Making a Great Thing Better!
Darcor Casters to incorporate sealed precision bearings in its wheels

By Richard Rix

When you make something so good that people take it for granted, chances are they’ll neglect it. They might not even give it such basic attention as the occasional visual inspection, let alone proper maintenance.

That’s what Darcor found was happening with its casters, the best in the industry for ensuring that carts and other vehicles can move around the plant or warehouse efficiently and safely. It was a classic case of ‘spec, fit and forget.’

Unfortunately, even the best caster can slowly decline in efficiency over the years if it’s not taken care of. It might not be noticed for a long time but the cart or vehicle will be harder to start up, or might not roll as well, or may become trickier to manoeuvre.

From the customer’s perspective, the inefficiency might not even be noticed. After all, operators can and do compensate by using extra effort - maybe pushing harder and twisting their frame to compensate. To all appearances, things go on as normal.

Problem is that the extra effort on the part of the operator can put physical strain on the body and lead to long-term health problems, especially with regard to the back. Injury can be caused in a single instant or result from an accumulation of bad ergonomic practices.

Darcor is one caster manufacturer who knows how important it is to safeguard the health and safety of operators at all times. It does this through advanced ergonomic design and by having a wide selection of casters to choose from. The Darcor customer can always get the right caster for the job, no matter the environment or conditions, and be confident that the caster is the best it can be.

Of course, Darcor has no control over the maintenance process, so it has had to come up with a solution all its own to address caster neglect. And since there is only one way to deal with a problem over which you have no control, Darcor has done the obvious thing: it has eliminated the need for wheel maintenance on a large part of its product range.

Beginning soon, Darcor will fit all of its Neoprene and SE™ wheels with a precision bearing whose specially designed double-lip seal eliminates maintenance forever. With an inner seal and an outer seal to protect its precision bearings, the wheel always stays perfectly lubricated. Nothing gets in; nothing gets out.

The wheels will be integral to much of the Darcor range, from light-duty casters through to the high-performance 400 series with capacities to 1,000 pounds each. Combined with a sealed swivel assembly, they will assure total protection. Not only will the caster last longer than ever, it will function smoothly all along, given reasonable operating care.

Because Darcor casters now have the potential to last forever, the company has also taken extra steps to combat external corrosion by improving the formulation of its white zinc plating.

The new formulation provides 96 hours of salt-spray corrosion resistance - a 100% improvement! It also addresses environmental issues by restricting the proportion of hazardous chemicals used in the plating process to meet recently announced RoHS guidelines (restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances).

Excellence in design engineering has been the hallmark of Darcor’s manufacturing operations throughout the company’s 75-year history. It achieves the highest standards by focusing on the two most important aspects of caster use: productivity and the physical wellbeing of the end-user. The result is the production of a caster of the highest possible quality and durability.

Now, by introducing a double-sealed precision bearing so as to take care of maintenance issues and by dramatically improving corrosion resistance, Darcor elevates the subject of quality to an even higher plane. It means that Darcor is unmatched in its ability to deliver the perfect caster for specific applications, manufactured in its own state-of-the-art facility by an expert, dedicated workforce.

For strength, reliability and extended life, Darcor casters set the standard for efficient and safe material handling operations. When you factor in all the qualities that make Darcor casters the best, it’s easy to see why they make Darcor the most economical, too.

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