New Motorized Industrial Caster
Caster Concepts Inc. has created a motorized industrial caster—the Drive Caster. The product integrates an electric motor with an industrial caster to create a single unit that can be easily added to carts and racks or other equipment that rolls on casters.
“This is a game changer because it is the first all-in-one, motorized industrial caster. Sure there are motors that can be added to casters and carts, but we are the first to put them together into one unit for industrial applications,” said Caster Concepts CEO Bill Dobbins.
Caster Concepts offers the Drive Caster with a quarter horsepower or a half horsepower motor, powerful enough to move loads of up to 6,000 pounds at up to 5mph. To ensure their proper use, Caster Concepts’ engineers developed a control module that can be integrated easily.
The Drive Caster can be used in any application and in any industry, from automotive to aerospace, warehousing to distribution. Adding a second Drive Caster doubles the load capacity that can be moved and enables tank-style steering, where each caster pushes in opposite directions to turn.
And by making heavy loads easy to move, Caster Concepts has eliminated the need for manual pushing or pulling, reducing the risk of injury and the need for multiple operators.
“Basically, this is a retrofit. Companies don’t have to go out and buy a new cart. Our motorized casters have the weight capacities equivalent to an automated guided vehicles (AGVs) at a lower cost,” Dobbins said. “Essentially, we can put a Drive Caster on anything that uses an industrial caster.”
