Caster Wheel Sizes and Load Capacity: A Practical Comparison from 2 Inches to 6 Inches
Time：Sep 10,2025
2 inches
Diameter about 50mm, single wheel load mostly between 20–30kg. Common scenarios fall into three categories:
Office furniture: filing cabinets, shredders, small printers, low mobility frequency, floors mostly smooth composite flooring or carpet.
Display props: movable mannequin bases in shopping mall windows, need to quietly slide in and out.
Models and teaching aids: architectural models and robot carts for teaching, with strict limits on precision and weight.
3 inches
Diameter about 75mm, load range 30–60kg. Lowest usage threshold, thus most widely distributed:
Household: sofas, coffee tables, storage boxes, suitable for both floors and tiles, low noise requirements.
Retail: supermarket hand baskets, light trolleys, small turning radius, can pass through aisles 0.9m wide.
Medical: companion chairs, mobile infusion stands, wheel surfaces mostly TPR to reduce floor scratches.
4 inches
Diameter about 100mm, single wheel load 60–120kg. Starting to move beyond "household" category into light industry:
Workshops: tool carts, material turnover carts, need to cross cable trays or die-cast aluminum chips, wheel surfaces tend to be polyurethane, wear-resistant and non-marking.
Warehousing: "mobile version" of medium-sized shelves, used with rails for localized dense storage, floors mostly epoxy self-leveling.
5 inches
Diameter about 125mm, load 120–250kg. Characterized by incorporating both "frequent movement" and "uneven floors" into the design:
Logistics: dock bag handling carts, forklift towing bases in cold chain warehouses, wheel cores mostly cast iron or nylon, bearings are needle roller type.
Outdoor: temporary stages, exhibition trusses, need to cross 2–3cm gaps or asphalt granules, tread hardness ShoreA85–95.
6 inches
Diameter about 150mm, single wheel load 250–400kg, some cast steel models up to 500kg. Core requirement is "move heavy equipment from A to B without using a crane":
Factories: large laser cutting machines, plate rolling machines, movement frequency measured in months, locked after positioning.
Venues: movable stands, event barriers, require pushing into place within 10m in one go, floors mostly polished concrete, also need shock-absorbing pads.
Summary
Caster selection usually follows the order of "load → floor → frequency" in decreasing priority. For each 1-inch increase in size, the theoretical load capacity roughly doubles, but noise, steering force, and cost also increase accordingly. Aligning data first before discussing brand and appearance can reduce trial and error.
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