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Air casters present an alternative method for transporting heavy loads in manufacturing environments. Loads levitate upon compressed air plenums beneath air casters. The floor loading pressure is very low (on the order of 20 PSI), and causes no floor damage. Usually four or more air casters are positioned beneath the machine load to be moved. Sometimes the load is placed on an intermediate load base (thin pallet type structure) having air casters beneath it. These load bases are often custom manufactured for a particular product.
Multiple air casters beneath a load often have an unequal weight distribution from above. In addition, changing floor conditions beneath each caster (pits, slopes, cracks, porosity, etc.) requires that each caster has an independent air flow. To solve this problem, air caster manufacturers offer air supply console products that can vary each caster's pressure and flow rate individually.
Air casters are omnidirectional and are near frictionless. For very level floor conditions, and for relatively light loads, the load can be moved and steered by human operators pushing or pulling on the load by hand. There is not a problem getting the load to move, but a problem can occur stopping it's inertia safely once it gets moving! To solve this stopping problem, air caster suppliers offer air powered braking assemblies that attach to the bottom of the load.
Additionally, slightly uneven floor slopes can cause the levitated load to swing in an undesired direction. To solve this problem, air caster suppliers offer air powered guide wheel assemblies that attach to the bottom of the load. The actuated guide wheel causes the load to move in a specific direction.
When moving relatively heavy loads, often a transporter / tractor / tug is connected to the load. Many transporters are one wheel drive air motor powered. The one wheel drive allows the transporter to steer via attaching an arm to the casterable/rotateable drive wheel assembly.
IntelliCaster Company Offers Unique Products To The Air Caster Transport Industry!
Standard Air Caster IntelliCaster (patented)
IntelliCaster offers all this increased functionality at a competitive price and with minimal thickness.
The Standard Air Caster product operates from the Standard Caster Console product. The IntelliCaster product operates from the IntelliCaster Console product.
Guide & Stop series (patented)
Guide & Stop offers all the above advantages at an attractive price and with a minimal thickness 2".
Guide & Stop operates from the Guide & Stop Console product.
4x4 Titan Tug (patented)
EconoHalt series SweepCaster Option (patented)
The IntelliCaster Company sweep option for casters brushes aside chips, screws, and foreign matter in the path of movement. This unique and patented sweep option provides this important benefit without increasing caster air consumption and without decreasing the flexibility of the levitation membrane (the membranes are the same for both the SweepCaster and the Standard Casters.
Air Caster Background Methodology
Heavy loads (exceeding about 2 tons) usually cannot be moved about a building using standard pallet jacks and other wheel based equipment. Transport wheels can emit problematic particulate and bearing oil contaminating sensitive clean room environments. Most often, heavily loaded wheels are difficult to caster and move in minute increments (for close positioning). Floors can be damaged by load pressures beneath wheels exceeding the floor breakdown loading. Floor breakdown causes the cement or sealant coating to grind to dust. Sometimes floor tile breakage occurs. These floor breakdown failures are especially troublesome in clean room manufacturing environments. There, particulate generation can cause rejection of thousands of dollars worth of product in process. When some clean rooms are shut down during floor tile repair, a loss of millions of dollars in product revenue can occur.
IntelliCaster Company has introduced air caster methodology at many companies and industries, including Boeing, Rohr, KLA Tencor, etc. IntelliCaster Company has several important patents for their unique products.
IntelliCaster Company's Standard Air Caster levitates loads. The Standard Air Caster family ranges in size from 10" square to 36" square, and lifts from 1,000 to 16,000 pounds each. For heavier loads, multiple air casters can be used. For example, four standard air casters can levitate a load four times the single capacity, etc.
IntelliCaster Company offers an IntelliCaster option to the Standard Air Caster (11STD, 16STD, 24STD), that is unique in the world! IntelliCaster includes an integrated guide wheel and an integrated brake within the caster plenum. IntelliCaster can levitate the load, guide load direction, and stop the moving load safely. Some advantages include:
For those customers that already have air casters for load moving; but desire the best equipment available for braking and guiding the load, IntelliCaster Company offers Guide & Stop series products. Customers with limited area available under the load can still have braking and guiding functions. Guide & Stop is unique in the world! Guide & Stop includes an integrated guide wheel and an integrated brake within one assembly. The attachment footprint to the load is no larger than that of either a guide wheel assembly alone or of a brake assembly alone. Set up is quicker and easier as there is only one interconnect hose, and only a single bolt hole attachment pattern.
IntelliCaster Company has patented a low cost four wheel drive light weight transporter that safely steers, pulls, or pushes heavy levitated loads. The 4x4 Titan Tug wheel traction can be turned on or off with the flip of a switch. With traction off, the 4x4 Titan Tug can be easily rotated over 180 degrees to a new direction of travel. The 4x4 Titan Tug is clean room compatible.
For customers that already have air casters for load moving, but desire the added braking function only, IntelliCaster Company sells an inexpensive, heavy duty brake series called EconoHalt. EconoHalt features side air inlet with a minimal thickness.
Standard Casters and IntelliCasters can be supplied with an optional Floor Sweep adaptation (creating SweepCaster or Sweep IntelliCaster assemblies). These options are offered to customers who might have sharp metal chips, screws, and other foreign objects on the factory floor in the path of caster travel. Since the caster membrane travels above the floor surface only one or two thousanths of an inch, sharp objects can tear a caster membrane, rendering it useless until the levitation membrane is replaced. Additionally, such objects as small as nuts, bolts, and washers can position between the membrane surface and the floor, causing enough of a leak to bleed off all lubricating air flow, resulting in unacceptable membrane drag on the floor, halting movement.