Latest News from Rolltek

Wheels; Soft and Hard Tread Wheels Available from Rolltek

Generally there are two types of wheel available, hard tread wheels and soft tread wheels.

Hard tread wheels are the easiest to push as they have least tractive resistance. The main disadvantage of hard tread wheels is that they are noisy and can wear floor surfaces excessively. There are several types of hard wheels, these are the most popular four types..

- Cast Iron and Steel Wheels – combine shock resistance with long life and economy. Temperature range -40c to +300c

- Nylon Wheel – has high load capacity, is light and clean and causes little floor damage. Temperature range -40c to +80c

- Polypropylene wheel – has good load capacity but not the abrasion or fracture resistance of nylon.   Operational temperature range -20c to +80c

- Phenolic wheels – very hard, abrasion and fracture resistant but liable to wear and chipping. High operational temperature range up to +350c

Soft tread wheels are resilient generally resulting in less noise, less marking and floor wearing. The tractive resistance is however much higher. New, recent development grades of polyurethane and rubber have increased load ratings while reducing the tractive resistance. Rolltek offer the following range of soft wheels..

- Solid Rubber Wheels – the basic wheel, although new thermoplastic grades are harder wearing and low cost. Temperature range -20c to +60c

- Elastic Rubber Wheel- has a high load capacity and wear resistance with a smooth soft-cushioned ride. Temperature range -20c to +60c

- Polyurethane Wheel – has a very high load capacity with abrasion, tear and chemical resistance and a soft ride. Temperature range -30c to +90c

- Anti-static Wheels – Non-marking material. Has a high load capacity with abrasion, tear and chemical resistance and a soft ride. The wheels we supply have less than 10⁴ ohm electric resistance. Each individual wheel is subjected to electrical testing. Temperature range -20^oc to +70^oc

- Pneumatic Wheels – has excellent shock absorption working well on rough, uneven surface like gravel or grass. Temperature range -20^oc to +60^oc

- Micro Cellular Wheels – this wheel behaves in a similar way to a pneumatic wheel, but has a micro cellular infill which allows the wheel to keeps its bounce without the risk of puncturing. Temperature range -20^oc to +60^oc

- High Temperature Wheels – wheels now available with rubber tyres suitable for use in the temperature range -30^oc to +250^oc

Rolltek can provide any of the above wheels on their own or in a bolthole or plate mounted fixed, swivel or braked bracket. Expanders and bolts are also available to suit your individual equipment needs.

To purchase and of the range of Rolltek’s wheels, you can either buy online or call the friendly sales team on 01327 313125 who will be happy to discuss your requirements.

Expander fittings for bolthole castors available at Rolltek

Expander fittings allow castors to be fitted to hollow tube equipment such as tables and trolleys etc. Expanders are either square or round to suit the required tubing. Expanders are easy to fit but should be checked regularly as they can come loose with long term installation.

An expander is made up of a screw that is mounted on the bolthole section of a castor and a sleeve washer and threaded nut set on the swivel of the castor. On screwing the but, the pressure makes the sleeve expand to fit the tube.

Expanders come in different sizes, the size required for each application may vary. Here is some information to help find out what size expander you require.

Round Tubing – Measure the outer diameter of your tubing and the wall thickness.

Square Tubing – Measure the dimensions of the box section and the wall thickness of the tube.

Round and square expanders are available to buy on our website or call our sales team on 01327 313125 to discuss your requirements.

Buffer wheels

Buffers, also known as Rubber Buffers, Revolving Buffers, Corner Protectors and revolving corner buffers are a non-making formed rubber tyre with a cut out in the centre. Buffers are easy to clean and have a smooth surface which repels dust. The revolving buffers work well to protect walls, furniture and appliances from shocks whilst trolleys are in motion, as the soft tyre is the first point of contact and cushions the impact with the rotation of the wheel preventing scuff damage.

Buffers were originally designed for use on hospital beds to minimise the impact to both patient and walls if a bump occurred. The over whelming success on hospital beds had led to buffers now being used on many general purpose items such as walking frames, garment rails, stretchers and trolleys of all types. The environments they are used in is no longer limited to medical, buffers are now used in domestic areas, on mobility products and many other working and industrial areas.

If you require buffers for your existing castors and equipment or require castors and buffers complete for a new unit then please call our sales team on 01327 313125 who will be happy to discuss your requirements.

Rolltek International, Castor and Wheel Supplier

Rolltek International is the ideal company to service all your castor and wheel requirements. Whether it is a single wheel required for a sack truck or thousands of sets of castors for a fleet of roll cages, Rolltek should be your choice of supplier. Rolltek offer clients a premium level of customer service; a wealth of experience and industry knowledge allows the sales team to assess your requirements accurately and advise accordingly. For larger projects, Rolltek offers a consultancy facility, please see details on our consultancy capabilities here.

The easiest way for low volume orders to be place is via our website www.rolltek.co.uk. Here you will find a range of our more popular wheels and castors including

Light Duty Castor

Medium Duty Castors

Heavy Duty Castors

Expander Fittings

Wheels

Industrial Wheels

Our automated order system means that all orders placed via our website can be processed and dispatched quickly and efficiently. Our website also provides guides on choosing your castors and wheels including what features to bear in mind when choosing your castors. Our handy wheelbarrow wheel guidewill help you to choose replacement wheels for your barrows, the pictorial guide will make it easy for you to see what measurements are required. If you cannot find what you are looking for or would like further advice prior to ordering, please contact our sales team on 01327 313125 who will be happy to help.

Where a larger volume of wheels or castors is needed, it is advisable to contact us to arrange a meeting or introductory phone call with one of experienced sales people so that your project requirement can be shared with one of dedicated sales managers who will in turn construct a project plan or delivery schedule in line with your needs.

Rolltek strives to provide the best possible level of customer service to all its customers regardless of size.

Rolltek International; working with you.

A trolley needs trolley wheels, whether it is a sack trolley, a catering trolley, a shopping trolley or a garden trolley

It is a fact that a trolley needs to have trolley wheels if it is to be safely and easily moved from one place to another. A trolley is a tool with a platform or basket to hold goods or items; they are fixed with trolley wheels to allow easy manoeuvrability. Trolleys are available with trolley wheels in many shapes and sizes with the capability to carry many different items ranging from very light or small loads to very large or heavy loads but the primary function of a trolley is to move objects from one point to another.

The list below is an example of various types of trolleys:

Folding Trolleys, Sack Trolleys, Shopping Trolleys, Catering Trolleys, Tiered Trolleys, Platform Trolleys, Garden Trolleys

Sack Trolley

This is also known as a sack truck, they are L-shaped metal frames with 2 handles at one end and 2 wheels at the other. Generally these are fitted with either pneumatic wheels, microcellular wheels or solid rubber tyre wheels. If you have a sack trolley or a hand trolley that requires replacement wheels, these are available to buy on our website, just click the picture below to take you to the relevant item.        

Shopping Trolleys

Shopping Trolleys also known as shopping carts started as a box that was fixed to a an office chair on castors, the success of this concept led to the shopping trolley being developed. Modern day trolleys are usually fitted with an antistatic castor; these are used as the risk of static shock is low. Antistatic castors can be purchased from our sales team on 01327 313125.

Catering Trolleys and Tiered Trolleys

Catering trolleys and tiered trolleys are used in many different areas; they are useful for use in schools or canteens to deliver food to dining areas. Often in schools a gymnasium or school hall will double up as a dining room and sports facility meaning the trolleys will need to be fitted with non-marking castors so as not to damage or mark the floor. If you require non-marking castors for your catering trolley, these can be purchased from our website.

Garden Trolleys

Garden trolleys are usually subjected to rough terrain, such as grassy areas, allotments and uneven or rough surfaces. To maximise the use of a garden trolley, we would recommend fitting microcellular wheels, these are puncture proof and will never go flat due to the foam like filling in the tyre. To purchase microcellular garden trolley wheels, click through to our website.

Castors and wheels are available for all of the applications mentioned above. For your requirements, either visit our website www.rolltek.co.uk or call our sales team on 01327 313125 who will be happy to discuss your needs.

Rolltek’s Roll Cage Castors, Roll Container Castor, Sandwich Wheels and Sandwich Castors….

Rolltek are the UK’s largest supplier of both roll cage castors and logistical equipment castors, with an ongoing product development and improvement programme. This includes our own ‘in-house’ testing facilities.

The roll cage or roll container has found a place in a very varied cross-section of industries, the food sector, retail, pharmaceuticals, health care, logistics and many more. Roll cages have the advantage that they are relatively low-cost, easily maneuverable (even when full) and to a degree, they can be repaired when damaged making them an excellent and economical option for transporting goods.  

The history of fitting castors to roll cages and roll containers goes back more than 30 years, with many changes along the way. The first roll cages to be used in large scale numbers in the UK were fitted with white or black nylon wheels. This specification set the standard for the following 10 years, but with ever increasing pressures on retailers to reduce noise levels when delivering product to store, polyurethane tyred wheels were fitted to cages, ultimately followed by ‘sandwich’ designed wheels. By 2012, the majority of UK roll cages were fitted with ‘low noise’ sandwich wheels, thus reducing both transmitted and operational noise levels to an absolute minimum.

In addition to noise reduction, the last 20 years has seen a significant development in strengthening the actual castor brackets by improving the quality of the material around the swivel bearing area to withstand high impact and increased load capacities. Along with the increase in strength and quality, the overall benefits include reduced accidents, longer life expectancy and reduced maintenance costs.

All types of roll cage castors can be supplied by Rolltek, able to meet exact requirements and specifications. Rolltek can also supply rollcage castors and roll container castors nationally and internationally, in both small or large ‘bulk’ quantities. You can buy Rolltek’s sandwich castors (rollcage castors or roll container castors) from www.rolltek.co.uk or call our sales office on 01327 313125 where our sales team will be happy to discuss your requirement.

Rolltek’s Blue Wheels

Rolltek is the market leader in the supply of ‘blue wheel’ products into the UK. Rolltek’s blue wheels have been specifically developed to be used in low noise environments such with medium to high load capacities. The additional benefits of using blue wheel castors include, protection to flooring as the elastic rubber tyre is a non marking material, ease of movement when compared to other rubber tyred products, the blue wheels need little propelling to generate momentum.

Over 20 years of product development, has today resulted in Rolltek being able to supply the highest quality of ‘blue wheel’ to a multitude of markets, benefiting all sorts of applications. Those markets include Retail, Distribution, Aviation, Flightcase, Music and Automotive Industries.

The Rolltek ‘blue wheel’ brings with it extended life expectancy when compared to other standard rubber tyred products, together with the added bonus of ‘high elasticity’ characteristics protecting the equipment being carried upon it.  The blue wheels can be used on many applications including, flight cases, logistical equipment, in-store trolleys, automotive boggies, and noise sensitive areas.

Rolltek’s blue wheels can be supplied in various diameters ranging from 80mm up to 200mm with load ratings varying between 150kg and 400kg. The blue wheels can be supplied as a wheel only or as a castor assembled into appropriate brackets including brake systems.

Rolltek’s blue wheels are available to buy online at www.rolltek.co.uk or call our sales team on 01327 313125.

Rolltek Supplies Puncture Proof Wheels

Puncture proof wheels are a necessity on items such as trolleys, wheelbarrows, goal posts, leisure equipment etc but surprisingly they aren’t always fitted as standard. Often this equipment is fitted with a solid rubber tyre, these won’t puncture but they offer little shock absorption and can often be a bumpy ride or fitted with a pneumatic wheel, these are fantastic shock absorbers and good on soft ground but are prone to puncture.

To guarantee that the wheels on equipment are puncture proof, a microcellular wheel should be fitted. A microcellular wheel has very similar characteristics to a pneumatic wheel; a pneumatic wheel has a tyre, an inner tube and is filled with air, this runs the risk that it may go flat. A microcellular wheel has a microcellular infill (similar to foam), providing you with a puncture proof wheel.

Puncture proof microcellular wheels are suitable for use on many different terrain, they can be used on cricket covers, goal posts, scoreboards etc as they will not damage soft ground and run really well on grass. The versatility of the microcellular wheels means that they can also be used on rugged terrain on areas such as building sites or farm and industrial areas. The microcellular infill guarantees a puncture proof wheel for use on equipment such as wheelbarrows, trolleys, and sack trucks whilst still ensuring the same smooth ride of a pneumatic.

If fitted with a microcellular wheel, you can guarantee you have a puncture proof trolley wheel, a puncture proof wheelbarrow wheel, and that you have puncture proof goal post wheels, in fact puncture proof whatever the application.

Rolltek supplies puncture proof microcellular wheels. The puncture proof wheels are 260mm diameter and are available with either a 20mm or 25mm roller bearing. The wheel only option is available online or to purchase the microcellular wheels in a fixed or swivel bracket please call our sales team on 01327 313125 who will be happy to discuss your requirements with you.

Rolltek’s microcellular wheels, pneumatic wheels and solid rubber tyred wheels, suitable for use as sack truck wheels or sack trolley wheels.

Sack trucks, also referred to as sack barrows, hand trucks, bag barrows or stack trucks are L shaped units usually manufactured from steel or aluminium, with 2 handles at one end, fitted with 2 wheels (these can be pneumatic wheels, microcellular wheels or solid rubber tyred wheels) either side of an axle at the base of the unit.  The unit will stand upright when loaded and unloaded, and becomes mobile when the truck is tipped backwards, and the weight is balanced over the two wheels. The lever action of a sack truck makes it easier to manually handle both heavy and bulky items. Sack trucks are used to move items from one location to another along the floor. Objects or items that are weighty, bulky or awkward to move can easily be transported by a sack truck, items can be stacked on a sack truck making it easy and safe to move 3 to 4 times the users body weight.

Sack trucks and sack trolleys as described above are classified as general purpose, but there are options for more specialist requirements such as:

· Folding; when space is limited or the trolley needs to be transported

· Stairclimber; to allow the sack trucks to be easily moved up and down stairs

· Chair Sack Trucks; for use in schools etc

· Gas Bottle Sack Trucks; for use in medical environments etc

· Heavy Duty Sack Truck; these are similar to the general trucks but tend to have a larger when and a longer toe plate.

Whether you are manufacturing sack trucks, or repairing sack trucks, Rolltek International stocks the wheels you need for all these styles of sack truck and more.  We carry in stock solid rubber tyred sack truck wheels, pneumatic sack truck wheels, and puncture proof sack truck wheels. Sizes normally used for this application are 160mm diameter to 250mm diameter wheels with a plastic or metal centre, plain bearing or roller bearing options are available. Our ranges of wheels have load capacities ranging from 120kg up to 250kg to suit many ranges of sack trucks.

The larger the wheel fitted, the easier the product is to push.  If the units are fitted with larger diameter wheels it also means the sack trucks are easier to move up and down curbs and steps. If the sack trucks are fitted with our Pneumatic wheels, or our microcellular wheels also known as a puncture proof wheel (Which has all the benefits of a pneumatic wheel, without the risk of puncturing), they can be used on rough terrain.

Micro cellular (puncture proof) and solid rubber tyred wheels are all available to purchase on our website, www.rolltek.co.uk , for our range of pneumatic wheels or other sizes, call our sales team on 01327 313125 where are sales team will be happy to discuss your requirements.

Happy New Year From Rolltek International Limited

Rolltek International would like to wish all customers, colleagues and suppliers a very happy new year. May 2012 ensure you sucess, prosperity, good health and happiness.

We look forward to working with you all.

The Rolltek Team