low to minimize disruption during teaching | Casters should be easy to clean to remove dust and debris | Low |
| Library | Smooth, flat surfaces with occasional carpeted areas | Soft rubber, polyurethane, PVC | Very low to maintain a quiet environment for studying | Casters should be easy to clean to remove dust and debris, especially in carpeted areas | Low |
| Computer Labs | Smooth, flat surfaces with occasional cables | Polyurethane, rubber, Nylon | Moderate to low | Casters should be easy to clean to remove dust and debris | Low |
| Gymnasiums | Variable surfaces including hardwood floors, mats, and indoor sports courts. | Rubber, polyurethane, PVC | Moderate to low | Casters should be resistant to dirt, dust, and sweat commonly found in gym environments. | Moderate |
| Art rooms | Smooth, flat surfaces with occasional spills and splatters | Soft rubber, polyurethane, PVC | Moderate to low | Casters should be resistant to dirt, dust, and sweat commonly found in gym environments. | Moderate |
| Outdoor Learning Spaces | Variable outdoor surfaces including grass, gravel, and pavement | Pneumatic rubber, solid rubber, Nylon, plastic, polyurethane | Low | Casters should be resistant to dirt, dust, and sweat commonly found in gym environments. | High resistance to corrosion as outdoor environments are exposed to weather elements |
Choosing the right material depends on several criteria, the table below shows the types and their main characteristics.
| Polyurethane | High | Good | Good | Low | Good | Good | Low |
| Elastic Rubber | Medium to high | Good | Good | Low | Good | Moderate | Moderate |
| Nylon | High | Fair | Excellent | Moderate | Fair | Poor | Low |
| Plastic | Medium to high | Fair | Fair | Low | Fair | Poor | Low |
| Pneumatic rubber | Medium | Excellent | Good | Good | Good | Good | Low |
| Thermoplastic Rubber | Medium | Good | Good | Low | Good | Good | Low |
The wheel bearing is important for the rolling performance of a wheel and therefore for the mobility of the application equipment.
Plain bearing
The plain bearing is a simple and cost-effective wheel bearing, which is durable and free of maintenance under normal conditions. Plain bearings are mainly used for light-duty and low-speed applications. Since overheating can occur at high speeds under heavy loads, plain-bore cast iron wheels require regular lubrication.
Roller Bearing
The roller bearing is a sturdy, long-life grease lubricated, and maintenance-free wheel bearing type that consists of steel rollers(needles) fitted into a plastic or steel cage. These rollers roll between the axle tube and the wheel hub. As the wheel rotates around the axle, it has only rolling friction rather than sliding friction, resulting in low rolling resistance, even under heavy loads. In addition to the standard version, roller bearings are also available in stainless steel.
Ball Bearing
A central ball bearing ensures precise, smooth running and effective sealing. it is integrated or injected directly into the wheel center. Two sealing caps are fitted as standard for added protection. Lubricated with long-life grease, these bearings are maintenance-free under regular conditions.
 | Most frequent layout for heavy loads and long distances | Affordable, easy to keep on a straight line, easy to nevigate |
 | Used on ramps are not recommended | Easy to handle |
 | For applications requiring lateral movement | Easy to push and pull, make sharp turns and navigate corners smoothly |
 | Light loads, used on ramps are not recommended | Economic positioning |
 | For heavy loads, precise steering | Easily turned and rotated, easily positioned in tight spaces, and change directions quickly |
 | For very heavy loads and long travel times | The 2 fixed casters allow the weight of the load to be distributed over the 4 swivel ones |
For classroom furniture, swivel casters with soft rubber or polyurethane wheels are commonly used. These provide smooth movement and prevent damage to floors.
Yes, many types of casters are designed to be easily attached to existing furniture. However, it’s essential to ensure that the added casters are compatible with the weight and design of the furniture.
The caster size should be selected based on the weight of the furniture and the type of flooring in the classroom. Larger casters distribute weight more effectively and roll more smoothly, especially on carpeted surfaces.
Yes, there are casters designed for use with classroom equipment. These casters often have features such as non-marking wheels, quiet operation, and weight capacity suitable for the equipment they support.
Your choice of caster size should depend on how you intend to use them. A bigger caster is better for heavy materials. For example, if you’re designing a workbench, you’ll need to support more weight, so larger casters are more suitable, however, smaller casters are a better option when what you are carrying is heavy on top and you want to make sure things don’t tip over. Smaller casters are suitable for carpets and soft surface.
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